By Todd McKay (CLS Bangladesh 2009 and
2010), Fulbright English Teaching Assistant-Bangladesh (2011-2012). Todd is also a former 2009-10 CLS Alumni Ambassador.
My Background
Like many potential Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) or Fulbright
aspirants, I grew up in a small town, outside of Salt Lake City, Utah, with my
parents and siblings. I went to the
University of Utah and completed a bachelor’s degree in French, Linguistics,
and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). Upon graduation, I applied to the University
of Utah’s graduate program in Applied Linguistics, where I took a number of
courses in syntax, phonetics and phonology, and language teaching and
learning.
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Todd in front of the Martyr’s Memorial,
or Shaheed Minar. This movement led
to International Mother Language Day.
|
During my studies, I was looking to use a less studied language to complete
linguistic research. I met with my
adviser in the Department of Linguistics, who informed me that there had been
little linguistic research to date on Bangla.
Linguistic research on Bangla was not going to be as simple as sitting
down with a textbook and picking apart the grammar; a lot of good research
hinges on an understanding of the nuances between words, an understanding of
local dialects, and the interplay between language and culture. This is where the CLS Program came into the
picture. It offered intensive language
courses and language partners from the local community to help me to develop my
Bangla proficiency quickly, as well as cultural excursions, which exposed me to
the culture and different dialects used around the country.
Since my participation in the beginning and intermediate CLS Bangla programs
in Dhaka, Bangladesh, I have conducted a number of linguistic studies using my
knowledge of Bangla. I examined how
Optimality Theory can account for vowel changes in the Dhaka Bangla dialect and
compared communicative English teaching practices across governmental and
nongovernmental primary schools in Bangladesh. I have also had the opportunity
to provide guest lectures at local universities on the relationship between
Bangla syllable structure and crossword puzzles.
My participation in the CLS Program has led to numerous other opportunities
and achievements. Not only did I
progress from a beginning- to advanced-level Bangla speaker, I also assisted
with program outreach as a CLS Alumni Ambassador, and later served as a
Fulbright English
Teaching Assistant (ETA) in Bangladesh. I formed lifelong friendships in
Bangladesh and achieved a renewed motivation and focus in life.
 |
Todd with a friend wearing
traditional Bangladeshi punjabis. |
CLS Program Highlights
I tell anyone who asks that my most memorable times in
Bangladesh on
the CLS Program involve my now close friend and former language partner,
Akash. While Bangla courses at Bangladesh’s
Independent University provided the backbone for my language development, Akash
was my key into the colloquial language and the culture.
In spending time with Akash, I learned how to eat properly with my hands (mash
the food into a tasty ball), which dishes are taken first in the course of a
meal and which are taken later, how to bargain effectively for clothes and
other local products, and cultural
faux pas. I learned what to say when you enter
someone’s home and what to say when leaving, what constitutes an acceptable
gift when you are invited to a lunch or dinner, how to dress for certain occasions
(a Punjabi for a wedding but a suit and tie for the reception), what the
acceptable rickshaw fares are for a 15-minute ride versus a 30-minute ride, and
many other things that made navigating the many facets of Bangladesh much
smoother later on.
Really, there are only two ways to learn these things: ask the right
questions or make a blunder and have everyone laugh at you momentarily (or gasp
in shock). Let me share with you both a
laugh and a gasp, both involving Akash and both memorable CLS Program
highlights.
Most of the buses in
Bangladesh
never actually stop. I mean, when you
want to get on a bus, especially the local numbered buses, you need to gallop a
little and swing yourself up onto it.
When you get off, you need to hit the ground running. Akash is the one who encouraged me to use the
local buses to get from point A to point B.
A CNG (or auto-rickshaw) can cost you 200 Taka, whereas a local bus
would run maybe 10 Taka for the same distance—a big difference. One day, getting down from the bus, I leapt
from the platform and planted my right foot on the ground—and fell flat on my
face. With my limited Bangla, I didn’t
understand the conductor when he said “Put your left foot down first.” Akash was in stitches, and I’m pretty sure I
heard laughter fade along with the bus down the street.
The subtle gasp occurred when I was invited to receive a wedding invitation
from Akash’s sister’s fiancé. We entered
the apartment dressed to the nines.
Akash and his sister gave their salaam to each member of the family then
kindly introduced me. When I was
introduced to the fiancé’s mother, I said “Apni kemon achen?” and held out my
hand. Silence blanketed the room, and
the fiancé’s mother stood steadfast with her arms at her side. Confused, I put my hand down. It was after we left the apartment that Akash
told me it’s impolite to shake a woman’s hand.
Use of Language Skills Post-CLS
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| Todd with fellow English teachers. |
I have used my post-CLS Bangla skills mainly in academia when I was
completing my master’s degree. I used
the Bangla language to complete papers for various courses, such as syntax and
phonetics and phonology, and have given several presentations on different
aspects of the language. However,
without Bangla and without my participation in the beginning and intermediate CLS Programs, I never would have been able to
write the thesis I did to obtain my MA, nor would I have received a Fulbright
ETA grant.
After my first CLS Program, I changed from a theoretical to a more practical
track in Applied Linguistics. Seeing the
state of education in
Bangladesh,
and especially the state of English language education, I realized that the
educational sphere was somewhere I could put what I was learning at university
into meaningful practice. Towards the
end of my two-year master’s program, I came to Bangladesh independently to
collect data for my thesis on communicative English teaching and learning
practices across governmental and BRAC (an influential NGO) primary schools in
Bangladesh.
The data-collection process and that of working with both NGO (i.e., BRAC)
and government educational authorities was at times both complicated and
time-consuming. I visited a number of
primary schools, had extensive conversations with teachers and school
administrators, coordinated site visits with BRAC’s field officers and their
primary education program, assessed the communicative English ability of dozens
of primary-school students, and even had tea on several occasions with the
Director of Primary Education. Mind you,
nearly all of this was done in a month’s time and using Bangla. I could never have done this had I not participated
in the CLS Program, nor would I have decided to research such a topic had I
never been given the chance to come to Bangladesh in the first place.
Since completing my master’s thesis, I received a Fulbright ETA grant, which
I see as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bring together my Bangla language
skills and learn from the inside how English is taught and learned in
Bangladesh. This knowledge will then allow
me to more easily conduct research in the future, as I will have spent time
learning the intricate details of English language education in Bangladesh from
within, as opposed to taking decontextualized notes from the outside. I currently teach English at
Notre Dame College in
Dhaka,
assist with teacher-training workshops, offer workshops on pronunciation and
speaking, and work daily with Bangladeshi teachers and school staff. At every turn, my Bangla training has proven
helpful, whether it has been to clarify instructions for a workshop activity,
ask for copies of a particular document from school staff, or catch students
saying something behind my back.
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Notre Dame College Inter-Collegiate
Pronunciation Workshop. Attendees
are playing pronunciation BINGO.
|
Fulbright Program Highlights
Really, the highlights of the Fulbright Program for me are all about
teaching in the classroom on a regular basis.
It has been nice to have a schedule with a set number of courses that I
teach daily. In this way, I get to work
every single day with a great group of students, learn their strengths and
weaknesses, and genuinely connect with them.
My most rewarding moment came just a few days ago when I administered a
small formative course assessment. On
the assessment, I asked students to indicate to me which activities they liked and
disliked, how I could improve as a teacher (e.g., should I speak more slowly
and clearly), and what material they would like to cover that was not included
in the current syllabus.
The assessment was a smash. As soon
as I explained it to them and distributed a copy to each student, they worked
feverishly and intently to provide as much feedback as they could in our
limited 40-minute class. Not only did
they work well that day, but I got a sense after reading their feedback that
they were truly grateful to have been given a say in their own learning. Since that day, we have incorporated a basic
review of prepositions and a few grammar tenses into the syllabus, eliminated a
particular end-of-class activity, and I have worked consciously to speak more
slowly.
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Todd meeting with fellow instructors
during the Inter-Collegiate
Pronunciation Workshop. |
As for choosing the Fulbright ETA Program, it seemed like the next logical
step after the CLS Program and the completion of my master’s thesis. I had worked on English language teaching and
learning and conducted some research in
Bangladesh on communicative English
teaching and learning practices.
However, I learned during my thesis data-collection just how difficult
it can be to complete research in a short period of time with a limited
understanding of the culture and how English is taught both daily and in the
course of a semester. Being a more
long-term English teacher at
Notre
Dame College
has given me a chance to commiserate with students and teachers. I now know what goes into preparing a lesson
here where there are less resources and some preparation processes are more
time-consuming, such as getting copies made and conducting pair and groupwork
in a classroom with a lot of students.
This knowledge has made me appreciate just what it means and what goes
into being a teacher in
Bangladesh. And my Bangla ability that I learned through
the CLS Program has helped me to better communicate with fellow English
teachers and teachers from other departments, has given me more credibility
among the students who are themselves learning another language (i.e.,
English), and has helped me to move from just being a native, English-speaking
resources to a friend (who also just so happens to speak English).
Suggestions for CLS Alumni Planning to Apply for a Fulbright
I have two big suggestions for CLS alumni who are planning to apply for a Fulbright
grant. First, give careful consideration
to your proposed projects. This might be
a no-brainer, but your proposed project should be practical and perhaps, at
least at the beginning stages of your research, smaller than you might
like. I have heard both current
Fulbrighters and past Fulbrighters mention off-handedly how they have had to
alter their notion of what it means to be efficient in
Bangladesh (and
I’m sure this applies to many other host countries as well).
In
Bangladesh,
some things just take longer. For
example, when I scheduled a meeting with the Director of Primary Education for
my thesis research, I ended up having to schedule many more meetings to discuss
what I thought would only take five minutes.
In this culture, you have tea first (and maybe a plate of sliced mangoes
depending on the season), discuss family and whether or not you had lunch, then
slowly ease into what it is you want to talk about. This can take several hours. As such, a project you might think slightly
daunting but feasible, may in fact, after getting to know your host country and
its various customs better, turn out to be very daunting and not so feasible.
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Notre Dame English Club teachers
and students. |
As per my second suggestion, many of us are hesitant to share our writing
with others. While you write to complete
the Fulbright application, try to overcome any timidity concerning your writing
and share it with as many people as you can.
Get as much feedback as you can.
In my case—and perhaps I am a terrible writer—I shared my writing with a
writing professor, a number of professors in the Department of Linguistics, the
dean of the Graduate School, a few international friends working on their Ph.D.s,
a study abroad adviser, my younger sister, and a political science
professor. The study abroad adviser,
when reviewing my writing, mentioned “sustainable education,” which I then
incorporated and I believe lent a certain degree of appropriateness to the
Bangladeshi context for which my project was intended. You never know who will provide a golden
nugget that will give your writing some edge!
