Nawang Phuntsog, an associate professor of education at California State University at Fullerton, has won a Fulbright Senior Research Scholar Award to India for the year 2011-2012.
As a Fulbright Research Scholar, Prof. Phuntsog will conduct research to explore the challenges associated with an abrupt shift in the medium of instruction from native Tibetan (Heritage language) to English language for 6th grade Tibetan Children.
Additionally, he will identify the effects of Heritage Language (independent variable) on math and science achievements (dependent variables) of 6th grade Tibetan children in select schools in India.
The Fulbright Research Awards are selected by the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board which is the Presidentially appointed 12-member Board responsible for establishing worldwide policies for the Fulbright Program and for the selection of Fulbright recipients.
The core Fulbright Scholar Program sends 800 U.S. faculty and professionals abroad each year in over 130 countries.
While commenting on the award, Prof Phuntsog says: “This award will allow me to undertake an important research in India that may contribute to the greater understanding of the role of heritage language in the acquisition of academic and second language proficiency based on the experiences of Tibetan children in India.”
He says that Tibetan schools have been providing effective dual language instructions for the past many years but no systematic study has so far examined the issues and challenges associated with the transitional phase in 6th grade when the language of instruction is changed from Tibetan to English for all core subjects.
Prof. Phuntsog will carry out his research at various schools administered by the Tibetan Children’s Village headquartered in Dharamsala, India.
During his stay in India, Prof. Phuntsog will also lecture at Central University of Tibetan Studies in Varanasi and other Indian colleges and universities.
The Fulbright Program is sponsored by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
