Recent Projects: Online Lessons

Language Pedagogy

Introduction to Language Fundamentals

Part of CSILC's core mission is to increase knowledge of and access to less commonly taught languages throughout the world. CSILC has created several introductory lessons aimed at educating students in the fundamentals of some less commonly taught languages. Click here to view samples of some of these lessons.

Textbook Development

CSILC's continuing focus on increasing familiarity with and access to knowledge of critical world regions has coalesced into the development of textbooks in the languages of Dari, Pashto, and Urdu. Two sample chapters are available for review; one in Urdu, and one in Pashto.

Critical Language Projects

CSILC combines language and area studies at undergraduate and graduate levels to create distance learning lessons concerning critical world regions. During the Critical Language Projects, CSILC worked with the Department of Defense, Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center at the Presidio of Monterey, California. CSILC has developed stand-alone language and culture lessons in the following areas:

• Arabic and the Middle East
• Farsi and the Persian Gulf
• Dari in Afghanistan
• Pashto in Afghanistan and Pakistan
• Urdu and Southcentral Asia

Phase I

In Phase I of the Critical Language Project, CSILC developed more than 150 Arabic language lessons. The project had the dual purpose of improving student language proficiency and teaching the student valuable lessons about the history, culture, politics, economy and religion of the Middle East.

Phase II

In Phase II of the Critical Language Project, CSILC developed 672 Dari, Farsi, Pashtu, and Urdu language lessons (168 lessons in each language). The project had the dual purpose of improving student language proficiency and teaching the student valuable lessons about the history, culture, politics, geography, economy and religion of the South Central Asian nations of Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan.