"My daughter speaks English confidently now — after just 3 months"

Roshani P., a mother from Kandy, shares how SpeakUP Jr transformed her 8-year-old daughter's relationship with English — and why she wishes she had found it sooner.

When Roshani first enrolled her daughter Dinara in SpeakUP Jr, she had one simple goal: stop the tears before English class at school. "She used to come home crying every Friday. Her teacher would ask her to read aloud and she would freeze. It broke my heart."

Dinara was not struggling with intelligence — she was a bright, curious child who loved art and animals. But English felt like a foreign language in every sense. "At home we speak Sinhala. Her school teaches in English but nobody at home could really help her practice."

The first month — small signs

Roshani admits she was sceptical at first. "I had tried other English classes before. She would sit and copy from the board and come home and I couldn't see any difference."

SpeakUP Jr was different from the first week. "She actually wanted to open the app. She would finish dinner and ask to do her English. I had to tell her to stop and go to sleep — that had never happened before."

"The songs were what got her. She started singing them around the house. English words, without even realising."

The Saturday live sessions with the SpeakUP coach were another turning point. "Her coach knew exactly what she had been practising all week. She didn't have to start from zero every session. The coach already knew her."

By month three — a different child

Three months into the programme, Roshani noticed something she hadn't expected. "Her teacher called me. She asked what had changed. Dinara had volunteered to read aloud in class. She said it clearly, without hesitating."

The change wasn't just academic. "She corrects my English now," Roshani laughs. "She hears me say something wrong and she tells me. I don't mind at all — I love it."

"I used to be scared to speak English. Now I like it." — Dinara, age 8

Dinara is now preparing for the Cambridge YLE Starters exam through British Council Sri Lanka — something Roshani hadn't even considered when they started. "I just wanted her to stop crying. Now she has an international certificate to show for it."

Roshani's advice for other parents

"Don't wait. I waited two years thinking she would grow out of it or that school would fix it. It didn't. The placement test took 30 minutes and we knew exactly where she was and what she needed. I wish I had done it two years earlier."

Dinara starts SpeakUP Jr Part 2 next month. This time, she asked to enrol herself.