This summer thousands of students are attending short-term language-learning programs in educational
This summer thousands of students are attending short-term language-learning programs in educational institutions throughout the United States. Branded as STARTALK, these programs are typically held for two to three weeks and are designed to engage language learners in a variety of activities that integrate culture and content. The programs are geared toward developing long-term interest among participants in learning a foreign language of the East; Hindi being one of them.
STARTALK is part of the National Security Language Initiative that categorizes Hindi as a critical-need foreign language.
The initiative seeks to expand and improve the teaching and learning of strategically important world languages that are not now widely taught in the U.S. The mission of the program is to increase the number of Americans learning, speaking and teaching languages such as Hindi. It is designed to achieve the goal of exemplifying best practices in language education and teacher development.
Hindi is a growing language in India and around the world, with an increasing number of students and adults learning it in the U.S. This is largely because India occupies an important place in international trade and commerce.
“I firmly believe that businesses can benefit if they communicate with their customers in their language,” says Narendra Prasad, chief of U.S. operations for the Bank of India. “English is no doubt necessary for routine operation, but we shouldn’t ignore the fact that Hindi is spoken in millions of homes around the world.”
Millions of Indians living in the U.S. can speak or understand Hindi. A growing number of schools and colleges in the country have launched Hindi courses in recent years. In addition, scores of afterschool and Sunday Hindi programs are run by community and nonprofit groups.
“There is a growing interest in Hindi among the younger generation,” says Dr. Herman van Olphen, a Hindi scholar and retired professor of the University of Texas, Austin.
“More and more people are reading Hindi newspapers and watching Bollywood movies. The phenomenal growth of Hindi television channels (in India and the U.S.) reflects the popularity of the language,” he said in an interview with this author.
Van Olphen was instrumental in initiating the Hindi Urdu Flagship program at UT-Austin that requires Hindi students to study in India for one full year.
Modern standard Hindi is an official language of India along with English. Among the 22 major national languages listed in India’s constitution, Hindi is the most widely spoken language in the country. According to the 2001 Census of India, approximately 50 percent of the people of India speak Hindi (or its regional varieties) as their first or second language.
International businesses operating in India need employees who are proficient in Hindi and the Indian culture. The Hindi-speaking population is a very important market for consumer products.
The demand to speak Hindi has grown by 50 percent in the last eight years, according to Hindi instructor Chandra Bhushan Pandey. Hindi is a tool for effectively communicating and taking part in local activities for Western visitors to India.
“The Indian American community has a strong presence in the United States, especially in New Jersey. It is sensible to introduce Hindi in academic curriculum of educational institutions,” says Upendra Chivukula, New Jersey State Assemblyman.
Another institution that has played a leading role in language learning initiatives is the Department of South Asia Studies of the University of Pennsylvania. It hosts a series of teaching and learning programs targeting a variety of South Asian languages, including Hindi and Urdu. “The department provides rich resources for studies of South Asian languages, including Sanskrit, Bengali, Punjabi, and Urdu,” said Vijay Gambhir, who retired from University of Pennsylvania after decades of teaching Hindi.
Gambhir and her husband, Surendra, also a retired UPenn professor and an advisor for STARTALK programs, have groomed an impressive corps of teachers and students who are working in various institutions and community initiatives throughout the U.S. Surendra Gambhir also inspired the formation of Yuva Hindi Sansthan, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting Hindi in educational institutions.
Programs such as STARTALK are building a community of teachers who are engaged in helping the younger generation of heritage students learn their native language and familiarize non-heritage learners with a foreign language that is spoken in the local community.
The U.S government is creating new opportunities for Hindi teachers and learners that will lead to promoting the language in the U.S., said Surendra Gambhir. “It is a wonderful opportunity for the Indian American community to take advantage of government initiatives and campaign for teaching Hindi in private and public schools,” he commented.
“Our community should support initiatives such as STARTALK, and motivate the younger generation to learn Hindi and take an active part in our cultural activities,” said Surendra Gambhir. “Hindi can achieve its deserving status in our educational system with the active support of our community.”