BIBI HALIMA

Salam, 

Hi world,

I am an educator who deeply cares about quality, accessibility, and multilingualism in language education.

Over the past seven years, I have served in various roles in higher education ranging from language teaching to curriculum development, research, and administration. Each one of these experiences contributed to a holistic perspective that opened my eyes to the gaps in language education and the challenges faced by learners and educators. In my previous role as an ESL instructor, for example, I realized that English in the multilingual context of countries like Pakistan is stressed at the expense of eliminating indigenous and regional languages. Also, English is poorly taught in classrooms and introduced less as a language and more as a means to create linguistic hierarchies. Upon understanding my teaching context more profoundly, I found in me a new enthusiasm for teaching. This involved immersing myself more in pedagogy, identifying gaps in pre-established curriculum, and becoming curious about how to make the classroom more interactive and relevant for learners. 

My curiosity led me to the Fulbright Faculty Exchange Program for Language Teachers in the U.S. where I taught Urdu as a foreign language at the University of Oregon for one year. This teaching position allowed me to explore innovative ways to engage students in language learning without diminishing their heritage language(s) and identities. As the year rolled by swiftly, my interest in language teaching continued to grow and I enrolled in the Language Teaching Studies Program, hoping to open up more discussions and address profound issues in language education, such as accessibility and language bias.

One year in this program has been instrumental in defining my teaching philosophy, mastering language pedagogy, and connecting with like-minded educators who share my passion for multilingualism and creating a conducive and inclusive space for learners. In addition, I also had an opportunity through this program to work for an Open Pedagogy Project with Dr. Yerian and a team of students that added another layer of understanding progressive pedagogical practices and brought me one step closer to making education more accessible and open for all. Each step in this program has been a valuable learning experience. I am eager to share the insights, research, and knowledge I gained through this program and further contribute to the community of educators.  

This portfolio is the collection of activities and a variety of research projects I have designed and prepared during this program for different courses. Through these artifacts, I created what I did not have myself while learning a language: an engaging and liberating learning environment. Further in this portfolio, I classify my work into six segments including language as a dynamic system, design, digitally-mediated language learning, assessment, teaching, and research. While you navigate this site, I hope the diversity of its content gives you a unique perspective on the skills I bring as an educator. I am confident that it will demonstrate my expertise in applying methodologies and approaches to raise quality and accessibility in language education, thereby empowering learners to reach their full potential.