Teaching Summary
My teaching philosophy centers on creating an inclusive, engaging, and intellectually stimulating environment in which students feel comfortable taking risks and actively participating in the learning process. In Hindi and Urdu language courses, I use music, cinema, sports, literature, current events, and popular culture to connect language learning with students’ interests and experiences. I have found that these shared points of connection help create a sense of community and reduce the inevitable anxiety and frustration associated with learning a foreign language.
At the elementary level, I make grammar accessible through interactive exercises, visual materials, and activities that encourage students to construct sentences using vocabulary and situations from everyday life. At the intermediate and advanced levels, I use content-based instruction, incorporating current issues, newspapers, interviews, films, television, and other authentic materials from South Asia. These materials allow students to develop their reading and speaking skills while gaining a deeper understanding of the region’s diverse cultures and histories. I also introduce students to different registers of Hindi and Urdu, from conversational language and social media to literary and journalistic writing.
I view culture not as a fixed body of knowledge to be transmitted by the instructor, but as an ongoing subject of discussion and inquiry. I encourage students to bring their own interests and questions into the classroom and regularly invite guest speakers, writers, poets, and artists to engage with students directly. These encounters help students see language as a living practice connected to real people, communities, and creative traditions.
My teaching also extends beyond the classroom. I have organized literary and cultural events and maintained active connections with South Asian artistic and scholarly communities in the United States and India. I see these activities as an important extension of language and literary education and as opportunities to build meaningful connections between the university and the broader community.