School of World Studies offers courses in three new languages this fall

By Mike Porter

VCU's School of World Studies is offering new foreign language courses in Hindi, Portuguese and Zulu this fall.

"The new languages reflect our desire to represent every major world area as well as support VCU's strategic international partnership plan," said R. McKenna Brown, director of the School of World Studies and professor of Spanish.

During his presidency, VCU President Eugene P. Trani has established significant linkages with universities in the Middle East, Europe, Africa and Asia. By the end of this year, VCU will have developed university-wide partnerships with 15 universities, most with academic medical centers, that include universities in India, South America and Mexico as part of VCU's efforts to internationalize its campuses.

One of those strategic partnerships is with the University of São Paolo in Brazil. Portuguese instructor Eduardo Vidal says teaching the language and culture of Brazil to VCU students is an opportunity to strengthen that partnership.

"This class is the key that opens the door," Vidal said. "Students who sign up for the class will fall in love with the language and culture. And perhaps six months from now they may be learning in Brazil."

Vidal is a native of Brazil and graduated from VCU with degrees in political science and psychology. He is now an immigration services assistant in international support services at VCU. Vidal said that when he arrived on campus five years ago, there were about 500 international students and today that number has grown to about 1,200.

Hindi instructor and Chandigarh, India, native Sunita Sharma is looking forward to teaching students about the language and culture of India, supporting VCU's partnerships with the Indian Institute of Technology and the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research.

"India is sometimes seen as a primitive country with snake charmers in the street, Sharma said. "That shows a lack of awareness because really it's the world's largest democracy with more than a billion people. So in addition to teaching the students basic conversation skills, I want to clear stereotypes and teach them about India's culture," Sharma said.

Zulu instructor Ewell Mthethwa is hoping to provide a similar experience for his students this fall.

"I think we're living in a truly global community," said Mthethwa. 

The South Africa native said he was surprised at the number and variety of VCU's international language and cultural offerings.

"VCU should be called 'the people's university.' The world is becoming more connected in terms of ideas and knowledge and this university is committed to playing an important role in that," Mthethwa said. 

Offering a course in Zulu supports VCU's partnership with the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) in Durban, South Africa.

The three new course offerings join Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Biblical Hebrew, Italian, Latin, Russian and Spanish, which are already being taught at VCU.

"Our vision is to be a place where students can hone their language and cultural skills and go almost anywhere in the world and be ready as the world increasingly comes to us," Brown said.