I am Mansi Bajaj (she/her), a Lector of Hindi at Yale. I have been teaching at Yale since 2022. As a language educator, there are three core values that I seek to exemplify: examining socio-cultural issues to foster understanding; using diverse language inputs; and creating a safe, collaborative, and interactive classroom space. I demonstrate these values through my teaching and research, and I am presently working on an Open Educational Resources (OER) project to increase Diversity, Equity, Inclusivity and Belonging in heritage language pedagogy. The project explores a range of socio-cultural topics in South Asia, from ageism to women empowerment, and supports instructors in delivering engaging content and facilitating culturally sensitive classroom discussions.
In the field of foreign language pedagogy, my research interests focus on heritage language pedagogy, project-based language learning, content-based instruction, genre-based language teaching, gender, sexuality, and mental health in South Asia. My pedagogical work has been recognized: I was recently named one of the two winners of the 2024 MAFLT Less Commonly Taught Languages (LCTLs) Innovation Award, which honors outstanding, innovative, and transformative uses of technology in the teaching of LCTLs.
While at Yale, I have substantively added to the language program by developing the Intermediate Hindi II and the Accelerated Hindi I courses, which emphasize cultural immersion, critical thought and self-expression, and use innovative teaching methods. In addition, I have enhanced Hindi language instruction at the University of New Haven by creating OER and Credentialing Exams for Hindi.
I received my Ph.D. (2021), M.Phil (2013), and M.A. (2012) in Linguistics from the University of Delhi. Before joining Yale, I taught Hindi as an Assistant Professor of Instruction at the University of Texas, Austin.
You can find my full CV here.