Over this past semester, I have learned a great deal about autonomous language learning by studying Hindi and meeting with a language partner.  Initially, in January, I thought I would be prepared for the challenges of autonomous learning, since I have, in the past, been successful at planning and managing my time for learning on my own.  However, one challenge that I did not account for was balancing my own expectations.  My most recent language learning experience was an immersion program in Punjabi this past summer, and because it was a full-time scholarship program, I picked up the language quickly and was eager to learn more and practice whenever I had time – and I also lived in the country in which the language (as well as Hindi) were both spoken, so I was surrounded by Punjabi and Hindi.  In learning Hindi this semester, I thus expected to progress much more quickly, not taking into account that I had other classes and commitments, like studying for the MCAT exam or planning my med school applications.  Thus, I became a little discouraged initially when I kept confusing Punjabi letters with Hindi letters, or when I was progressing much slower than I expected.  Although this was frustrating, it made me realize how incredibly helpful it is to be surrounded by a context in which the language is spoken continuously – through the media, with interactions with locals, and more.  I tried to pursue resources this semester that would promote a similar type of immersion through the media, and this helped a great deal –- I utilized textual and audiovisual sources that were all quite culturally authentic (Foreign Language Defense Institute's resources and “A Door into Hindi”).

          It is also interesting to consider the time and true commitment involved in learning a language autonomously.  Since I think of myself as someone who is pretty good at time management and learning independently, I assumed that I would not have any problems with the time commitment involved with learning Hindi autonomously.  However, it was actually challenging initially because I was learning the script, and it became repetitive to continually memorize and practice the script in the first week.  It was helpful to have a weekly schedule that I made over the weekend to go over what I hoped to accomplish during the following week, and when EXACTLY I would learn those items and how.  Sometimes, my learning was not as structured – like when I would just listen to Hindi music while walking to class or when I would watch a Hindi movie on a Friday afternoon. It was great to have a balance between different resources and different elements of practice (structured vs. relaxed).  It was also a little difficult sometimes for me to carve out the necessary time to do structured learning because I am in the process of beginning my med school apps and studying for the MCAT, so it was a little hard to balance independently studying for the MCAT and independently studying Hindi.

          I have also noticed a difference in when I learn a language in a classroom (under the guidance of a teacher) versus independently.  I studied German throughout middle and high school, and I LOVED studying German in the classroom.  It forced me to keep up with the vocabulary words that I had to memorize, and my teacher always had the most interesting ideas for implementing and practicing certain concepts, like through skits or games.  It was really hard for me to be the only student studying Hindi on my own.  I really wish other students had participated in the SDLAP for Hindi because we could have done skits or play vocab games – the other students may serve also as motivators.  I really like learning with other students, so it was a little challenging at times.  However, the presence of a language partner made up for this a lot.  I also enjoyed how our cultural/linguistic explorations in MLC 105 also helped me approach my study of Hindi with an open mind -- remembering the articles we read about the role of culture in language learning, the sociocultural factors of language, and more. 

           I really enjoyed meeting with a language partner this semester, and she truly represented quite a helpful resource.  A crucial part of language is composed of the elements that are spoken, and it is quite hard to learn those elements – pronunciation, knowing the usage of certain words, etc  -- without having a language partner.  Additionally, she also kept me motivated because I wanted to show her that I was continuing to try, even if I made mistakes.  Since I was the only student learning Hindi this semester, it was also helpful to have someone with whom to practice.

          In terms of the goals that I accomplished, the most important goal (to me) that I accomplished was learning the script and being able to write in Hindi.  I am really happy with the progress I achieved in that sense, especially considering that I did not know the Hindi/Devanagari script at all in January, when this course began, and when I go back to India, I am happy that I will be able to read signs, menus, and more!  Another goal that I accomplished was learning vocabulary of personal relevance – hobbies, food, family, health, caste, body parts, weather, and likes/dislikes.  These expressions will come in handy if I try to interact with locals in India.  I also accomplished my goal of watching and understanding a public health video or radio message.  It was more helpful to watch a public health PSA because I could also utilize situational clues and body language to understand what was going on.  Additionally, I also watched MANY “Fair and Lovely” ads in Hindi for one of my projects in MLC 105, and they were really helpful to watch to learn more about language use, as well as cultural clues and attitudes about skin color and women.  With regard to grammar, I also learned the different elements of the present tense (simple present, present progressive, and present habitual). I am really happy that I decided not to learn the past tense, because it was already difficult to learn the different parts of the present tense. It was somewhat difficult to find reading material that was aimed at beginners, so I want to practice more reading this summer, when I have more time to obtain reading material for beginners.

      A few days ago, I completed my language assessment for MLC 110.  Part of my assessment was a monologue that I had to remember and speak in front of a videocamera.  I was really nervous before this assessment, and although I personally felt that I had learned a great deal of Hindi this semester, I was nervous that my assessment would not show it.  However, my monologue went fine, and I was surprised that I didn't get too nervous when I was actually saying it -- it also made me aware of how practice and preparation throughout the semester truly does influence one's speaking skills in a new language. I was concerned that I would forget a Hindi word or two during my monologue and would resort to Punjabi, so I practiced the different vocabulary words and expressions that I had studied throughout the semester, and it really did make a difference in my monologue, I believe.  For me, the second part of my assessment was an online test matching Hindi words (in Devanagari script) with pictures.  The problem that I kept having was my slow reading speed.  It still takes me a while to figure out the letters (Punjabi vs. Hindi), then pronounce the words aloud or silently, and to then match it up with the meaning.  This activity demonstrated to me that I still need to practice my Hindi reading skills over the summer.

         In reflecting on this semester in MLC 105 and MLC 110, I have really found my experience as a self-directed language learner of Hindi to be quite meaningful. I’ve progressed a great deal in terms of my independent skills as a language learner -- particularly in being able to speak, write, and read Hindi.  I have also learned a great deal about the complexity of learning about both language and culture -- specifically Indian culture, as it relates to my focus in health and human rights.  If I go back to India in the future, I hope to be able to use what I have learned this semester, in terms of both tangible and intangible language skills, for an even more meaningful experience in India.

I have completed my self-evaluation blocks in my Learning Plan.  The completed learning plan w/self-evaluation is attached to this entry (see below).  Thanks!

Completed Self-Evaluation Blocks on Learning Plan: SelfEvaluation_on_LearningPlan.pdf

Topic: Create a learning activity to teach someone else something you have learned in your language; outline this activity in your learning journal; teach someone using this activity; reflect upon the effectiveness of the activity.

I created a learning activity to teach someone the Hindi vocabulary for health and body parts.  When I was studying Punjabi this summer, an activity that really helped me was when two or three people would learn Punjabi vocabulary through active learning – like passing a ball back and forth, and when one person would throw the ball, they would ask a question (“What is the Hindi word for ‘nose’”?).  The person who would catch the ball would then answer the question (The meaning of "nose" is 'nahk' -- or “Nose का मतलब “नाक” है”) verbally and would also write out the word on the board.  If the person could not answer the question, the first person would draw a picture of the word’s meaning (nose, etc) on the board and then the first letter as well.   I really enjoyed this learning activity this summer, so I implemented it in my learning activity for teaching my sister (who is 16) Hindi vocabulary for body parts and health over a weekend when I went home.  These are the words I utilized in this learning activity:

1.  Head - सिर

2.  Hair - बाल

3.  Eye - आंख

4.  Ear - कान

5.  Mouth - मुंह

6.  Tooth (teeth) --दांत

7.  Arm -बांह

8.  Hand - हाथ

9.  Elbow -कोहनी

10.  Fingers - उंगलियों

11.  Belly - पेट

12.  Back -पीठ

13.  Leg - टांग

14.  Foot - पैर

I would ask my sister a Hindi vocabulary question, like “What is the meaning of (eye) in Hindi?”  (If I were speaking to someone who knew more Hindi, I would naturally ask this in Hindi).  I would then throw her the ball.  If she knew the answer, she would say the word in Hindi and she would write it out on a small dry erase board we have at my house.  When she didn’t know the word, I would draw a picture of it on the board and I would also write the first letter, so it was also helpful for me in reviewing sounds AND the alphabet visually as well. 

This activity was quite effective for both my sister and me.  For me, I was able to review key health/body part vocabulary in both an auditory and visual sense, and I was also able to review the alphabet as well.  For my sister, she definitely was able to remember the words after the second time we went through the list – I believe because of the combination of visuals (my drawings + alphabet), auditory (saying the word aloud), and the interactivity of throwing the ball.

Hopefully this activity will serve as helpful for other language learners of Hindi! :)

This week, I worked on more writing practice with my language partner and also worked on review activities in preparation for my final assessment.  The writing practice was with descriptions -- of other people, buildings, colors, clothing, etc.  It was helpful to review the vocab for descriptions, like colors or adjectives to describe buildings, like "religious" or "beautiful."  We also worked on reviewing for the final assessment by practicing some conversation skills about the topics that I have covered this year -- from introductions, weather, health, and more.

On my own, I continued to listen to Hindi music to continue to immerse myself in Hindi pop culture, and I also reviewed the vocabulary I have studied this year.  I made sentences with the vocabulary I initially had trouble with, and when my language partner and I used the vocabulary in dialogues, it was helpful to see which nouns had tricky pairings with verbs, and to be aware of that for the final assessment.

Over the past semester, I have really enjoyed my meetings with my language partner.  I have learned a lot from her about actually speaking Hindi with locals, rather than just utilizing what I have learned this semester via book learning.  I have really realized how important it is to actually meet with someone of the target culture to ensure that one is learning expressions that are actually relevant and used often, rather than learning expressions that locals never use!

I also have really enjoyed being able to try to speak with my language partner in Hindi, because she is able to ask me questions that will help me focus on the relevant vocabulary that I am learning.  In writing, it is also really helpful to have someone there who can sound out the words just like a local would so that I know how certain sounds actually sound in Hindi -- for instance, the word bhaiya is really difficult for native speakers of English to say because of the "bph" sound, so it's incredibly helpful to hear her say it and to then write the word out.  We were just working on writing practice a few days ago, and it was really encouraging to me when she was really happy about the amount of progress I have made in writing over the past few months -- since I came in with no prior knowledge of Hindi script at all, and now I can write full paragraphs (see my latest artifact)!  Thus, she serves as a cultural guide, as well as a peer tutor and motivator! 

Another activity that I really enjoyed doing with my language partner was watching Hindi dialogues as part of the "A Door Into Hindi" learning series.  It's helpful to have someone there who can help me understand what is going on if the characters are speaking too fast or if they use obsolete expressions as well.  She is also helpful in my reading practice because sometimes, the combination of certain sounds will be really hard for me to recognize, but she breaks it down into simpler sounds that I can try to say (which will then form the word).

Meeting with my language partner has been extremely helpful to me.  Our meetings motivate me to stay on target with my Hindi goals, and she truly aids in facilitating my understanding of spoken and written Hindi!  शुक्रिया !

Culture Post #8:  Reflect on what you learned from the cultural presentations.

     I really enjoyed seeing other people's cultural presentations!  Even though I didn't know some of the language-specific words, most students did a great job putting them into a cultural context that I understood.  The topics were incredibly diverse -- ranging from entertainment to food to henna -- and I loved being able to see a piece of each person's culture.  With regard to today's presentations, I learned a lot from the presentation about Afghan Star because for me, as someone deeply interested in human rights in the Middle East/South Asia, it was interesting to consider the incredible role of the media in shaping the movement towards furthering the rights of women in Afghanistan.  I never really thought about how a pop music/TV show truly can be an equalizer of people -- with everyone coming together to bond over something so universal.  In the face of so many failed aid policies or debacles involving Western initiatives for girls/women in Afghanistan (e.g. last year's jarring allegations against Greg Mortensen), it is wonderful to see something rooted in Afghan culture that is creating community, as well as progress for women.  I also really liked seeing the diverse perspectives on Korean culture -- from food to marriage to the vibrant entertainment industry! 

        With regard to my topic rooted in health/human rights, I loved being able to take the time to pursue and further the research that I am passionate about.  It was great to be given the opportunity to intersect my interest in Hindi with my passion for learning about issues of health and caste in India.  I learned so much about my target culture with regard to complex issues of caste, class, and gender.  I also learned a lot more about how intricate and complex the issue of maternal health is -- not just rooted in biomedical factors, but as something that requires an understanding of cultural factors (caste, physical touch, gender, etc) for these maternal health discrepancies to be solved in India.

        In reflecting upon the cultural presentations, it was wonderful to see how passionate everyone was about learning more about their target culture and about teaching us about an element of their target culture -- truly a multifaceted cultural exchange!

Hindi Artifact #4: Document a learning task that you have completed that meets a personal goal.

For my fourth Hindi artifact, I chose to make a VoiceThread that demonstrated the different parts of the body.  I had never made a VoiceThread before for an artifact, so I really wanted to learn how to utilize VoiceThread.  It was extremely helpful in providing the structure for me to record in Hindi the names of the different body parts.    I learned the words for:

(Parts of the body) - शरीर के अंग

1.  Head - सिर

2.  Hair - बाल

3.  Eye - आंख

4.  Ear - कान

5.  Mouth - मुंह

6.  Tooth (teeth) --दांत

7.  Arm -बांह

8.  Hand - हाथ

9.  Elbow -कोहनी

10.  Fingers - उंगलियों

11.  Belly - पेट

12.  Back -पीठ

13.  Leg - टांग

14.  Foot - पैर

I also learned vocabulary relating to diseases, but I included most of them in the post about my cultural presentation (caste and health in India).

Here is Hindi Artifact #4 below: (Please make sure your volume is turned up)

(link in case you do not see the artifact below: Link to Hindi Artifact #4)

Hello!

During this past week (technically 9 days), I have been working on a variety of different topics.  First, I finished up working on vocabulary related to caste and health with my language partner.  We discussed whether she finds the topic still relevant today, and we reviewed some vocabulary related to caste.  In working on my Cultural Project, however, I did a lot of research on my own to learn more about the vocabulary words and Hindi expressions that are related to caste and health (please see blog entry about my Cultural Presentation).

On my own, I watched a great Hindi video about the reality of Dalits in India, and it was in Hindi with some subtitles.  I paused the video whenever there was a sign so that I could read it (since I memorized the Hindi script at the beginning of the semester).  I am really glad that I learned the script!  Even though there are some letters that I still have trouble recognizing because they look SO similar to another letter or to a totally distinct Punjabi letter, I love being able to read Hindi signs -- it opens up a whole new level of understanding for me. 

(left: sign that says: "Religion can be changed, why not caste? Abandon caste -- unite India." - from Flickr)

During this week's meetings with my language partner, we reviewed vocabulary related to nature and weather.  It's really interesting because in English, we have many different words for rain (drizzling, pouring, raining, etc), but in Hindi, it's mainly just "monsoon" and two words for "rain."  Some of the words related to weather were a bit tricky to pronounce, so we also studied a segment of "A Door Into Hindi," in which the main characters go to Murree, a town in the mountains.  Thus, I was able to learn some more vocab related to natural features of India, like "lake," "mountain," "winds," etc.  This also gave me some listening practice related to these weather/nature words!

I met again with with my language partner today and we did some pronunciation/listening practice by listening to a GLOSS segment on matrimonial ads.  These words were really hard to understand, even though one of my projects in MLC 105 was about colorism and utilized some of the main words (fair-skinned, colorism, etc).  Thus, after doing one activity, I switched to doing something a little more suited toward my level.  I wrote out a variety of words related to animals, since I had not studied them yet, and we then watched a Hindi story for kids on youtube about a stray dog who got a bone...and then saw his reflection in a river and dropped the bone because he thought it was another dog.  This story utilized some of the nature/weather words (river, water, etc) and then the animal words as well, so that was helpful!  I still need to re-write and memorize many of the words I learned in this story, however, because they were a bit tough!  This is a link to the Hindi story on YouTube: Hindi Aesop's Fables

It is quite interesting to examine attitudes about family in Indian culture.  In India, many young people live in multigenerational families, because the sense of respect towards the elderly is manifested by having the elderly live with their children/grandchildren as time passes.  There is also a very strong sense of reverence for the elderly -- often, children will make a gesture similar to touching the elderly's feet as a sign of respect.  Some Indian families in the US have kept these traditions, but others do not continue with these traditions.

Linguistically, when you greet a relative that is older than you, you must use the formal pronoun -- "aap" in Hindi, and the formal version of the verbs as well. 

There is also a large emphasis placed on having close family ties with relatives.  Unlike English, where "aunt" or "uncle" can mean any one of your aunts or uncles, Hindi has specific words denoting which aunt or which uncle.  It's interesting because it is definitely a lot to remember (like the words for dad's older brother and dad's younger brother are different...despite the fact that they are both your uncles!). 

In Hindi, the word bhaiya means older brother, and if a woman uses this while bargaining to purchase something or  when talking to a rickshaw driver about the price, it can help in the negotiations -- because it is basically like saying, "How dare you overcharge me when I see you as a big-brother type figure?"  However, the pronunciation is a little tricky, but it is definitely a word that could be helpful when trying to negotiate for a better price!! :) 

Here is my third Hindi artifact!  Since I had already described my family in Artifact #2, I decided to instead describe a photo I took with my friend while in India at the Golden Temple.  I utilized present tense, past tense, present progressive, post-positions (in front of, in, of, but, but still, on, etc), colors, and vocabulary related to sightseeing and the weather.  My Hindi description is below the photo, and the English translation is below the description in Hindi. 

Please note: Another way to write "Golden Temple" in Hindi is to utilize "half-consonant" sounds, so the phrase would be गोल्डन टेम्पल.  Just wanted to make sure both ways were included in my artifact! : )

Since this is towards the end of the semester, it is really amazing for me to look back at the past few months and think about how at the beginning of the semester, I had no knowledge of the Hindi alphabet or script at all!

Here is the photo I am describing:

Description in Hindi:

 English translation:

"Amritsar and the Golden Temple"

      In this photo, my friend Terren and I are in front of the Golden Temple.  It is a religious building that is in the city of Amritsar.  The Golden Temple is very old (ancient) but still it is very beautiful.  When we were there, the weather was really hot.  However, in the mornings, the weather is really nice.

    In this photo, Terren and I are wearing salwar kameez (a type of Indian dress).  The color of my salwar kameez was blue and white and the color of Terren's salwar kameez was purple.  The color of Terren's scarf (dupatta) was black.

    In the Golden Temple, we ate langar (where everyone eats together - communally - as equals...**a cultural experience that is difficult to translate into English).  On weekends/holidays, many people come to the Golden Temple (there are a lot of crowds). 

    In the city of Amritsar, we did some shopping.  We bought Punjabi shoes!  Punjabi shoes are beautiful but they cause pain in the feet.  The colors of my Punjabi shoes were red and black. 

   Seeing the Golden Temple was a lot of fun for both Terren and me!

Topic: Reflection on "How Immersion Helps to  Learn a Language" (NY Times Article)

I found the article "How Immersion Helps to Learn a Language" to be very fascinating!  Since I am majoring in biology, it is interesting to me to think about how scientific techniques, like electroencephalography (EEG), can provide us with an increased grasp of how we learn and remember language.  It was amazing that the immersion group displayed the full brain patterns of native speakers, and I think this might be in part because of the role of the brain in processing information like a native speaker would.  For instance, in German, when I would use the past perfect tense, the most important "action" verb would be at the end, so when I would listen to someone talk about their day, for instance, I would have to wait until the end of the sentence to actually understand what she was doing that day.  For instance, if I were to say: "Today at school I ate a sandwich," in German, the word order would be "Today at school [aux verb - in the form of "to have"] I a sandwich [main verb: ate]."  Thus, my brain would process the whole idea of the past differently, because I would wait a little longer, expectantly, to hear the crux of the sentence -- the verb.   With Hindi, I'm not so sure I have been learning through immersion.  I have been utilizing a variety of mediums, but towards the beginning, I really focused on "book" learning -- learning grammar, vocab, etc, through textbooks and some online resources.  However, now I feel that those aren't the parts of Hindi that I most remember.  I most remember what I supplemented with audio or video resources that were very culturally authentic, such as a public service announcement using health vocab or a Bollywood clip about family.  Thus, it is interesting how the brain really does utilize different mediums to learn, especially when you consider the role of neuroscience in assessing the brain's capabilities in language learning.

One of my friends who is interested in issues relating to gender and human rights is studying abroad in India, where she is studying Hindi as one of her courses. She told me that she dislikes studying Hindi because of its emphasis on gender-distinctive pronouns and verbs (The verb form for "he goes" would be different from the verb used in "she goes").  I never really thought about that before, and I think that these small details may influence the way we view gender relationships as well in society -- as a way to consider how linguistics influences the way our brain may process other details.  For instance, Sweden just brought about a new gender-neutral pronoun (Hen) to show sensitivity to people who do not identify themselves as either male or female.  "Hen" would be a gender-neutral pronoun instead of he (han in Swedish) and she (hon in Swedish).  It's interesting, but in light of the NY times article, do you think that linguistic interventions like these would actually change the way our brain processes societal relationships as well??  Here's a link to the article about Sweden's "linguistic intervention" --  Sweden's new gender-neutral pronoun

Reflection on "A Picture of Language" (NY Times article)

I found this NY Times article to be very interesting, as I have not read a lot about the history of teaching English grammar.  I thought S. W. Clark's idea of "analyzing sentences by turning them into pictures" was fascinating, because it was a completely different perspective on grammar -- specifically, parsing, which at the time, seemed to be characterized as very much rooted in memorization and recitation. I have never tried sentence diagramming in Hindi, but in the process of putting sentences together, I often have to consider the different word order and sentence structure in Hindi -- for instance, if I were to say "I am eating in my house," the word order in Hindi would be: "I in my house eating am."  It's difficult to remember the order of prepositions as well, especially when the sentences become more complex.  Thus, it might be a good idea to attempt sentence diagramming to think of word order in Hindi as more graphical, with the lines, bubbles, extensions, etc.  It seems to allow language learners a visual representation of the sentence structure, which would be helpful because (as we have studied) learning a language best occurs through a variety of mediums, such as visual  representation, auditory help, and more.  Although I never became very interested in sentence diagramming from previous experience in elementary/middle school, I think it might be a good idea to give it a try for learning Hindi.

There's another interesting blog about the history/background of sentence diagramming available here: A short personal and intellectual history of sentence diagramming

I also watched a really interesting TED talk about the relationship between language and humanity -- it was fascinating! I've also pasted it below.

Available here: http://www.ted.com/talks/mark_pagel_how_language_transformed_humanity.html

TED Talk by Mark Pagel: How language transformed humanity

Topic:  Reflection about the "Sociocultural Factors" reading

I really enjoyed the article "Sociocultural Factors," because it further emphasized to me the intricacies of learning about a culture while learning a language, as demonstrated in the quote: "The two are intricately interwoven so that one cannot separate the two without losing the significance of either language or culture" (189).  Although I agree with the author that it is critical to learn more about the worldviews associated with the culture that one is studying, it is just as important to note that language learners should take caution not to think in terms of stereotypes or overgeneralizing people from the culture they are studying.  One way to learn more about this would be for MLC 105 students to perhaps consider stereotypes associated with people from the culture they are studying, and then talk to people from the culture that disagree (or perhaps agree) with what the stereotypes represent. 

I really liked learning about anomie, which the author describes as "feelings of social uncertainty or dissatisfaction..a feeling of homelessness, where one feels neither bound firmly to one's native culture nor fully adapted to the second culture."  Interestingly, when I studied abroad in Germany, I felt a stronger sense of culture shock and anomie than when I studied abroad in India, where I did not know the language as well as I know German.  My experience can also be supported by the author's statement on p. 196: "Lambert's research supported the view that the strongest dose of anomie is experienced when linguistically, a person begins to master the foreign language."  Thus, just because a person can speak the second language at an advanced level, it does not always mean that they consider themselves as firmly rooted in the second culture -- it really is a transition.

   I also found it interesting to learn about how sociocultural factors influence language policy and the "English only" debate in the US.  These debates seem, on the surface, to only be about learning a language, but on a deeper level, not learning other languages often results in the "ultimate devaluing of minority languages and cultures" (208).  I also found the topic of framing to be interesting because of the way language is even framed in political debate!

The topic for my cultural project was "Caste and Health in India."  Specifically, I studied the role of caste in influencing the health of Dalit communities in India.  I became interested in this topic because of my experiences in India and seeing first-hand the ways in which caste continues to shape access to quality healthcare, particularly for women in Dalit communities -- who must not only overcome obstacles presented by caste and class, but also obstacles related to gender.  It is astounding to me that a system like this continues to persist, even after it has officially been abolished-- but it is still present and is still strongly influenced by culture (and the effects of the system continue to affect Indian culture as well by further reinforcing the "cycle" of the caste system).  Thus, by doing this project, I began to see culture as very multidimensional and ever-changing, as we have discussed in MLC 105. 

I started out by first connecting caste & health to my learning goals.  Since I am interested in global health & human rights and specifically hope to practice medicine in some context in India, I wanted to learn Hindi as a tool to communicate in a medical/public health setting.  Maternal health in particular would be interesting because it involves the sensitive topics of gender, caste, and class, and it also provided me with the opportunity to learn very multifaceted vocabulary.  I then spoke about the importance of this topic and put caste into a more personal context (imagine your life being defined by 1 word -  the caste into which you were born).  I then provided more background information about the religious context of caste and what the 4 castes + "outcasts" were.

I then transitioned into discussing perspectives of caste in contemporary Indian culture.  Although caste was abolished in 1950, there are still MANY incidents in which Dalits are ignored, insulted, banned, or shunned, etc.  I then used case studies (news articles from Feb/March 2012) and photographs to discuss this issue.  I then spoke about Dalit women, who face a triple burden of caste, class, and gender.  In this context, I spoke about how health is shaped by sociocultural and socioeconomic influences -- which can be seen through MMR (maternal mortality ratios) statistics in different countries.  In US, the MMR = 13 (13/100,000 women die in childbirth).  But in India, the MMR = 254, and for Dalit women, the MMR = 560 (560/100,000 women die in childbirth), which is extremely high. I then talked about the cultural reasons relating to health that could account for these high MMR statistics.  I also included a Public Service Announcement relating to maternal health that students could watch on their own time -- available here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FotGYKjHw50 .  I ended by reflecting on what I had learned from this cultural presentation, and also includeda list of vocab that I learned while creating this cultural presentation.

Here is my cultural presentation (I had to convert the PowerPoint file into a PDF):  PDF version of Cultural Presentation

Here is a great video (in Hindi) related to Dalit inequality that I watched to learn more about these issues: Dalit Reality - Health in Bihar

Here is the vocabulary I learned and utilized to further my knowledge about the issues of caste and health in India:

     During this past week, I focused on learning how to tell time, utilizing expressions like half an hour after __, etc.  I also learned the numbers (up to 25), months, and days of the week. 

     In my meetings with my language partner, she helped me correct and review my vocab/sentence-making drills from one of the textbooks I am utilizing "Elementary Hindi Grammar" (by Dr Usha Jain).  This was helpful in providing me with reading practice and with some more grammar practice, since I have been focusing a lot on vocabulary, listening, and pronunciation. 

     I also did another major activity from the GLOSS website's Foreign Language Center.  This activity was called "The Trip," and it provided me with practice in listening and reading words related to time and numbers, as well as modes of transportation within India.  This was helpful because as someone who wants to travel to India, I definitely need to be able to know words for "taxi," "car," "bus," etc.  Many of the Hindi words are similar to what would be used in English -- "auto = car," etc, but there are also "pure Hindi" words for each of them.

     In my meeting with my language partner, we also did a major content activity from "A Door Into Hindi."  Since each activity has a video segment, followed by a grammar and vocab review, and then with exercises and a final quiz, it provides a lot of ways for me to check my progress on a certain topic.  This time, we listened to the episode called "Delhi," which was about a man visiting one of his friends in New Delhi, and they go sight-seeing, utilizing expressions related to travel, tourism, and time expressions (here is the link: http://taj.chass.ncsu.edu/Hindi.Less.05/index.html).  Since this website's exercises are in actual Hindi script, it helps me to practice the letters once again. It is still difficult to remember certain letters that look extremely similar, but I am working on it.  When I meet with my language partner and we go over vocab, she will say the word aloud, and I have to spell it out in my notebook, so it forces me to remember the distinctions between certain sounds and letters. 

During this past week, I met with my language partner twice (as usual) and my focus this week was learning about how to tell time and how to utilize health-related vocabulary.  Since the topic of health is quite broad, I focused on learning vocabulary for body parts and common diseases.  To accomplish this, my language partner and I reviewed those vocabulary expressions and I then did a listening and reading activity on the GLOSS Foreign Language Center's website.  The activity was called "Your Health: Learning How to Deal with Health-Related Problems."  I was able to recognize the phrases in the audio segment well, but reading the passage related to health took me a really long time, so it was a bit disheartening...however, it did remind me, once again, that language learning is a process.  It took me a long time to recognize visually the new words for health, so on my own time, I made flashcards for those words. 

I also attempted to listen/watch a video segment related to health that showed a healthcare provider in the process of diagnosing a patient in a clinic in India.  The video segment was produced by the Hindi-Urdu Flagship Program at the University of Texas, and it was from the website "Hindi-Urdu Language for Health" (also created by the University of Texas).  Listening to the healthcare provider's diagnosis was really difficult because it was not meant for those who are learners -- she would use a different dialect (as would the patient), and it was a struggle for me to understand ALL of what they were saying.  However, I did recognize key expressions and the new phrases that I learned, so that was definitely a positive experience for me.  Here is the website for Hindi-Urdu Health, in case anyone is interested: http://www.hindiurduhealth.org/

During this past week, I worked on creating my second artifact for Hindi, which was in two parts.  In the first part, I video-taped a conversation that I had with my language partner about identity, family, and some of her favorite foods -- basically a culmination of what I had learned in the past few weeks (I had just begun to learn foods, however).  She also asked me questions about myself, my sister, and basically just about our lives.

For the second part of my artifact, I wrote out questions that I thought would be good conversation-starters to discuss identity, and I also wrote a paragraph about my family and described them. (Please see blog entry entitled "Hindi Artifact #2" for my artifact).

During this past week, I also did two lessons from the GLOSS Foreign Language Center's website.  One was called "The Meeting: A Casual Conversation on the Street," and it provided reading/vocab practice for getting to know a stranger.  The second lesson was "To My Grandmother," and it was about a letter written to one's grandmother.  This activity gave me reading/writing practice with learning the different family relationship vocabulary, as well as expressions that are related to respect (especially respecting those who are older).  

Attitudes about time in India are incredibly interesting!  Growing up, my parents would always joke about "Indian standard time" whenever we would leave to attend an Indian function that was supposed to start at 6...and didn't end up starting until 7:30.   In India, many people view time in a relaxed way -- as something that does not have to be strictly adhered to, such as an "appointment at 7:15 pm," for instance.  This attitude can even be seen in just observing the way people live life in India.  Often, you will see neighbors or friends sitting outside and having tea, or hanging out at the nearby tea/fruit juice stand, as though the time passing by didn't matter at all -- after all, they are enjoying the time with a close friend.  At first, I liked this attitude because I felt as though it provided people with a sense of appreciation for the "little things" in life -- dinner with family, drinking tea with a friend, and more. 

However, after I spent more time in India, I honestly became somewhat frustrated by these attitudes, because I felt as though things would run a lot more smoothly if they ran on time.  For example, during a vacation with my friend, I had to leave a day earlier to go back to our home city.  I asked the hotel staff to arrange a taxi for me at 8:15 am (my train left at 9:30 am, and the train station was literally a 10-minute drive away -- but it was raining immensely).  I figured that I would be at the station an hour in advance at most -- and considering "Indian Standard Time," I wanted to be safe rather than sorry.  The next morning, 8:30 passed, and there was no sign of the taxi. 8:45 -- no taxi.  I make sure that the hotel staff called the taxi driver.  9:00 -- the taxi driver comes...45 minutes late!  Since it was monsoon season, there was a huge downpour and a LOT of traffic, especially in the mountains (where I was) -- making our normally 10-minute drive about 25 minutes.  I get to the train station at 9:27 am and sprint to my train...just in the nick of time.  Although it sounds fine now, it was terrible because I was incredibly worried about the time AND my own safety in a car that was driving fast along very slippery roads!

Thus, although Indian attitudes about time aren't always the same as my personal preferences of being on time (or at least 5 minutes early :) ), I've come to realize that sometimes, it's best to just accept differences as intricacies of the culture, and move on...and attempt to be early. :)

Topic: Reflect on "Culture Shock"

I really enjoyed watching "Culture Shock," because the film gave me a chance to see UR and American customs through the lens  of someone who might not be quite familiar with certain parts of American culture.  I thought it was very interesting especially to see how others might view body language or certain American expressions -- things that I had never really thought about before because I was born and raised in Virginia.  For instance, one female student remarked that hearing the phrase "The movie was nice..." was different from "The movie was awesome!" and she utilized that difference as a way to explain how frustrating it was when Americans would not directly criticize the movie, but would implicitly remark upon it by saying it was just "nice" (with a particular tone). 

As a student who has studied abroad, the film also reminded me of my own experiences in India, especially when one of the speakers talked about the different phases of adjusting to a different culture, like the "honeymoon phase" or even when a person talks with other foreigners about how life "over there" is better than what they are currently experiencing.  For instance, I remember a particularly bad day in India where it just felt as though everything was going wrong -- I couldn't buy a train ticket without being rerouted to five different people, I couldn't figure out how to bargain for something, and people expected me to know how to speak the local language.  Often, talking to a friend is the best thing to do, or even just being busy and knowing that the day will pass -- just as one of the female students said when she talked about her first few days at UR, filled with orientation activities.

I also found it interesting to listen to how students adjust to the American college system, particularly at UR -- especially if their home country or home institution has a culture in which quietness and acceptance are values that are emphasized, rather than free discussion. 

I do wonder how UR students could help make the process of cultural adjustment easier for international students.  Maybe we could have some type of volunteer program to help ease the transition?

Hello!

My second artifact is in 2 parts.  The first part is a videotaped conversation between me and my language partner.  I am asking her questions about her identity, hobbies, family, and background.  She is, in return, asking me questions about myself/my family as well.  Before our conversation, I came up with ideas for questions (based on what I have learned from "Teach Yourself Hindi" and "A Door into Hindi") to ask someone about their life (hobbies, favorite food, etc), and I scanned the page in.

The second part of my artifact is a written description of myself and my family  members, including their hobbies, favorite food, etc.  I also recorded a similar description to this in the attached file.

The audio link: Hindi Artifact 2, Part 2 -- Describing Others

The text: (says Description of My Family at the top)