Cavite teacher makes history as Harvard University's first-ever Filipino language instructor

MANILA, Philippines — A former faculty member of Cavite State University made history as she has become the first-ever instructor for the inaugural Filipino language course in Harvard University.

The Harvard University Asia Center and the Department of South Asian Studies announced recently the hiring of Lady Aileen Orsal after they announced the new language course earlier this year. 

Harvard University said that Filipino is the fourth most spoken language in the US next to English, Spanish and Chinese. 

“We are extremely happy to welcome Lady Aileen Orsal to the Harvard community,” said James Robson, Victor and William Fung Director at Harvard University Asia Center in the Harvard Gazette report. 

“We look forward to working with her to develop, highlight, and showcase the richness and variety of the history and cultures of the Philippines through events on the Harvard campus.”

Orsal started teaching the Filipino language as a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies in Northern Illinois University in 2018.

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