Communicative Disorders Professor Travels to India to Study Language and Literacy

August 26, 2004 — Professor Jack Ryalls, along with several other UCF faculty members and educators from local middle and high schools, recently traveled to India as part of a Fulbright-Hays Group Project Abroad intended to enhance cultural understanding to incorporate into future curricula.

During the 27-day trip, organized through the Office of International Studies at UCF, the group traveled to Mumbai (Bombay) in the west, Chennai (Madras) in the south, and Delhi, Jaipur and Agra in the north. The participants visited various educational institutions and architectural monuments across the country, participated in daily programs and presentations, and spent time with host families.

Anticipating the Department of Communicative Disorders new dual master’s degree in language and literacy (in partnership with the College of Education), Ryalls investigated how reading is taught in several different elementary education settings in India. His findings will be turned into a project as part of a teaching module about India, which will be incorporated into classes at UCF.

India has 18 official languages, as well as more than 90 other unofficial languages, Ryalls explained. “It’s also more diverse than people think.”

“India is like a mosaic pattern," he added. "When viewed from a distance, it looks like it is a single image, but when viewed more closely it reveals an intricate interweaving of many different languages, diverse religions and cultures.”

Based on nation of citizenship, India has the highest number of foreign students attending UCF, according to the Office of Institutional Research.

-- Angie Lewis