Hi, everybody! My name is Inês Bernardo Catarino and I am from Portugal. I assist in teaching Portuguese classes at the University of Oregon. In this special post I am interviewing this year’s Fulbright Foreign Language Teacher Assistants (FLTAs). They are hosted by the Yamada Language Center (YLC) and the LTS MA program. There are 5 FLTAs this year in 2023-24, including me, who teach different languages. 

– blog post by Inês Bernardo Catarino, FLTA-LTS

How would you describe your role in YLC and at UO? What kind of classes and students do you work with? 

Derrick teaching a Swahili class

Derrick: I began as a teaching assistant (GE) for the Swahili classes mostly. Afterwards, I started to teach Swahili classes once a week. I am also in charge of the Swahili Circle on Fridays, and I also assist in the grading of the aforementioned classes.  

Kesma during the FLTA Fulbright Conference in Washington, D.C.

Kesma: Hello. My name is Kesma Elzanaty. I am from Cairo, Egypt. I was honored to receive a Fulbright grant to come to the U of O and work as an Arabic teaching assistant. I have been working for the Religious Studies Department carrying out TA and teaching duties. The Arabic language seems to be sought after by different kinds of students such as heritage speakers, newly Muslim people who seek being able to read Qur’an in its authentic language, students majoring in Global Studies and students who are mostly interested in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region and the language spoken there. Also, I am finding joy and pride in conversing with students through the conversation session I have been leading and seeing how students are really passionate about speaking Arabic and seeking mastery in it. Even though I don’t work directly with YLC, it has provided a great support in facilitating cultural events that give students of Arabic more exposure to the Arabic language and culture.  

Ines, Derrick and Sohaib at the Portland Art Museum

Sohaib: I am a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant at Yamada Language Center UO but working as a primary instructor for Urdu and Hindi. I teach these languages in the Self Study Language Program of YLC and organize cultural events to give students and other people an enriching experience of cultural diversity. I’m also a member of the Disability Advocacy Committee in the Accessible Education Center in which I advocate for the rights and inclusion of students with disabilities on campus. I’m also part of the International Cultural Service Program in which I give presentations about my country, region and culture in schools and other community events.  I have small classes with mostly heritage learners who want to improve Urdu/Hindi to connect back with their families in Pakistan/India. Other students are interested in traveling or knowing more about that region as that part of the world has vibrant and colorful culture and history.  

Ines, Sohaib and Esma in Washington, D.C.

Esma: I have been teaching Turkish as the primary instructor in the Yamada Language Center as a Fulbright Foreign Language Assistant. I also organize cultural events and lead conversation sessions. Turkish is one of the Less Commonly Taught Languages in the U.S., and the courses are offered by the Self Study Language Program. I prepare lesson plans and outlines according to the interests of the students. They fill out a survey stating what they would like to learn, and we design the course accordingly. My students are heritage Turkish speakers who would like to improve their speaking skills, native English speakers who are interested in Turkish language and culture, and academics who would like to improve their translation and writing abilities.

Coming to Eugene was a big move for all of us! Personally, I have enjoyed the nature and the sunny Spring weather, and was positively surprised with how people here are so friendly and kind! What about you? What have you enjoyed most about living in Eugene? Has anything surprised you?  

Derrick: Eugene is a serene and peaceful environment with friendly people. The weather has not been as extreme as I anticipated. 

Kesma: Living in Eugene has been a fantastic experience in terms of the charming natural landscapes Eugene is filled with. It has been a relaxing experience indeed! I guess it is hard for someone living in this green spot of the world to get any negative energy. Nevertheless, what was surprising for me is how hard it has been to find good food in Eugene. This forced me to buy groceries and cook my own food, and fail miserably at it LOL! 

Kesma Enjoying the Winter

Sohaib: Eugene is an amazing place with a lot of opportunities to be closer to mother nature and appreciate her. Its beautiful hiking trails, scenic waterfalls and lush green forest are mind-blowing and I cannot stop myself from appreciating its amazing weather. Here life seems slow, and I think almost stops with the sunset.😊 

Esma and Ines at Halloween during pumpkin-carving

Esma: I love the forest and hiking! There are so many places where I find peace in nature. I didn’t know I enjoyed outdoor activities before coming here. I tried so many new things I haven’t done before. I started archery, cycling, fishing and camping. Also, people here are super friendly and helpful. I didn’t have any difficulty adjusting to the environment. Whenever I had a problem, there was someone to help.  

Personally, I view language teaching as a great opportunity to help students become more confident expressing themselves in the target language and culture. Learning a language can be challenging, so seeing my students’ efforts makes me incredibly proud of them, and also of my work! What would you say is most rewarding and important about language teaching? 

Derrick: What is rewarding about language teaching is helping my learners make use of the language I am teaching them. And to see them improving in every meeting. 

Kesma co-hosting a cultural event at the YLC

Kesma: I would definitely say that being able to inspire a passionate student to learn your own culture and language has been the most rewarding thing for me. It is worth seeing myself making a difference in these students’ lives.  

Sohaib: Language teaching is rewarding and amazing at the same time. When you see your students unfolding the mysteries of a new language and appreciating the cultural differences, it feels like languages are a source of creating appreciation for diversity in the world. Language teaching provides me with a chance to take my students from the unknown to a known world where every difference is appreciable and lovable. The most rewarding thing in this job is when your student tells you that they are better able to connect with their families after learning the language.  

Esma: I feel so proud when I see my students speaking Turkish, taking their knowledge beyond the classroom, attending extracurricular cultural activities, and become culture representatives themselves. I think this is the most rewarding part about language teaching.

Esma and her supervisor, Professor Harinder

Post prepared by Emma Synder, current LTS student

It’s Spring in Oregon and that means the sun and hail are taking turns ushering in a new term at UO! Congratulations to our students in LTS on another term finished. We’re ready for another great term to come!

This month’s student spotlight is Madi Collins. Welcome, Madi! Please, tell us a bit about yourself.

Madi working with a small group of English language students

I’m a student in the 15-month LTS program, and I’m set to graduate in August this year! I’ve lived most of my life in Oregon and found my love for language and language learning in high school when I started taking Japanese classes. Since then, I’ve been expanding my own language knowledge by continuing my study of Japanese while also adding some Ichishkíin and Korean to my linguistic repertoire. My main interests outside of working on growing my own understanding of languages and teaching lie in language revitalization, language change and pragmatics. 

That is quite an impressive repertoire of languages! Have you always been interested in language learning, then? What brought you to the LTS program? To UO?

Originally, I started at the UO in 2018 and graduated in 2022 with my BA in Linguistics. My experiences in the linguistics department at the UO eventually led me to the Center for Applied Second Language Studies (CASLS) where my passion for curriculum development and effective language pedagogy started to grow. This was also paired with the opportunity that I had to take Ichishkíin classes at the UO which helped me to gain more perspectives into language experiences in our society and further intensified my passion for language pedagogy and creating accessible learning spaces and materials for learners of all languages. The LTS program has provided me with opportunities to dig into these passions and uncover further questions and answers to my ideas and has helped me grow even more in my understanding of pedagogy and appropriate, effective approaches to material development. 

Madi leading a session in the Talking with Ducks class

It sounds like you have had some incredible experiences at UO so far! Have you had many past experiences with language teaching? Do you have any especially fond memories?

I honestly don’t have much experience with language teaching, and my first experience happened in the fall term of this program in LT 537! This class was a conversations class that was collaboratively led by LTS and UO undergraduate students at the American English Institute (AEI). Collaborating with my peers on lesson plans and working with all 40 of the students really confirmed my pursuit of language teaching and reassured me that I wanted to continue teaching and engaging with students. We would create conversation topics and games for students to play with the language during class, and these class sessions were really fun for both me as an instructor and participant and the students. This class was overall a very positive experience for both myself and the AEI students, and I think of it very fondly as one of my first teaching experiences. 

LT 537 has certainly been a crowd favorite with our cohort, for sure! What have been some other highlights of the program for you?

I think that a highlight of my time within the program so far has been the supportive community within the LTS program. My peers continue to amaze and impress me with the work that we create inside and outside of class, and I really value all of the feedback that I’m able to get from them about my own projects and ideas! So I would say that working with my peers has definitely been a highlight in the program, and it’s so fun watching all of us grow!

The cohort community has certainly been wonderful. Now that you are moving toward the end of your time in the LTS program, what are your plans for the future? How do you hope to work in the teaching field?

Madi shows a green thumb!

Based on my past experiences and experiences within the program, I hope to be able to create accessible language curriculum and materials for learners of any languages, but I am especially interested in creating accessible materials for LCTLs (less commonly taught languages). Online spaces are only continuing to grow in their potential for language learning, and I think that using this space to deliver language resources in culturally appropriate ways would greatly help to support learners of LCTLs and other disadvantaged languages. I hope to be able to use my skills in language teaching, linguistics, and pedagogical theory as a tool of support to communities looking to use online spaces for language learning. 

Outside of language learning, I enjoy caring for my houseplants! I started growing a ZZ plant, an umbrella tree and a rhaphidophora tetrasperma in 2020, and while some of these plants have gone to different homes or not made it through the winter, my tetrasperma is now as tall as me! I love taking some time each week to check in on, prune and water my plants, and I love having my plants in my living space! When I find a more permanent place to live I plan on building a greenhouse for even more plants and hopefully some vegetables!

This term in LT 436/536, we wrote a few paragraphs about why we love language as part of a class exercise on how to incorporate process writing and genre awareness into writing instruction. We’re publishing them here so that we could write for a real audience.

Hermya & Aissa 

Learning a second language comes with many challenges, such as communicating with native speakers, learning new writing systems and coping with cultural differences. But these challenges are also opportunities for growth. As an English teacher in Japan, Aissa pushed herself to learn Japanese including all three Japanese writing systems so she can help her co-workers with everyday tasks. By doing this, she was able to develop better relationships with them and learned how to become a better team player along the way. Similarly, Hermya’s experience learning Japanese developed her life goals. She became an exchange student in high school to Japan, and now she loves to study Japanese on her own, and plans to teach there after graduation. We both saw the impact language learning has on our lives and relationships and how it contributed to our personal growth, which led us to a love of language learning.

Cameron & Keli 

For us, the beauty of language drives our interest and love for it. One thing that we find amazing is the puzzling nature of language and how it feels like discovering a new secret code. Different languages can provide us with very different structures that give us new perspectives on communication including grammar, sound systems, and pragmatics. 

For example, English has subjects and objects, but other languages like Abawiri structure information by reference, using topics and focus to order words. Sound systems differ so much throughout the world’s languages; learning to discover meaning with sounds we’re using for the first time creates unique exciting experiences we would never otherwise get to enjoy. Wolof, for example, has a single and double consonant system that creates entirely new meanings out of what seem to be imperceptible differences in pronunciation. Although we also find the cultural experiences and opportunities fascinating, originally the linguistic aspects of language are what drove us to pursue language learning and teaching. 

Yueyuan 

Culture affects our core traditions and values and how we communicate with others in society, and language makes communication easy. It is out of curiosity about different cultures that I have developed a strong interest in other languages when I enjoy watching foreign TV shows and movies such as Supernatural, Marvel series, Naruto. Other cultures are fascinating from so many aspects, such as art, music, literature, the ways people think. To learn more about them, we need the language to communicate. For example, English and Chinese have different perceptions and attitudes towards time. In English culture, time flows linearly and moves continuously, from the past to the present, to the future, while Chinese is not so complicated, and there is often no need for precise descriptions of when an action occurs. Culture and language are intertwined, and we cannot separate them. 

Meije 

For me, the aspects of language, and more specifically Spanish, that I am enamored with are more culture-related. I love how Spanish is spoken by different communities all over the world, and that there’s a cohesive Spanish-speaking community as well (a culture just associated with using and speaking Spanish). I really love the micro and macro levels of language reflected by and within communities, such as the phonetical elements that display references to people and places through accents. In addition to accents, I am also intrigued by linguistical elements that are affected by history such as the creation/change of colloquialisms. Additionally, I really admire the aligning target cultures within Spanish-speaking communities. I especially am interested in how the target cultures are quite interdisciplinary, especially in regard to art, politics, and, religion. In reflection on these ideas, and aspects of Spanish related to culture and language, I have found myself finding new ways of expressing myself through the process of learning and implementing Spanish in my daily life. I have so much respect and admiration for and toward the Spanish-speaking community and I feel very honored to be a small part of it.  

Anne is a current student in the LTS program.

Exploring the Real Alcazar gardens in Seville during my semester abroad in 2019

Hello Anne! Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background.

Hi! I’m originally from Eugene—I moved away for college and graduated from Linfield University last spring with a B.A. in journalism and Spanish. And now I’m back! I have realized how much I missed the local hiking trails, boba places, and the Trader Joe’s in Eugene.

Paddle boarding near Bend, OR, last summer

You are really interested in the context of teaching in Spain. What experiences or interests have influenced you about this context?

I studied abroad in Seville, Spain, during my junior year of college, and felt like I just clicked with the people I met and way of life there. I had some informal English tutoring and teaching opportunities that first interested me in language teaching. Until that point, I was pretty much set on a career in public relations, but the more I considered it, the more I felt that language teaching better suited me. I also became friends with some teachers from Seville, so I got to hear about teaching in Spain from their perspectives and consider what that type of experience could look like for me.

What are you working on for your LTS MA project? How is it related to your possible goals in Spain?

My project is a set of materials for a third grade EFL course in a K-12 school in Spain. The course highlights the cultures and language features of five different English-speaking regions around the world. I chose to focus on this particular teaching context because it is one I can realistically see myself teaching in. Although I’m able to be more creative for my MA project, I hope to be able to adapt these materials for a real third grade class in Spain.

Visiting castle ruins in Trujillo

What is most interesting to you about being a language teacher?

I find language learning to be highly frustrating yet highly rewarding. It is always worth it to help students persist through difficult areas so that they can arrive at the breakthrough moments. I get secondhand excitement from students who excite themselves with their newfound understanding of a concept or increased confidence when using the language.

What do you think might be most challenging? How does your project possibly help you think about those challenges?

A challenge I have been exploring since beginning the LTS program is how English as a second or foreign language should be presented. A language spoken by so many different people in different areas of the world has both benefits and challenges. Since I believe language should be presented in a way that is most accurate and best prepares learners to use it in real life, figuring out which varieties, dialects, and regions to focus on is a huge challenge for a language used by so many. My project aims to offer an introduction to World Englishes beyond what is typically offered in Spanish EFL courses.

What is a fun fact about yourself that others may not know yet?

This winter and spring, I have been training for my first marathon. I’m somewhat new to running, so the training has been a lot to say the least. Luckily, I have found that Eugene has a very welcoming running community, so it’s been easy to meet fellow runners. Friends make everything—including long runs—much better!

Post-race llama photo-op after completing my first half-marathon last October

Ailsa and her cat “Soymilk”

Ailsa is a current LTS student on the two-year schedule  and is at the beginning of her second year of study. 

Hello Ailsa! Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background.

Hello everyone! I’m Ailsa Li, a native speaker of Chinese who was born in Hebei province in China. Probably not many people have heard about my hometown, but it’s located in the northern part of China and is close to Beijing. 

I came here as an international student for my undergraduate degree 6 years ago. I was originally enrolled in the Economics department and minoring in Business at UO for my first two years. Although these are popular majors for many Asian students, I finally decided to quit due to my terrible calculation skills (what’s a shame!). But more essentially, I realized Economics is not the true interest for my whole life. Later I started learning Japanese and it was the most memorable experience that I personally enjoyed throughout my undergraduate studies (I will talk more about it in the next question). Finally I achieved a double major in both Japanese and General Social Science 2 years ago, and now I’m one of the grad students in the LTS program! 

For leisure time, one of my favorite hobbies is trying out cooking recipes of different cultures. I believe cooking is an amazing strategy to release stress and train patience. Also you can have a real taste for the little success! I also have a cat named “Soymilk”, she is my best “friend” but also the most annoying “roommate”! She likes staring at me or sleeping on my desk when I am working or studying. But deep down in my heart, I am really thankful that Soymilk has always accompanied me, especially during the pandemic when everyone had a tough time connecting with others. 

What made you interested in studying language education?

Here I’ll continue with my Japanese learning experience in UO. I was going into this cold; I had zero experience in learning Japanese except occasionally watching Japanese TV shows, and I needed elective credits at that time so my friends recommended that I take Japanese classes. I wasn’t very confident for the first couple days of starting Japanese class, but soon I realized I did a better job than I expected. To be honest, the main reason for me to choose a Japanese major is that all the professors I met are real experts in teaching. As a student, I could feel their contagious enthusiasm in every single class. I was learning the language with fun, and I still had the passion to learn Japanese after I graduated.

Soon I started thinking about the importance of a teacher’s role in language class. It reminded me of the English learning experience of TOEFL classes in China. I understand most extracurricular English courses are score-driven programs in many countries, and China is not an exception. But I still remember how stressful and tedious the class was. I questioned myself a lot during that period because of my shifting TOEFL test scores. Comparing  these two completely contrary language learning experiences, I was curious about becoming a language teacher who could make language courses more enjoyable and delightful. Now, I’m stepping on that path. 

A beautiful sunset in Eugene

What has been most interesting or motivating for you as an international student living in Oregon? What advice would you give other international students interested in LTS?

Eugene is a relatively small town but it has a mixed urban and suburban environment. You can enjoy a very peaceful life surrounded by plenty of greenery. Walking through campus, you can feel the changing of the four seasons by observing the colors of tree leaves, smelling the breeze and feeling the rain. Oregon is also famous for its beautiful landscapes, coastal scenery and outdoor activities. I was originally from an inland city without any sea around. But living here I experienced crabbing, fishing, snow skating and other fun outdoor entertainment. 

For international students who have a passion for language teaching or are interested in applying to the LTS program, welcome and please join our LTS family. We have many current cohort members and alums who are elaborating their creativity in language education. Some of them are mainly focusing on teaching the majority languages such as Spanish and English. But we also have people who prefer to do projects on minority languages or even endangered ones. In LTS, we encourage everyone to pursue their own path of teaching. Besides we have the kindest program director Keli, she is always willing to hear individuals’ needs and provide thoughtful advice. 

What would be your ideal career path after LTS?

Currently I really enjoy being one of the tutors in the Chinese Flagship program in UO. I’m offering one-on-one tutoring classes to Chinese learners with English L1 backgrounds. I’ve also participated in other Chinese teaching courses in past terms, such as a Chinese Honors class at Oak Hill high school in Eugene. My bilingual or even trilingual linguistic background helped me a lot in teaching, and I feel it’s beneficial if a teacher is able to share their language learning strategies with students. My ideal career path would be teaching Chinese to adult learners with native English backgrounds in a school setting. But teaching communicative or pragmatic focused English class in China or other EFL contexts also sounds appealing. 

Finally, how did you get your unusual name and spelling? I’ve always wanted to ask you that.

I’ve heard this question all the time, and now I can explain it to everyone. During my high school, one day there was a Caucasian looking man with a big smile walking into our classroom. He said he will be the teacher for our English speaking class for this year. The first task we had is that everyone needed to find a nickname they preferred to use in speaking classes. Then we needed to write down our nicknames on note cards and give them to the teacher. The teacher gave us 5 minutes for thinking, discussing or searching online. I just did a quick search on general English names for girls and originally planned to use the normal “A-L-I-S-A” name. But at that point, I didn’t notice my spelling was slightly different….

Soon an extremely interesting thing happened when the teacher started calling everyone’s name from the note cards. He found there were two girls who wanted to be called “Alisa”, but he compared our two name cards and noticed my spelling mistake. So he suggested why not just use “Ailsa” as my unique nickname and it sounded quite cute. I think being a little bit different indeed is a cool thing so I have been using Ailsa ever since. 

Sometimes I feel annoyed explaining my nickname’s spelling in every self-introduction situation. But thanks to my unusual name, people always remember me!

Visiting a Japanese Garden with friends in Portland