In this paper, we discuss major collaborative efforts in developing blended, online Hindi materials as part of the Mellon-funded MSU LCTL initiative. We address challenges and best practices, a sustainable future for LCTL instruction and materials development in higher education, particularly post-Covid, and explore linkages and adaptability across institutions.
The paper will present work on the pioneering partnership between the Mellon Foundation and MSU, which resulted in the first major collaboration among a handful of Less Commonly Taught Languages (LCTLs) across Big Ten universities in the US. The paper is based on the design, creation, implementation, and learning outcomes of Intermediate and Advanced level language instruction in Hindi in institutes of higher education. Although our paper is primarily focused on reporting the methodological, pedagogical and administrative aspects of this collaboration to create a set of Hindi instructional materials, we will also discuss implications for LCTL sustainability.
For this project, proficiency-based lesson materials were developed by a group of Hindi instructors across different institutions following principles of reverse design for incorporating learner-centered authentic content in a sequence of relatively stand-alone modules, allowing learners to not only choose the modular contents but their sequences as well. These content modules (for example, on Wedding, Health, and Higher Education, etc.) were created and vetted first by a team of four experienced Hindi instructors and piloted by instructors at collaborating and other participating institutions, and thirdly, by pedagogy specialists with no knowledge of Hindi who assisted with overall design. This paper demonstrates that the modularly organized content can be used for highly effective differentiated learning across learners' profiles, level of proficiency, and academic and/or professional interests, all of which are well-known challenges for LCTL instructors and address the unmet needs of, especially, Advanced-level LCTL learners.
This paper demonstrates that by using the open architectural design for instructional materials with the full battery of available online tools, this approach to material development can be easily adopted by other South Asian languages in both University and non-University contexts alike as a sharable OER resource and can be implemented and adapted at any institution.
