Today’s Student spotlight features Halima Bibi

– blog post by Inês Bernardo Catarino, FLTA-LTS

Tell us a bit about yourself and your background!

Hi, I am Halima and I am an international student from Pakistan. I grew up speaking Punjabi and Urdu as my first languages. English and Arabic are my second languages. From childhood to early young age, I kept sketching many to-be versions of my future life i.e., at times, engineer or pilot and other times, doctor or teacher. In college, when everyone else around was expecting me to go to medical school, I decided to major in English. I was driven by my passion for literature and languages. It’s been more than six years since I started my professional career as an English language teacher in 2017.

And what brought you to language teaching? 

What convinced me to be a teacher, especially a language teacher, is a story!

Growing up in Pakistan, I witnessed the rich linguistic diversity in the country and was intrigued to know the impact of learning languages, especially when I realized that local languages are often backgrounded while English takes center stage. My undergrad was a conscious decision to understand these disparities but subconsciously I was (maybe) in the pursuit of “English success”. However, I went eye to eye with this topic in my undergrad dissertation, using a postcolonial lens to understand how far societies can go with the imposition of English as a dominant language/culture, giving rise to issues like cultural and identity conflicts. My teaching experience revealed more of this to me! However, as an English Language instructor I felt in conflict with my language ideologies. I did not hesitate when I found an opportunity to teach my national language (Urdu) in the US through the Fulbright program. I joined UO as a Fulbright Foreign Language Teacher of Urdu in 2022 and worked closely with Professor Harinder Khalsa in a self-study language program at Yamada Language Center. Through teaching for a self-study language program, I reimagined my teaching possibilities and was inspired to see the sky as my limit.

Why UO?

My Fulbright experience convinced me to continue my grad school in the US, and then when UO accepted me with an ICSP scholarship, I set aside my other options and ran to LTS!

What have some of your past experiences been with language teaching? Do you have any specifically fond memories?

Teaching, for me, started very early in life. I was raised and brought up by very progressive parents who instilled a realization in me that education is a matter of privilege for so many in this world. If someone has the privilege, it must be shared and celebrated together. I was privileged to sit in urban classrooms, so I was advised to share my learning experience selflessly with those either deprived of education or devoid of urban educational facilities. From one-student classrooms to anywhere possible to anyone deprived of this opportunity and identified in the community, I fondly remember myself on a teaching hunt since my high school days. Most of the time, it was English and Urdu that I taught; little did I know that it would add up to my language-teaching story. Also, my first professional teaching experience as an English Instructor at my alma mater will always stand as a foundation for me; that was where I started learning how to teach language.

What has been the highlight of your time in the program so far?

Oh, I must pick up a highlight!

I recently started working with Professor Keli Yerian on an Open Pedagogy Project and we are creating an online Pressbook with a team of students. The relatively new pedagogical approach reimagines the roles of teacher and student and makes the learning experience more collaborative, accessible, and transparent. Long story short, it is not just a project; it is a lifetime learning adventure!

Also, when I recall my Talking with Ducks class with all my classmates and supervisor, Professor Trish Pashby, I have a big ear-to-ear smile on my face. A unique learning experience, it was!

How do you hope to work in the language teaching field in the future?

I see myself working for the regional languages of Pakistan in the future by bringing theory and practice together. I aim to work with fellow educators to initiate projects that ensure the preservation of local languages.

A fun fact about yourself that others may not know.

I am a Potterhead! I can watch Harry Potter anytime any place. Gryffindor reporting this side!