I. PURPOSE

 

• Addresses the current lack of a strong infrastructure at national and state levels to support Hindi/Urdu teacher development and research in the area of Hindi/Urdu-specific second language pedagogy.

 

II. AUDIENCE

 

• Designed for cohorts of Hindi/Urdu Native/Advanced-Mid(or higher) speakers who reside in the U.S., possess a Bachelor’s Degree, and wish to teach Hindi/Urdu at the K-12/post-secondary level in a variety of educational settings or to continue study and research on Second Language Acquisition and foreign language pedagogy at the graduate level.

 

III. MA PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

 

• The Master’s Degree Program is a 2-year 30-credit program consisting of three components:

 

1. Acquisition of Content through online courses fall and spring semesters

2. Acquisition of Pedagogical Knowledge and Skills (methods and assessment practices) through summer onsite courses on campus*

3. TIntegration of Content, heory and Pedagogy into Clinical Practice through participation in Kean STARTALK Summer Student Programs. *There is a required three-week summer residential component each year of the 2-year grant-funded program that covers tuition costs and summer housing on the Kean University Campus.

 

• The MA Program offers participants the opportunity to:

 

• Earn 30-credits through onsite, online and blended generic and Hindi/Urdu-specific content, language and pedagogy courses

• Participate in 6-weeks of clinical practice during Kean STARTALK Summer Student Programs

 

• Upon completion of the program, graduates will be able to:

 

• Teach in heritage language community schools, private schools and/or government schools using contemporary research-based best practices in language education.

• Conduct research on second language-specific pedagogy or in the field of Hindi/Urdu Second Language Acquisition leading to a doctoral program.

• Pursue Alternate Route teacher certification options available in NJ and in most states in order to teach in public school settings.

 

III. SPECIAL PROGRAM FEATURE

 

• Integration of Innovative Learning Technologies and Global Competencies

Each component of the program will integrate innovative learning technologies in both face-to-face and online learning environments and focus on the development of global competencies and the use of pedagogical approaches to foster global competence.