Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
By Susan Reese
S
poken as a first language by more than 400 million people worldwide and
as a second language by an estimated 120 million more, Hindi may one
day be coming to a school near you. According to the South Asia Center
at the University of Pennsylvania, Hindi is the official language of multilingual
India and it is the most widely spoken and understood language throughout
the country. Hindi is written in the Devanagari script, which is also used for
Sanskrit, Marathi, and Nepali. It has the same grammar and shares basic conver-
sational vocabulary and expressions with Urdu, so on many college campuses in
the United States, the two are taught under the title HindiUrdu. However, the
South Asia Center notes, the two languages use different scripts and have differ-
ent preferences when it comes to borrowing new formal and literary vocabulary.
Although programs have existed for a while at the university level, for a
number of years, Hindi was taught at only one high school in the United States.
That has changed in the past few years, and several new programs have been
established to teach about the Hindi language and the culture of India.
in junior high, the students are learning languages that are critical know the alphabet, two very long sentences, and [have learned
to compete in the global marketplace they will enter upon gradua- about] Indian culture.
tion from high school or postsecondary education. The students clearly appreciate the special opportunity they
In 2006, the Board and Trustees of the school district com- have been given, but as Parpia notes, they will learn more than
pleted a study of Thomas Friedmans book, The World Is Flat, and just how to speak, read, and write Hindi and Mandarin. They will
realized that preparing these students to compete on a global stage learn about culture, geography, and history of these two countries.
takes a concerted effort, explains the districts IBI coordinator, They will learn how these factors come together to impact that
Bhavani Parpia. The combination of our diverse student popula- part of the world, as well as the United States, she says.
tion and high district expectations makes for a rich environment
that provides students the opportunity to interact on a global level Now in New Jersey
in the comfort of a school setting. She reports that the response
from parents and the community has been very supportive, and In 2008, a partnership between the Edison School District in New
parents from other school districts have begun contacting her to Jersey and the International Education and Resource Network
ask what they can do to get their districts to start such a program. (iEARN) brought a pilot program to the Edison schools with the
The Flagships Van Olphen says of help of a federal Foreign Language
the HEB ISD program: What differ- Assistance Program (FLAP) grant.
entiates this program from other lan- The Edison program became the third
guage programs in the country is that district to offer Hindi as a foreign
it is not primarily driven by a large language.
immigrant population in the com- With its high percentage of Indian
The students really respond American residentsapproximately
munity. As the name of the program
to the use of technology. I tell 18%the Edison community seemed
indicates, the purpose of the program
them about India but when they an ideal choice for the program.
is to enhance the opportunities of
talk to the students in another Taught at Edison and J.P. Stevens
students in the district to compete in
country, they get it. The real High Schools, the standards-based
the global economy. Such students
connection is when they see curriculum offers thematic units, each
will be outstanding candidates for
with their own eyes, interact of which include a project that dem-
our Flagship program and will go a
with their own peers. Its a great onstrates the students linguistic and
long way to easing the shortage of
learning experience. cultural proficiency. The projects also
graduates with professional compe-
tence in these critical languages. Hindi Teacher connect to working and sharing with
According to Parpia, the goal has Neelan Mishra at Edison students in India, which is something
always been for the students to have H igh S chool , E dison , NJ that was fully integrated into the
five years of language study. So they design of the program, according to
will continue to take Hindi as a for- Martin Smith, supervisor of the world
eign language option in either of the two high schools at our dis- languages, ESL, and bilingual program at Edison Public Schools.
trict, and will take their Language B IB exam in Hindi, she says. As Smith explains, the students use technologies to connect
The students themselves may be the most enthusiastic advo- with their peers in other countries to both practice language skills
cates of the program. For example, a Central Junior High student and also to deepen their cultural understanding. He notes, There
named Alex calls it an amazing program that gives students a has been a strong response, and it continues to get stronger each
chance to learn a language that otherwise they probably would not year; however, in the first two years there has been a lot of interest
have gotten to learn, and says, You get to learn about India and its on the part of the heritage language community but not as much
people. Its an opportunity like no other. Another student, among the non-heritage language community. So now we are do-
Kamden, adds, Taking the Hindi program is very fun and brings ing outreach to build that part of the program. As for the students
along new experiences. You get to learn about Indias diverse who have taken advantage of the opportunity, Smith notes, They
culture along with the language. You get to do fun activities while love it. They also say they are learning a lot, and the OPI [Oral
learning the language, making it easier and more fun to learn. Proficiency Interview] results support that.
Jacob recommends the program to rising seventh graders, explain- He hopes to see the program continue to grow and improve, and
ing, If you do agree to join the program, your life will change says, Since the programs approach is based on the use of authentic
forever (in a good way). This is the best program in the state. I materials, the teachers are always looking for new and better materi-
have been doing the Hindi program for six weeks, and I already als, and the connections we have made in India are helping with that.
Susan Reese is a contributing writer to The Language Educator. She has written
for numerous education publications and is based in Arlington, Virginia.
A STARTALK session for Hindi teachers was held in July 2009 at the
University of Pennsylvania.
Hindi
due to more opportunities for the use of Hindi in the United States
especially in areas of law, medical practice and local businesses
where people of Indian origin have a large concentration.