Deadline Approaching for Critical Language Scholarship
Undergraduates and graduate students alike spent two months this past summer fully immersed in different languages and cultures around the world.
Four College of Letters and Science students received the U.S. Department of State’s Critical Language Scholarship (CLS), which seeks to grow the number of Americans who can speak certain targeted foreign languages. It covers travel, accommodations and language instruction.
“I think CLS is one of the best things you could do with your summer — at any level of language learning, even if you’re a total beginner,” said Angel Trazo, a Ph.D. student in the Cultural Studies Graduate Group at UC Davis. “I went from completely knowing nothing to becoming an intermediate level speaker, so it was really cool.”
A graduate student finds unexpected fun in Indonesia
Trazo traveled to Malang, Indonesia this last summer to study Indonesian. Though not directly tied to her graduate research focused on Asian American youth subcultures, she said the experience helped her to see Asian and Asian American studies through a new lens and to bring new elements into her teaching.
“Indonesia seemed like a really interesting place to study because in Asian American studies — my field — we really don’t focus on Indonesia at all,” Trazo said. “The history and culture were completely new to me. I had no idea what the language was like, and so it ended up being a very eye-opening experience.”
It was also the first time she had been in a predominately Muslim country. She enjoyed hearing the call to prayer in the morning and seeing residents practicing their religion openly.
“It doesn’t matter where you are in the city, there will be a mosque nearby you,” Trazo said.
CLS students commit to speaking only their language of study during their time in-country, which means not speaking English for two months, and taking immersive classes most days. Those running the program were very supportive, she said, and it was a caring environment.
“It was so challenging because I was literally struggling to learn a new language for two months and being forced only speak in that language for two months, but it was really kind of a self-growth experience,” Trazo said.
In addition to classes, the students are able to explore their host city as well as nearby areas. Trazo and her cohort visited different temples and waterfalls, and learned mask making and traditional dances. She also visited Bali and Mount Bromo with friends from the program.
Trazo is a big advocate of CLS and even was her cohort’s social media ambassador.
“It was definitely a worthwhile experience for me,” she said. “And, honestly, so fun.”
Two students advance their Arabic in Oman
Oscar Boissy, a recent graduate of the Department of Linguistics, and Whitné Moussan, a Ph.D. student in anthropology, both found themselves in Nizwa, Oman this past summer studying Modern Classical Arabic intensely.
“It’s kind of surprising to be, all of a sudden, completely surrounded by Arabic,” Boissy said. “I’m half Lebanese but the last time I was in Lebanon was in 2008. It was cool to be surrounded by the language immediately.”
Moussan has ties to the Arab world too, having lived in Syria as a child before moving to the U.S.
Neither, however, were fluent in the language, which has many dialects, before arriving in Oman. Neither had been to the Gulf.
“My experience with Arabic and Arab culture is very different from what it was in Oman, so it was nice to see what was similar but also what was quite different,” Moussan said. “It gave me insight into the diversity of Arab culture and the Arab world because there’s not one culture — not one city — that’s like another. It was fun exploring that alongside the language.”
Moussan is planning to use her improved Arabic language skills to further her research in trauma following and during times of war in the Middle East. It will be especially helpful for going through legal documents and other official resources, which are written in formal Arabic.
“Most people don’t realize how much you’ve learned until the end,” Boissy said. “It’s a slow process, then it starts all coming together. It's a very satisfying feeling.”
An international relations student learns Hindi
Zain Patel, an undergraduate majoring in international relations, spent his summer in Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan in India, studying Hindi. And, though he’d been to India before, he was excited to be in a different region and to challenge himself to learn Hindi. He was interested in how the culture and people of an area influences the government as well.
“I’ve always been very interested in government structure — how it operates and affects the lives of its citizens, and also the differences between how they operate from country to country,” he said.
In addition to language classes, Patel took cultural enrichment classes, visited historical sites, learned different breathing techniques and took yoga for the first time.
“It was intense but it was nice at the same time,” Patel said. “I went into it knowing I was going to be pushed and I wanted to be pushed. I came into it knowing literally no Hindi except 'hi' and 'bye,' now I can have basic conversations.”
Applying to learn a language abroad
Since 2007, 45 UC Davis students have participated in the Department of State's CLS program. Hindi, Indonesian, Urdu, Persian, Turkish, Swahili and Portuguese require no prior experience in the language in order to apply to CLS. Arabic, Russian, Chinese and Korean require one year of prior study. Japanese requires two years of prior study.
Students majoring in any discipline may apply.
UC Davis’ Prestigious Scholarship Advisor Scott Palmer will walk through the essays for the Critical Language Scholarship, providing guidance and advice for how to approach each essay, on Tuesday, Nov. 12. RSVP here.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE THESE STORIES
Drawing From Observation
Four UC Davis alumni spent the winter learning how to draw from observation at the Royal Drawing School in London with the support of an international scholarship. Students curated their own programs, choosing from a variety of courses such as life drawing, etching and printmaking.
Christina Thomas Works to Preserve Her Native Culture and Language
From a first-generation college student to a doctoral candidate and Fulbright Graduate Scholar, Christina Dawa Kutsmana Thomas has become a role model for other "little rez kids." She's working to save her Indigenous language as well as pass on her family's culture to younger generations.