Fourteen students signed on this year to learn Tagalog, the native language of the Philippines, continuing a trend of students going the extra mile to learn the language - which is not offered formally by the University - through a Group Independent Study Project. Unlike typical language study at Brown, these students are learning by examining course materials themselves and do not benefit from the regular presence of a native speaker. Though Mario Jiz GS, a native speaker, does join the class periodically, the bulk of instruction is self-directed.
The Tagalog GISP is yet another example of students using the University's open curriculum to move beyond the limitations of formal offerings. But given that interest in the language has been persistent for some time, it now makes sense for the University to consider creating a permanent Tagalog course.
For the first time this year, the University began offering Catalan for credit through the Department of Hispanic Studies, a move made following the hiring of Clara Dalmau i Palet, a Barcelona native, a visiting teaching associate in Hispanic studies who co-teaches the class. Though the University doesn't have a faculty member who can take on a similar role for a Tagalog offering, it should be noted that native-speaking graduate students typically teach introductory language courses. Jiz expressed some reservations about taking responsibility for teaching the course, but we suspect the University would have success finding a teacher if it created a paid position. If such a teacher can't be found within the existing pool of graduate students, then perhaps a formal offering could be made available using distance learning technologies, a suggestion posed by Merle Krueger, associate director of the Center for Language Studies.
The decision to add a course always comes down to resources and whether student interest in a particular subject warrants the required investment of money and personnel. Naturally, the University wants to avoid funneling resources toward a course only to see its popularity decline after a few years. Krueger said he believes this can sometimes be the case for languages tied to relevant geopolitical issues that eventually leave the news cycle. However, we believe this is not the case for Tagalog, as students seem genuinely interested in learning a language that is part of their heritage. Accordingly, we believe interest in Tagalog will continue.
Perhaps more importantly, the establishment of a permanent Tagalog course offering makes sense in light of Brown's recent focus on internationalization. As Krueger said, it's hard to imagine internationalization without language study. Creating a Tagalog course would therefore mark a tangible gain for the University stemming from its heightened international emphasis.
