Indiana University has developed quality materials to teach the Uzbek language, and they aren’t alone. Professors in Tashkent, Uzbekistan have as well, and they’re sharing their ideas with IU.Recently, four professors from Uzbekistan State World Languages University (UzSWLU) traveled to Bloomington, Indiana, to meet with language leaders and students. Dr. Pulat Omanov, who is Dean of the Faculty of Oriental Philology, teaches English at UzSWLU and lead the group. Dr. Khadicha Mukhitdinova, Professor of the Department of General Linguistics, was the main presenter, along with Rano Majidova, Chair of the Department of General Linguistics, and Zilola Salisheva, Chair of the Department of Uzbek Language and Literature. On February 1, 2024, IU’s Center for Languages of the Central Asian Region (CeLCAR) hosted a workshop for interested language professors and students from Central Eurasian Studies (CEUS), Inner Asian and Uralic National Resource Center (IAUNRC), and from IU’s Language Workshop. The four guest professors presented in the morning, illustrating the main points and benefits of the language materials that they have developed to teach Uzbek. In the afternoon, presenters were from IU, with Valeria Varga, Tserenchunt Legden, Julian Kreidl, Aleksei Rumiantsev, Amber Kennedy Kent, and Golshat Safiullina each discussing various aspects of improving language instruction. Dr. Jamsheed Choksy, Director of IAUNRC, and Öner Özçelik, Chair of CEUS, also attended.The visit was enjoyable, productive, and all parties look forward to further collaboration in the future between IU and UzSWLU.
