“Students besides those who have native ties to Urdu are especially encouraged to join us,” Zafreen Jaffery explains, discussing the new Heritage Urdu classes. Currently the teacher for eight students, Zafreen leads one section and will continue throughout Spring. At 25, she is the youngest of PSU’s three visiting Fulbright instructors at Portland State this year, but she has no less educational experience. She studied at Punjab University as well as Kinnaird College, both in her native Lahore, Pakistan. After earning two Master’s degrees – one in English Literature and one in English Language Teaching—she began teaching English to high school students and has done so for the past four years.

Though she enjoys teaching at home, Zafreen does mention some aspects she values about the system at PSU. “In Pakistan, the teacher is always right; here, teachers and students are more like peers.” She also appreciates the fact that her relationship with her administrators is also more cooperative. “I like how they give me room to experiment with my classes here and how they appreciate my input.”

Zafreen likes Portland – “the many trees have made it much easier to live here,” she admits – and takes advantage of the class offerings, currently taking two courses in addition to her Urdu class. Studying research techniques in both classes – Teacher as Researcher in addition to Research & Practice in Multiple Languages – broadens her own perspective by giving her opportunities to see other ones. In fact, one thing Zafreen appreciates about her stint in Portland thus far is that she has been able to “understand diversity” more. “Because there are many people from all over the world with varied qualities and cultures, I know better what diversity means.”