Ronita Bhattacharya
Ph.D. Candidate

Comparative Literature Department

University of Georgia
ronitab@uga.edu

Teaching Philosophy

As doctoral student of Comparative Literature, my research focus has been on non-western oral epics, an extremely powerful genre that has withstood the test of time purely on the basis of an oral medium: story telling. I took this as an inspiration when I began teaching Hindi language.

My goal is to teach my students to be successful storytellers in a foreign language . From my personal experience I know that the seductive sense of empowerment over a foreign language not only motivates us to master the grammar, but most often it allures us to learn about the literature and culture that is associated with this language. After teaching Hindi for three years I find that story making enhances the active learning of a language and is much more engaging than memorizing grammar alone. It also challenges them to think critically in a foreign laguage. I introduce micro story telling sessions in my class even before the students have mastered the script properly and have a limited knowledge of grammar. Their challenge is to construct a story within the limited vocabulary and grammar and to go beyond that only if necessary. Of course they make errors, but experience of constructing and narrating a story in a foreign language is extremely satisfying and it hastens the learning process. The motivation to tell a better story encourages them to learn complex nuances of grammar without the rigor.

More often than not, the most creative storytellers learn language faster than their peers and usually are the ones, who start watching Hindi movies without subtitles before the end of the semester, start enquiring about Hindi versions of Children’s Ramayana and even occasionally pour over the nuances of a plaintive gazal. I realize that only a few of my students might actually get a chance to speak, read or write Hindi for any practical purpose in their later life, but I know that all of them will be carrying a part of the Hindi language and the culture with them through these stories.