By Jessica Merritt
Jessica Merritt has recently completed her Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Indiana University. Her dissertation is titled: The Austerities of Loving Devotion: Ritual Theory and Practice in Puṣṭimārg Vaiṣṇavism. Throughout her undergraduate and graduate careers, she participated in several summer language programs in India through AIIS (Sanskrit 2017, Bangla 2020) and the Critical Language Scholarship program (CLS) through AIIS (Hindi 2012, 2016). Here, she reflects on her time studying and living abroad in India, and how it has impacted her research and approach as a university instructor.
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As both an undergraduate and graduate student, I participated in AIIS and CLS summer language programs, studying Hindi in Jaipur (2012, 2016), Sanskrit in Pune (2017), and Bangla online due to COVID (2020). In my experiences, the advantage of studying languages abroad is that students engage in formal classroom instruction mixed with everyday socio-linguistic embeddedness. The daily classes on grammar, listening comprehension, conversation, reading, and vocabulary are coupled with conversations, interactions, and complete audio-visual-cultural immersion into the everyday language of common speech. The confluence of these two streams of language acquisition produces an environment rich with opportunities for rapid advancement in language proficiency and cultural proficiency, two modes of knowledge which are inextricably linked.
My participation in the AIIS Hindi summer program in Jaipur at the intermediate and advanced levels solidified the linguistic foundation from which I was able to build the confidence and experiential knowledge necessary to live among and work with Hindi-speaking religious devotees, scholars, teachers, colleagues, experts, guides, and everyday people; all of whom contributed to my research and my ability to do research in significant ways. After completing the AIIS summer Sanskrit program, I spent the subsequent academic year reading and translating various medieval Sanskrit philosophical texts with private tutors in Pune and Varanasi. Much of the translation work I did at the AIIS Institute and beyond directed my future research interests and formed the basis for my dissertation research questions. Ultimately, my dissertation methodology combined robust Sanskrit literary translation and analysis with participant observations and conversational interviews with various Hindi-speaking communities in India. The AIIS language programs contributed in significant ways to my abilities to read the requisite texts (Sanskrit) and talk to the people (Hindi, Bangla) who made it possible to do my doctoral research in India.
Beyond my academic gains, I made long lasting friendships with Hindi, Marathi, and Bangla-speaking friends I met in India and with many of the American colleagues I studied and lived with while participating in the AIIS summer programs. These friendships and relationships still significantly contribute to my growing proficiency in the target languages, and these connections make the experience of language learning exceedingly enjoyable and exciting. Even after almost fifteen years, I still keep in touch and spend time with friends and colleagues I met while studying abroad in India. In addition to academics, the AIIS and CLS course-designed weekend excursions and field trips, extracurricular classes (harmonium, dance, yoga, etc.), peer tutors, guest speakers, instructors, and host families all contributed to my success in advancing my knowledge of Hindi, Sanskrit, and Bangla outside of the classroom. Simple dinnertime conversations, shopping excursions, weekend holidays, movie and game nights, and attending concerts and musical performances with my host families and friends are some of my most cherished memories of studying abroad.
My experiences studying Sanskrit at AIIS and individually in India, along with several years of formal Sanskrit instruction at Indiana University, led me to the rare opportunity to teach Sanskrit while completing my doctoral degree. Teaching Sanskrit for four years fine-tuned my knowledge of the language and allowed me to develop pedagogical methods and skills that garnered great success with my students. I modeled much of my teaching on methods I observed and experienced through my time studying Hindi and Sanskrit in India, in addition to my home institution. And the AIIS online Bangla program prepared me to teach Sanskrit online throughout the pandemic; a teaching modality I had been previously unfamiliar with. Through the AIIS programs, I not only advanced my understanding of the target language, I observed and participated in the most effective approaches to and optimal methods for learning and teaching languages. I often reflect on the curriculum and pedagogical methods developed by AIIS instructors and the overwhelming success they have with their students, and I draw from this experiential knowledge not just in teaching Sanskrit language course, but in every Humanities course that I design and teach. The quality of education that students receive through AIIS programs should not be understated. Anyone participating in summer, semester, or year-long programs will not only strengthen their language skills, but they will also get the opportunity to learn from and work with exceedingly adept scholars and educators who have dedicated their careers to advancing language education. As both an undergraduate and graduate student, I participated in AIIS and CLS summer language programs, studying Hindi in Jaipur (2012, 2016), Sanskrit in Pune (2017), and Bangla online due to COVID (2020). In my experiences, the advantage of studying languages abroad is that students engage in formal classroom instruction mixed with everyday socio-linguistic embeddedness. The daily classes on grammar, listening comprehension, conversation, reading, and vocabulary are coupled with conversations, interactions, and complete audio-visual-cultural immersion into the everyday language of common speech. The confluence of these two streams of language acquisition produces an environment rich with opportunities for rapid advancement in language proficiency and cultural proficiency, two modes of knowledge which are inextricably linked.
My participation in the AIIS Hindi summer program in Jaipur at the intermediate and advanced levels solidified the linguistic foundation from which I was able to build the confidence and experiential knowledge necessary to live among and work with Hindi-speaking religious devotees, scholars, teachers, colleagues, experts, guides, and everyday people; all of whom contributed to my research and my ability to do research in significant ways. After completing the AIIS summer Sanskrit program, I spent the subsequent academic year reading and translating various medieval Sanskrit philosophical texts with private tutors in Pune and Varanasi. Much of the translation work I did at the AIIS Institute and beyond directed my future research interests and formed the basis for my dissertation research questions. Ultimately, my dissertation methodology combined robust Sanskrit literary translation and analysis with participant observations and conversational interviews with various Hindi-speaking communities in India. The AIIS language programs contributed in significant ways to my abilities to read the requisite texts (Sanskrit) and talk to the people (Hindi, Bangla) who made it possible to do my doctoral research in India.
Beyond my academic gains, I made long lasting friendships with Hindi, Marathi, and Bangla-speaking friends I met in India and with many of the American colleagues I studied and lived with while participating in the AIIS summer programs. These friendships and relationships still significantly contribute to my growing proficiency in the target languages, and these connections make the experience of language learning exceedingly enjoyable and exciting. Even after almost fifteen years, I still keep in touch and spend time with friends and colleagues I met while studying abroad in India. In addition to academics, the AIIS and CLS course-designed weekend excursions and field trips, extracurricular classes (harmonium, dance, yoga, etc.), peer tutors, guest speakers, instructors, and host families all contributed to my success in advancing my knowledge of Hindi, Sanskrit, and Bangla outside of the classroom. Simple dinnertime conversations, shopping excursions, weekend holidays, movie and game nights, and attending concerts and musical performances with my host families and friends are some of my most cherished memories of studying abroad.
My experiences studying Sanskrit at AIIS and individually in India, along with several years of formal Sanskrit instruction at Indiana University, led me to the rare opportunity to teach Sanskrit while completing my doctoral degree. Teaching Sanskrit for four years fine-tuned my knowledge of the language and allowed me to develop pedagogical methods and skills that garnered great success with my students. I modeled much of my teaching on methods I observed and experienced through my time studying Hindi and Sanskrit in India, in addition to my home institution. And the AIIS online Bangla program prepared me to teach Sanskrit online throughout the pandemic; a teaching modality I had been previously unfamiliar with. Through the AIIS programs, I not only advanced my understanding of the target language, I observed and participated in the most effective approaches to and optimal methods for learning and teaching languages. I often reflect on the curriculum and pedagogical methods developed by AIIS instructors and the overwhelming success they have with their students, and I draw from this experiential knowledge not just in teaching Sanskrit language course, but in every Humanities course that I design and teach. The quality of education that students receive through AIIS programs should not be understated. Anyone participating in summer, semester, or year-long programs will not only strengthen their language skills, but they will also get the opportunity to learn from and work with exceedingly adept scholars and educators who have dedicated their careers to advancing language education.