HBCUs welcome Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistants (FLTAs) as adding an energetic, authentic cultural component to foreign language classes, and enhancing student life. They host language tables, cooking sessions, cultural presentations and other co-curricular events, giving U.S. students the opportunity to work with native speakers in immersive, non-classroom settings. This interaction makes studying a foreign language more meaningful, and enables HBCUs, as well as other schools that engage FLTAs, to offer a robust set of languages from around the world and create cultural events for their wider communities

With more than 350 FLTAs teaching 35 languages at 165 higher education institutions in 2023-24, the host campuses represent the diversity of U.S. higher education. Fourteen of the institutions that hosted FLTAs were Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Exchanging holiday traditions and building professional networks

HBCU leaders like Jarvis Christian University President Glenell M. Lee-Pruitt recognize the impact that FLTAs make across the campus community.  JCU has welcomed Fulbright FLTAs from Taiwan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Morocco, Kenya, and Egypt since 2021, consistently hosting three language assistants per academic year. “Our students have benefitted from taking language classes in Arabic, Mandarin and Swahili these past two years,” commented President Lee-Pruitt, adding, “Our alumni, faculty and staff enjoy engaging with the Fulbright Scholars to make their time a true cultural exchange.”

Besides teaching their native languages, Fulbright FLTAs share their holiday celebrations and traditions with their students and the wider campus community. FLTA Vivek Singh described such a celebration at Mississippi Valley State University. “On the delightful occasion of Diwali, we had the honor of presenting our cultural tableau, offering insights into Indian culture and its vibrant festival. We shared the essence and significance of this auspicious celebration with over a hundred students, accompanied by the joy of distributing sweets. The warmth and appreciation from both our team and the students of Valley were truly heartening.”

Dr. Kathie Stromile Golden, provost and senior vice-president for academic affairs at MVSU and a Fulbright U.S. Scholar alum, commented that participation in Fulbright Programs “has enriched our Institution and the communities we serve.”

Dr. Golden has spoken at several Fulbright training sessions for HBCUs, including the 2023 HBCU workshop. She described how the international office worked with campus leadership to develop a strategy to sustain their FLTA participation, including designating Title III and state funds to support the program and providing housing.

Dr. Lokesh Shivakumaraiah, Executive Director of International Programs at MVSU who leads the university’s international relations, said, “Prestigious Fulbright Programs offer an excellent opportunity to bring the best in their fields from around the world to Valley and put MVSU branding out in the world. Fulbright faculty and teaching assistants not only help our students expand their skill set and world awareness, but it also gives an excellent opportunity for our faculty to engage in collaborative research and develop a long-lasting professional network.”

At Alcorn State University in Mississippi, Arabic language FLTA Selma Sebbane, from Algeria,  hosted an event to celebrate the Muslim holiday Eid, marking the conclusion of Ramadan. She explained Ramadan’s significance as Islam’s third pillar, delving into the reasons behind fasting and explaining the Islamic Hijri Calendar.

The students tasted traditional Algerian dishes served during Ramadan and explored the customs observed during the month. Sebbane held a calligraphy workshop where students learned to extend Eid greetings using both Algerian and standard Arabic expressions and learned artistic calligraphic forms to render these expressions. “Celebrating the end of fasting with my friends and our little Alcorn family was a joyous occasion and a memorable experience,” Sebbane commented, noting that “the students found the session quite intriguing, and were eager to participate in discussions, highlighting shared values across their religions.”

Alcorn State’s FLTAs welcomed prospective first-year students from across Mississippi to an information fair for high school students. The FLTAs shared their diverse backgrounds, promoted their language courses, and highlighted Alcorn’s global programs and services. “Our booth drew lots of interest from students and teachers alike,” said Sebbane. “The turnout was fantastic, and we left with a long list of signed-up students, making our supervisor really proud. A truly successful mission!” The FLTAs also participated in a multicultural festival and conference alongside Alcorn State’s study-abroad participants. The conference aimed to promote diversity awareness through scholarship in the humanities and international experiential learning.

Hosting the FLTAs allowed Alcorn State to showcase the traditions and culture that are integral to its identity as an HBCU, particularly through the performing arts. “When I first arrived at ASU, I was eager to immerse myself in extracurricular activities and explore different facets of American culture,” said Sebbane. “I joined the choir and piano classes and had the privilege of performing on two noteworthy occasions: Alcorn Foundation Day and the choir concert, which brought together students from various schools at ASU. These experiences were incredibly exhilarating, reigniting my passion for music and introducing me to a remarkable community of professors and fellow students.” The FLTAs also participated in a Black History Month choir performance, where they learned and performed the songs of notable Black American singers and musicians.

The FLTAs also took part in the annual international awareness and involvement project, “Taste of Africa,” organized by The Delta Sigma Theta Sorority alumnae chapter in the town of Vicksburg, Mississippi. The event celebrated the cultural diversity of the Black Diaspora and included cultural tables, music performances and culinary tastings, in addition to panel discussions on educational and  economic development.

Advancing strategic institutional goals

Lincoln University of Pennsylvania has a strong legacy of producing world leaders who are globally engaged and committed to social justice. Hosting FLTAs representing some twenty countries has been an important part of the strategy that contributes to this legacy. 

Dr. Nora Lynn Gardner coordinates the Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant Program at Lincoln and serves as both the Fulbright Program Adviser and Fulbright Scholar Liaison, supporting Lincoln’s students and faculty in applying for the Fulbright Program. She explains, “Our FLTAs teach foreign language classes, lead language labs, and help students develop knowledge of international cultures. This exchange fosters a true understanding of peoples of different nations within our campus community, while also allowing the FLTAs to discover American life through the HBCU experience.”

Lincoln recently received a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to revitalize Black Studies at the university, which, according to President Brenda A. Allen, enables Lincoln “to showcase Black Studies as a dynamic, interdisciplinary field.” To support this initiative, Lincoln is hosting an FLTA from Kenya to teach Kiswahili for the first time.

Gardner commented that “our Fulbright programs bring global perspectives, world languages and cultures, and new ideas into our students’ classrooms, our faculty’s research, and our campus community,” and notes that the university’s designation as a Fulbright HBCU Institutional Leader is a reaffirmation of its “distinctive legacy of global engagement, social responsibility, and leadership development.”

FLTAs can provide a critical bridge to new world regions for institutions, enhancing language offerings and study abroad opportunities for their students. Huston-Tillotson University has hosted Mandarin-speaking FLTAs for several years. Hosting FLTAs from Taiwan has enabled them to expand the course offerings beyond Elementary Chinese I and II, adding a third and fourth level to promote greater language proficiency. The FLTA program’s community outreach efforts have led to a relationship with the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Houston.

President Suzanne Elise Walsh of Bennett College in North Carolina reflects on similar experiences with the FLTA program, noting the FLTAs can provide students a “first taste of the world,” and have led to further study abroad opportunities, including a Fulbright-Hays Group Project Abroad in Morocco.  

Dr. Lisa Lang, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis, Tennessee underlined the benefit of engaging with the Fulbright Program by welcoming FLTAs.  She noted that participation in the FLTA Program allowed LeMoyne-Owen “to offer essential languages (Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Chinese) that have enabled our dream of introducing our students to other individuals, cultures, and societies. In addition, Fulbright Programs provide a great opportunity for faculty to engage in research and academic collaboration with corporations, organizations, and other scholars throughout this global society in which we live.”

Opportunities for International Engagement

FLTAs add to the capacity of language departments by teaching classes or offering tutorial sessions, and they can enable an institution to offer a less commonly taught language. Schools that host FLTAs can tailor the program to meet their unique pedagogical needs. On many campuses they serve as directors of language houses or language floors, offering students uncommon access to native language speakers in real-life settings. 

To learn more about the opportunities that Fulbright offers to host native speakers to teach foreign languages and share cultural traditions, see the Fulbright Foreign Teaching Language Assistant Program.

Dr. Lisa Lang, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis, Tennessee underlined the benefit of engaging with the Fulbright Program by welcoming FLTAs.  She noted that participation in the FLTA Program allowed LeMoyne-Owen “to offer essential languages (Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Chinese) that have enabled our dream of introducing our students to other individuals, cultures, and societies. In addition, Fulbright Programs provide a great opportunity for faculty to engage in research and academic collaboration with corporations, organizations, and other scholars throughout this global society in which we live.”