Reuters
 
Austin, Dec 22: The South Asia Institute at the University of Texas at Austin will establish the first national flagship language programme in Hindi and Urdu in the United States to produce university graduates with the highest levels of fluency and professional proficiency in the two languages.

James Brow, director of the South Asia Institute at the varsity, said the aim of the programme, administered by the International Institute of Education, is to address the rising need for Americans to communicate and compete globally through knowledge of the languages and cultures of other countries.

'In particular, it seeks to produce a new kind of instructional programme focused on the attainment of high-level competency in the target language and grounded in its professional use across a range of disciplines,' he said in a statement.

The varsity will receive over $700,000 in funding in 2006-07 to launch the new flagship programme. The core curriculum is designed to deliver a carefully structured sequence of instruction based in a sophisticated understanding of South Asian culture and using innovative technologies, he said, adding: 'Every year, except the third that will be spent in India, the programme will offer two core courses each semester - a flagship language course and a flagship area-content course.'

Since the first year of the programme is set for 2007-2008, a recruitment initiative of academically excellent high-school students with some knowledge of Hindi or Urdu will begin immediately; language skills of entrants will be enhanced in a summer language camp.

Judith Langlois, dean of the College of Liberal Arts, said: "With our internationally-renowned faculty, innovative educational technology and multi-disciplinary curriculum, we are poised to house the strongest advanced Hindi-Urdu language programme in the country."