(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Marivie Alabanza |
The Peninsula online
Doha: Ivy League university Harvard recently made history by hiring its very first Filipino language instructor. This move followed the university's earlier announcement of introducing Filipino (Tagalog) as a new language course this year.
In an announcement via their website, Harvard revealed that Lady Aileen Orsal, a former faculty member at Cavite State University in the Philippines, had been selected to Teach elementary and intermediate Tagalog courses for Fall 2023, which begins September.
Orsal's hiring marks the first time the Filipino language will be taught in Harvard's 400-year history.
According to Harvard, the move is significant, as Filipino is currently the fourth most spoken language in the United States, following English, Spanish, and Chinese.
To support Orsal in her new role, she has been allocated a budget of $1 million (approximately QR3.6 million or almost 57 million in Philippine peso), and is expected to teach at the university in Massachusetts for a duration of three to five years.
The Director of Harvard University's Asia Center, James Robson, praised Orsal as a dedicated, creative, and effective teacher who is "committed to being a leader in Filipino language pedagogy."
Robson expressed his hopes that the new Filipino course would generate interest and support for the study of Southeast Asian languages in general.
He stated, "What I'm hoping is that if we can demonstrate that there's demand for these languages and students show up and are excited about it, then hopefully we can also use this to convince the administration to further support Southeast Asian studies generally and language instruction in particular."
Before joining Harvard, Orsal worked as a teaching assistant for introductory and intermediate-level Filipino courses at Northern Illinois University in 2018, as part of the Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant program.
Notably, she is currently pursuing both an M.A. in Communication at the same university and a Ph.D. in Philippine Studies at De La Salle University in the Philippines, further solidifying her expertise in the field.
Harvard's decision to include Tagalog as a new language course has been met with enthusiastic anticipation. The Harvard University Asia Center also announced new language courses for BahIndonesia, while a preceptor is yet to be hired for Thai language course, which is currently offered as part of a tutorial program.
These new language courses signify Harvard's commitment to promoting diversity and inclusivity in its academic offerings.