YALE UNIVERSITY WILL BE OFFERING TAGALOG COURSES IN FALL 2025

Successful applicants will be teaching elementary and intermediate courses in Filipino at Yale University in the fall semester of 2025 (Photo courtesy of Yale University)

One of the finest U.S. institutions Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut will be offering courses in Tagalog in the fall of 2025. The Council on Southeast Asian Studies at the university is looking for a Filipino (Tagalog) lecturer to teach the upcoming courses.

Members of a Filipino student organization called “Kasama” expressed their frustration over the lack of such a course so the creation of a Tagalog program came. More than 380 students and faculty members signed Kasama’s petition to include Tagalog in this Ivy League school's international language courses. 

Kasama’s persistence paid off after their petition was approved by members of the Language Committee, prompting the search for a full-time Tagalog instructor. The primary duties of the successful applicant will include teaching elementary and intermediate courses in Filipino or Tagalog across four learning skill areas: reading, writing, speaking, and listening.

According to one of the US’ oldest college daily newspapers Yale Daily News, the Filipino (Tagalog) lecturer will be assigned for three years, with the potential of renewal, and will teach six courses each year.

Additionally, the lector will collaborate with other educators in the Vietnamese and Indonesian languages to enhance the university's Southeast Asian Studies offerings, including study abroad opportunities.

The Directed Independent Language Study earlier had a program that allowed students in the university to study Filipino (Tagalog) without receiving course credit; instead, it paired them with native speakers of the language. 

“Tagalog is the fourth most-spoken language in the US,” some students think the program may need more structure and think they would learn more in a credit-bearing class.

In September last year, Harvard University welcomed its first Filipina instructor in Lady Aileen Orsal. Orsal is a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Northern Illinois University. Orsal is a Mass Communication graduate from the Cavite State University and also earned her Master's degree in Philippine Studies from the same university.

Source: Philippine Star

Be part of ImHenyo community 

Get featured by sharing your stories, news, and comments

Email us at [email protected]