Other Fulbright Grants India: Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant Program

Shantanu Kumar

Dr. Shantanu Kumar is a Junior Resource Person at the Linguistic Data Consortium for Indian Languages, Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysore. He is primarily a linguist with a passion for leveraging technology, pedagogy, and data-driven research to advance language technologies, particularly for Indian languages. He holds a PhD and an MA in Linguistics from the Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysore, and Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, respectively. He contributed to developing Maithili Anulekhika, a pioneering speech recognition tool that marks the first instance of speech technology support for Maithili, a low-resource language.

As a multilingual team leader, Dr. Kumar is dedicated to bridging traditional linguistic knowledge with technological innovation and rigorous academic standards. He has been instrumental in creating numerous datasets crucial to language technology development. He has coordinated numerous workshops and conferences related to computational linguistics, data collection, and language documentation. He has co-authored multiple peer-reviewed publications and book chapters on topics related to corpus and computational linguistics. He is passionate about language documentation, digital humanities, and inclusive language technologies, with a long-term vision to integrate linguistic heritage with cutting-edge AI applications.

As a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant, Dr. Kumar is teaching Hindi at the Department of Asian Studies, University of Texas at Austin. He is actively engaged in exploring American cultural diversity and promoting India’s social and linguistic heritage. His future aspirations include establishing inter-university collaborations through the adoption of trans-disciplinary approaches in language learning and teaching.

Pragya Sengupta

Dr. Pragya Sengupta is an Assistant Professor of English at VIT-AP University. She completed her MPhil in 2012 and PhD in 2021 from the Centre for Applied Linguistics and Translation Studies, University of Hyderabad, under the supervision of Dr. Sriparna Das. Her research interests dwell mainly in indigenous knowledge systems, cultural memory, and translation as resistance. With a strong interdisciplinary approach, her work bridges literature, ethnography, and cultural studies. She has published articles in journals such as Translation Today, Explorations and Apni Maati. She has also translated academic works in the journal named Encounters in Translation.

Beyond academia, Dr. Sengupta channels her passion for comedy and drama as a writer and performer. She translates between English, Hindi, and Bengali, and is an active member of International Association for Translation and Intercultural Studies (IATIS) and Comparative Literature Association of India (CLAI). In 2024, she attended the Translation Research Summer School at Shanghai, China.

As a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant, Dr. Sengupta is teaching Hindi at Ohio University, Athens. She is getting the learners to engage with Hindi not only through its grammar and vocabulary but through lived culture. During this program, she is introducing the learners to Hindi as well as its regional dialects and creating space to explore the broader non-Hindi linguistic traditions of India. To spark curiosity and deeper cultural connection, she envisions using Bollywood movies, short and engaging literary texts, collaborative events, and Indian art exhibitions.

Jaya Upadhyay

Dr. Jaya Upadhyay is Assistant Professor of English literature and language communication at DIT University, Dehradun. She keeps her lessons interesting by linking them with diverse cultural stories. During her graduate studies in English Literature, she formed a deep interest in exploring narratives, which later translated into the study of gendered discourse in Indian screen narratives as her doctoral topic. She completed her PhD in 2019 from the University of Lucknow. The examination of cultural life is an enduring passion that Jaya is unfolding through research and writing articles, some of which have been published in the Web of Science and Scopus.

A notable experience adding to Dr. Upadhyay’s personal and professional growth was her time as a “Fellow in Ideas 2021” at Harrison Middleton University in Arizona. This online fellowship offered her a chance to engage in conversations on subjects ranging from apple picking to robotics. It was here that she was formally introduced to the Socratic method of discussion, which has enriched her teaching and learning experience.

As a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant, Dr. Upadhyay will be teaching Hindi at Yale University. She is planning to bridge common symbols and analogies between Indian and American cultures in innovative ways to enrich the learner’s experience. She is confident that her time at Yale will benefit her teaching skills and provide a fresh perspective on building interactions, holding discussions, and incorporating modern technology in classrooms while adding to her personal development.

Dhara Kanchan

Ms. Dhara Kanchan is a passionate scholar deeply interested in language, literature, culture, and Indian classical music. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Gargi College, University of Delhi, and a master’s degree in English from Banasthali Vidyapith, Jaipur. Fluent in Hindi and English, she has intermediate proficiency in the Bundelkhandi dialect, and elementary knowledge of Sanskrit and French. Actively engaged in academic discourse, she co-translated a classic Hindi text published in Becoming Translators: Theory and Practice of Translation. She has presented papers at national conferences and would like to pursue PhD research at the intersection of translation studies, cultural studies, philosophy, and folkloristics.

Dhara’s academic engagements are complemented by active social engagement through the National Service Scheme, including teaching underprivileged children at St. Stephen’s College’s Social Service League. She has over five years of training in Indian classical ragas on the synthesizer under Ustad Latif Ahmad Khan. She recently began learning the flute. She is a certified yoga practitioner (Patanjali Yogpeeth) and holds a diploma in the Bhagavad Gita from ISKCON in Ayodhya, enriching her understanding of Indian philosophy.

As a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant in Hindi at Wesleyan University, Dhara is aiming to create an immersive, learner-centric classroom by integrating literature, art, and cultural media. This opportunity to teach, audit courses, and immerse herself in American culture will deepen her intellectual horizons and pedagogy. For Dhara, this Fulbright journey reflects her core principle: Sa Vidya Ya Vimuktaye (knowledge is that which liberates), fostering transformation for self and society.

Akshiti Sharma

Ms. Akshiti Sharma recently completed her MA in English from the English and Foreign Languages University, submitting a dissertation focused on developing accessible and inclusive learning materials for ESL learners through Translanguaging. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in education and a bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Daulat Ram College, University of Delhi, where she was actively involved in the institute’s debating and literature societies, as well as the National Service Scheme (NSS).

Beyond academics, Akshiti has been deeply engaged with social initiatives through her work with the NGO Connecting Dreams Foundation. There, she contributed to Project Kilkari, teaching underprivileged children practical communication skills and empowering women from marginalized communities with technological literacy. She has worked as a content developer with Disha Publication Inc. and BookWatch. She recently translated a Hindi novella into English, blending her interests in language, education, and cultural exchange.

As a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant at the University of Michigan, Akshiti is contributing to the university’s South Asian Language Program, fostering cross-cultural understanding and further exploring translanguaging practices and development of innovative materials to create more inclusive and effective language teaching methodologies. She hopes to apply insights gained from the Fulbright program to enrich language education in India, particularly for multilingual learners in diverse contexts.

Sheryl Alexander

Ms. Sheryl Alexander earned her master’s degree in English literature from the University of Delhi in 2023, after completing her bachelor’s degree from St. Stephen’s College, New Delhi. In addition, she completed another master’s degree in Migration and Diaspora Studies from Indira Gandhi National Open University in 2025. She has worked as a lecturer in the Department of English at St. Xavier’s College, Jaipur, where she taught undergraduate courses in Romantic and pre-Romantic poetry, Indian writing in English, and foundation English language studies.

Her research interests lie at the intersection of memory studies, migrant diasporas, and minority studies, with published works on literary hauntology, diasporic identities, and cultural memory. She has been a research intern at the Centre for Memory Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Madras. She has also contributed to the Indian Network for Memory Studies, in addition to presenting papers at national and international conferences. Beyond teaching at a university, she has volunteered with Dalit and migrant communities in Jaipur, where she explored inclusive and interactive language pedagogy.

As a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant, Sheryl is a primary instructor of Hindi at the University of Kansas. She is also involved in curriculum designing and developing learning resources for the language program. She hopes to utilize her Fulbright experience to foster cross-cultural dialogue by integrating her research insights on literature, memory studies, and diaspora narratives into language instruction to create a holistic learning experience. She aims to enrich her pedagogical practices with intercultural perspectives to bring back to her classroom in India and contribute to building meaningful academic exchange between India and the United States.

Aiman Wahab

Ms. Aiman Wahab is an English language teacher at Jamia Middle School. She completed her postgraduation in English literature from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi in 2022. She worked as Digital Academician at Bloombrain Learning Solutions. As a mentor at Bloombrain, she provided spoken English classes to adults and enabled them to cultivate their soft skills, ace their job interviews, and achieve proficiency in the English language.

Ms. Wahab is a poetry enthusiast and has a passion for teaching language using learner-centric methods. Her poetry and articles have been published in journals, online magazines, and anthologies. Her zealous participation in slam poetry, nukkad naatak, and qawwali performances during her graduation has enabled her to use these as pedagogical tools in her classroom and to create a vibrant learning experience for her students.

As a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant, Ms. Wahab intends to create cultural awareness about India’s rich heritage and employ interactive methods to introduce Hindi language and literature to her students. She looks forward to exploring new techniques of teaching foreign languages through her experience in the U.S.

Aadil Zeffer Sofi

Mr. Aadil Zeffer is a PhD candidate in English at Lovely Professional University, a private university in Jalandhar in the state of Punjab. He has two master’s degrees — in English from Central University of Kashmir and in Urdu from Maulana Azad National Urdu University. He was an English trainer for three years at a technical and vocational college in Saudi Arabia. He earned Cambridge certified CELTA and took courses in learning Spanish, Italian, and French.

Mr. Zeffer is an author of a book An Educational Supplement. His second book Convergence, which will be published soon focuses on uniting our collective spirit. He is also working on a book on Postmodern Gothic which is his thrust area. He has published several research papers in international as well as UGC care-listed journals.

As a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, he will use innovative teaching methods aiming to improve the linguistic ability of foreign language learners and this endeavor in turn, will enrich his pedagogical skills. He believes that the Fulbright FLTA program provides a wonderful platform for teaching learning experience and cultural exchange. He plans to use this Fulbright experience in his future academic and teaching assignments.

Harshita Srivastava

Ms. Harshita Srivastava is an independent scholar from Kolkata. She completed her master’s in English in 2021 from St. Xavier’s University, Kolkata and received the Britto Gold Medal for securing the first rank at the university. She has also received a Junior Research Fellowship. In her undergraduate years at Loreto College, she received the Madhumita Mitra Memorial Award for responsibility and sincerity; Nirmal Sharma Memorial Award for securing the highest marks in Hindi; Bibhas Roy Award for overall excellence; and certificates for proficiency in political science, French and Hindi. She has served as the Secretary of the Literary Society both at her undergraduate and graduate institutions; and has been on the editorial board of the college/university magazines.

Ms. Srivastava has authored a volume of poems titled ‘Corona Diary, Before and Beyond’ published by Writers Workshop. She has translated a volume of Hindi poems to English titled ‘Wheel of Creation’ authored by Dr. Rakhi Roy Halder. Her research interests mainly include the Divine Feminine in Hinduism and partition literature. She has presented and published research papers on these topics.

As a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant, Ms. Srivastava is teaching Hindi at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She aims to make the experience of her students as meaningful as possible by highlighting the cultural nuances as an integral element of the language learning process. In addition, she hopes to imbibe the teaching pedagogy of the U.S. so that new ideas may be formed and used in her teaching career.

Reetika Negi

Dr. Reetika Negi is an independent researcher and has a keen interest in the role of language in education and knowledge building, preservation, and dissemination. Currently, she is researching on the status of the regional languages like Kumaoni and Garhwali at the school level and in higher education.

She has completed her PhD and master’s in linguistics from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She received UGC NET-JRF scholarship in linguistics from 2015 to 2020. Her PhD thesis focused on aspects of representation, identity, and agency of Kumaoni women in folklore and literary/oral traditions of the region. It explored the relation between language and gender and presented a sociolinguistic assessment of women’s linguistic/cultural practices and traditional knowledge systems.

As a teaching assistant at the Centre for Linguistics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, she taught an introductory course on linguistics to undergraduate students. She has worked as a linguist with Panlingua Language Processing LLP on audio transcription and corpus building on Kumaoni and Hindi languages. She is also an active member of Linguistic Society of India and the Society for Endangered Languages, India.

As a Fulbright Language Teaching Assistant, Dr. Negi will teach Hindi at Brown University. She is keen on getting a hands-on experience of the higher education system in the U.S. and learn more about American culture. At the same time, she wishes to teach students more about the nuances of Hindi, India’s linguistic and cultural diversity and work towards expanding her scholarship and teaching skills.