It’s been a summer of languages! Siobhán spent the first 8 weeks of the summer taking ASL 1101 (which she found fabulous) before immediately leaving on the last day of the summer semester for Almaty, Kazakhstan. During the month of July Siobhán has been participating in the Summer Russian Language Teacher (SRLT) professional development program hosted at Al Farabi Kazakh National University and organized through American Councils.
 

Participants of the SRLT program teach Russian at all levels in both K-12 and university settings. This year the cohort consists of a diverse assortment of K-12 teachers, graduate students, and junior, as well as experienced professors. The SRLT program includes a homestay, individual instruction as well as group lessons, and excursions in and around Almaty. 

Program participants are required to give a final presentation on the last day of the program. Siobhán has chosen to present on disability terminology in Kazakhstan vs. the US, as well as different disability initiatives taking place at the state level in Kazakhstan, such as inclusive education in primary schools. 

Outside of the classroom Siobhán has been enjoying long conversations with her host family and experiencing the satisfaction (and exhaustion) of navigating an immersion environment. She tries to run every day, which involves waking up in the 4 o’clock hour to escape the heat (the last few days were a scorching 40 degrees Celsius!). Luckily the sun comes up at 4:30! To all interested parties—yes, she has been working on her dissertation. 

For Siobhán, by far the most valuable part of the program has been learning about Kazakh culture from local community members. She is excited to take her many insights back to Ohio State to share with Russian language students and beyond this fall.