Center for the Investigate of Languages & Cultures
Learning Hindi at Notre Dame
Author: Charlene Dundek
That’s how you say “Hello!” in Hindi. Hindi is the fourth most commonly spoken language in the globe, but is not commonly instructed in American schools and universities. The CSLC is proud to suggest classes in this less commonly trained language and is excited to be hosting a Fulbright Foreign Language Training Assistant in Hindi for the 2015-2016 school year.
Less Commonly Instructed Languages (LCTLs) are languages that, even tho’ they are not widely instructed or studied in American universities, are significant for academics, national interest, and international travel. According to the National Council of Less Commonly Instructed Languages (NCOLCTL), 91% of students who investigate a foreign language in American schools and universities investigate French, German, Italian, or Spanish. However, studying LCTLs provide opportunities to connect with meaty areas of the globe and understand significant cultures.
Notre Dame offers many LCTLs (such as Arabic, Russian, etc.), but in the spring of two thousand fourteen an undergraduate voiced the desire to learn Hindi. According to CSLC Acting Director Denise Ayo, the CSLC was able to purchase textbooks and find an instructor for the student and others who voiced interest in the language. Continued student interest in learning Hindi led the CSLC to apply for a visiting Fulbright Foreign Language Instructing Assistant (FLTA) in Hindi for the 2015-2016 school year.
Notre Dame is excited to be hosting Suman Rani, the Hindi FLTA for this school year. She is originally from Punjab in the northern part of India and has lived in southern India for the last decade. She specializes in 2nd language training and has spent the last few years researching the field. There are only thirteen other Fulbright FLTAs instructing Hindi in the country for this school year. Most of their host institutions have total Hindi language departments accomplish with resources, while Notre Dame’s program is still nascent.
Suman Rani, Hindi FLTA. Rani also trains at Perley Primary Fine Arts Academy in South Arch.
Notre Dame has an intimate core of students dedicated to the language. Students in Rani’s class range from freshmen to graduate students, and they have a multitude of reasons for wanting to learn Hindi: to communicate with family members, to supplement historical explore of India, to learn the alphabet, and to build up a better understanding of India and its culture. Senior Victoria Sluka, who is studying Anthropology, said that it’s significant that Notre Dame offers a class like this because “Hindi is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, and India is emerging as a major global economic power. It’s significant that students be learning this language.” The class concentrates on instructing the Devanagari script, vocabulary, and grammar. The Hindi Language Table concentrates more on the cultures and religions of India.
The aim of the class, according to Rani, is to “acquaint learners with fresh language they can actually use.” The language is useful if students are interested in the culture, if it’s related to their studies, and especially if they plan on doing research in India. “You connect better with people,” Rani says, and connections with local people are essential for fully understanding a culture and a history. There are a lot of resources available in English and the majority of Indian people speak English, but true connections are formed (and more accomplish research conducted) when the Hindi language is spoken. “Some things are there that cannot be translated into English,” Rani says.
As a visiting scholar, Rani’s dearest aspect of training Hindi at Notre Dame is watching her students learn. She is blessed, she says, “when I see my students develop.” She likes to have students who are nosey, display active interest, and ask lots of questions. Her beloved moment from last semester was when one of her students was able to write a creative and funny story in Hindi for an exam.
The CSLC recognizes the importance of fostering language learning, especially LCTL learning. Ayo says that, “We have amazing language programs [at Notre Dame], but they can’t feasibly instruct all the languages that ND students might want/need. Hindi is a good example. Swahili is another. This is where the CSLC comes in. Our mission is to serve all the language needs on campus. Most of the time this comes in the form of supporting the existing language programs. Periodically, however, a student identifies a LCTL, like Hindi, as imperative for their future career, and we want to be there for these students as well. Notre Dame is in the business of creating global citizens, and there are toughly 6,500 spoken languages on this globe.”