SASLI 2022 in Review

66 language learners from 49 institutions participated in SASLI 2022 to work toward diverse multilingual, professional, academic, and personal goals

After two years of remote instruction due to COVID–19, SASLI returned to in-person programming for 2022, welcoming 25 undergraduate students, 34 graduate students, and 7 non-traditional students to the UW-Madison campus from across the U.S.

11 courses ran for 8 weeks, each equivalent to 8 units and 2 traditional academic semesters

Bengali (Elementary)
Hindi (Elementary, Intermediate, Advanced)
Pashto (Elementary)
Sanskrit (Elementary & Intermediate)
Tamil (Intermediate)
Tibetan (Elementary)
Urdu (Elementary & Intermediate)

Various cultural workshops and social gatherings took learning outside of the class

Cricket Games
Samosa & Chai Study Breaks
Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection
South Asian Art Exhibit at the Chazen Museum
Films: This What We Left Unfinished and Maadathy: An Unfairy Tale + Q&A w/ director Leena Manimekalai

SASLI participants also gathered for a variety of professional development events to complement classroom instruction

Guest Lectures
WISLI Student Conference
End-of-Summer All-SASLI Program
Hindi & Urdu Phonology Workshop
Oral Proficiency Interview Familiarization Workshop
Less Commonly Taught Languages Career Fair

Dozens of funding packages were awarded to support SASLI scholars' multilingual goals

1 Project GO Student
2 Full Fee Remission Awards
6 Partial Fee Remission Awards
4 WISLI Tuition Scholarships
10 SAFLI Recipients
12 $1000 Fee Remission Awards
11 SASLI FLAS Recipients
14 FLAS Fellowships from National Resource Centers

Pre- and post-program Oral Proficiency Interviews helped gauge students' speaking proficiency gains and outcomes

Among 32 first-year students: 2 placed at Novice Mid, 3 at Novice High; 11 at Intermediate Low, 14 at Intermediate Mid, 2 at Intermediate High

Among 16 upper-level students: 4 placed the same as pre-test; 12 improved by 1 or 2 sub-levels

All the events I attended were interesting and worthwhile. Cricket was a fun bonding activity, while the museum and textiles were great for the fact, they had experts or knowledgeable people leading us through the exhibits. The WISLI conference and all SASLI program had a lot of cool events happening and I'm glad I went.

Elementary Hindi Student

The instructor is a professional. He presented numerous ways for us to learn or assist our language skills. He has a way of involving all students and bring out the best in them. I give the professor very high marks!

Intermediate Hindi Student

While my new language skill has yet to be tested in a "real life" scenario, the course was focused around common, every-day communication needs. I especially appreciated the flexibility of the weekly presentations which allowed me to practice communicating about my area of study.

Elementary Urdu Student

It was very helpful that the instructor provided supplemental notes, vocabulary, and readings. The instructor has been very supportive in facilitating language training in research areas not covered by course materials by making a collaborative list of research terminology and correcting students when we used highly specialized words. The experience of language acquisition has been very positive.

Elementary Tibetan Student