How a Sudanese Teacher Helped Her Student Find Her Voice Through Nardagani
Earlier this year, a teacher in Sudan named Talitha Lord reached out to The Nardagani Reading Program. She had recently watched Narda Pitkethly’s TEDx Talk, “A New Way to Learn to Read English,” and described herself as feeling “inspired.”
Talitha was teaching first grade in a small Sudanese school when she found the Nardagani method. Like thousands of others who have discovered Narda’s talk — now viewed more than 1,000,000 times on YouTube — Talitha saw a spark of hope for a student who was struggling to read.
Her name was Azra.
A Teacher’s First Message
“I am a young grade one teacher, currently teaching in a small school in Sudan. One of my students is struggling to read. I watched a TEDx Talk on Nardagani on YouTube — I feel inspired! I think this might be the key to unlock reading for this child.”
— Email from Talitha Lord, March 10, 2021
It was a simple message, but one filled with hope. Narda, the program’s founder, immediately replied with encouragement and access to the teacher training materials. Talitha began the Nardagani Teacher Training course and prepared to introduce the method to her young student.
Meet Azra — A Bright Mind and a Determined Heart
Just over a week later, Talitha sent another message.
“Azra is in my grade 1 class and she is six years old, turning seven in September. She’s a very enthusiastic learner and has made very good progress, especially in math. She loves teaching it to the other children. But when it comes to reading, she loses confidence. She says she can’t read.”
As Talitha explained, English phonics felt confusing — even to her as a teacher. In her first language, Afrikaans, reading is straightforward: what you see is what you say. English, however, felt full of contradictions.
But the Nardagani method — which uses 12 simple visual symbols to help learners recognize English sounds — made sense to her in a way that other systems hadn’t.
“Your approach to teaching the sounds makes more sense to me than the other techniques I have tried, which have mostly been memorization.”
A New Way to Learn — Even in Limited Conditions
By March 29, Talitha had started Nardagani’s teacher training and was excited to begin lessons with Azra.
“Azra is very excited to improve at reading, and I’m excited to use your material! Printing is limited here, so I’ve printed only the pages she writes on and saved the rest on my phone. We’ll start this week.”
Despite having only basic resources — limited printing, shared equipment, and intermittent power — Talitha made it work. Her dedication mirrored that of so many teachers around the world who refuse to give up on a child’s potential.
Progress Begins: The Power of a Smile Symbol
Within days, Talitha shared her first success story.
“Azra really enjoyed the first lesson! The memory match game is brilliant. She now can differentiate between long and short sounds using the smile symbol.”
That “smile symbol” — a Nardagani feature that shows when a vowel should make its long sound — was a turning point for Azra.
For the first time, English made sense to her. She wasn’t guessing anymore; she was decoding.
Even more touching, Talitha mentioned that an adult cleaning worker had leaned over her laptop while she was preparing lessons.
“She seemed curious about what I was doing — made me wonder if you’ve used the program with adults?”
The answer, of course, was yes. Nardagani works for learners of any age.
Lesson by Lesson, Azra Blossoms
By early April, the lessons had become a joyful routine.
“Azra and I are now on lesson 3. She has a long break during the day, and she always comes to remind me when it’s time to start. Even when she’s tired, she’s eager — I think the interactive activities make it feel like a game!”
That sense of fun is at the heart of the Nardagani approach. Through games like Memory Match and Bingo, students don’t just memorize — they engage. Reading becomes something they want to do, not something they have to do.
Talitha’s dedication and Azra’s enthusiasm created a powerful rhythm of progress. And soon, they were both learning more than just how to read.
A Teacher Transformed ¹
As the weeks passed, Talitha realized that she, too, was becoming a better reader of English — and a better teacher overall.
“I’ve become much more aware of the different sounds words make, how the mouth changes when you pronounce them, and that reading English is actually a real accomplishment for a six-year-old.”
Her newfound awareness changed her classroom. She began to see reading not as memorization, but as a physical and mental process — something that could be observed, taught, and mastered through pattern and practice.
“Since many years have passed since I learned to read, one just takes it for granted that it is simple and natural. But I’ve learned there are confusing, ‘illogical’ aspects — like silent letters — that are helpful to understand as a teacher. Thank you for helping me realize this.”
Results That Inspire
By the end of the month, Talitha administered a pre-test to track Azra’s progress.
When they began, Azra couldn’t read even simple sight words like and, play, run, and here. But after just a few weeks using the Nardagani method, she was reading full sentences with growing confidence.
Azra’s transformation was proof that the right approach — paired with the right teacher — can change everything.
The Ripple Effect of One Teacher’s Inspiration
From a small classroom in Sudan, Talitha’s story reminds us of a universal truth: every reader starts somewhere.
Whether it’s a child like Azra or an adult rediscovering reading later in life, the Nardagani method continues to light paths of literacy all over the world.
“Okay wow,” Talitha wrote. “I can imagine that many adults have benefited from Nardagani. Really a very clever approach — well done!”
We couldn’t agree more.
Learn More
Want to see the method that inspired Talitha and helped Azra?
Visit the Nardagani Reading Program website, take our free Masterclass, and watch Narda Pitkethly’s TEDx Talk, “A New Way to Learn to Read English.”
Because when learning finally makes sense, confidence follows.
TEDx Talk by Founder: Watch Here
Website: https://www.nardagani.com
iOS Link: App Store
Google Play Link: Play Store
Promotional Video: Watch Here
Talitha and Azra.