Harvard University welcomes first-ever Filipino language instructor

Harvard University has introduced its first-ever Filipino language instructor, Lady Aileen Orsal, who was a former faculty member of Cavite State University.

In an announcement, the Harvard University Asia Center and the Department of South Asian Studies said Orsal will start teaching elementary and intermediate Filipino (Tagalog) courses in Fall 2023.

It is the first time in Harvard’s nearly four-hundred-year history that Filipino courses will be offered.

According to the esteemed institution, Filipino (Tagalog) is currently the fourth most spoken language in the U.S., after English, Spanish, and Chinese.

“Thanks to a generous gift, this new Preceptor position is funded through an endowment that ensures that Filipino languages will always be taught at Harvard,” it added.

In its introduction of Orsal, Harvard noted that Lady Aileen is a “dedicated, creative, and effective teacher who is committed to being a leader in Filipino language pedagogy.”

She first taught the Filipino language at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Northern Illinois University in 2018.

Harvard first announced that it would start offering Tagalog language courses in March.

It came after Eleanor V. Wikstrom, co-president of the Harvard Philippine Forum and a Crimson Editorial Chair, wrote an opinion article in the school paper criticizing the lack of a Tagalog language course at Harvard. — Carby Basina/LA, GMA Integrated News