While HUF is primarily an undergraduate academic program, our broader mission is to serve as a national resource center for the Hindi Urdu language.
There has been a distinct lack of innovation and original curricular material production in the world of Hindi Urdu pedagogy. In response to this oft-mentioned need, HUF as launched a number of substantial initiatives aimed at diffusing the benefits of HUF's substantial linguistic knowledge, pedagogical expertise and financial resources to the broader Hindi Urdu learning community.
HUF projects include:
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Language for Health
A collaborative effort with NYU and Columbia, Language for Health is a comprehensive set of pedagogical materials and guidelines developed to teach advanced Hindi Urdu specifically for the healthcare context. The project incorporates substantial video material professionally produced for the course in diverse healthcare settings in India. It represents a unique effort to tailor Hindi Urdu instruction to the requirements of a particular, increasingly critical, profession. -
K-12 Outreach
HUF spearheads a number of efforts to increase and enhance Hindi Urdu K-12 programs in the US. We have hosted workshops for current K-12 teachers and administrators, established partnerships with emerging K-12 Hindi programs in Dallas and Houston, and contracted with prominent members of Texas's educational community to promote the study of Hindi Urdu as an attractive career option. -
Hindi Urdu Speaker Series
In keeping with its mission to enhance the Hindi Urdu educational experience at the undergraduate level, the Flagship hosts a speaker series featuring some of the leading scholars and artists working in the Hindi Urdu medium today. Past speakers include Shamshur Rahman Faruqi, Frances Pritchett, and Susham Bedi. Streaming video of every seminar is available via our current speaker series page and archive. -
A Spoken Thesaurus
A Spoken Thesaurus of Hindi Urdu is a weekly audio podcast where HUF's Associate Director for Hindi, Rupert Snell, interviews native speakers on the significance of particular words and phrases in Hindi Urdu. So far, over 30 episodes have been recorded. Comprehension questions and glossaries of key phrases accompany each episode. Website and podcast feed coming spring 2009. -
Mera Shahar
Mera Shahar ('My City') is web-based collection of filmed interviews about subjects' hometowns in South Asia. Each video interview lasts about 20 mins and is aimed at intermediate to advanced learners. Website coming spring 2009. -
Hamaarii Bolii
Hamaarii Bolii ('Our Language') is a web-based video database featuring clusters of short video responses to questions covering topics ranging from conversational strategies to social issues. Glossaries and comprehension questions coming spring 2009.
