SIT alumna Linda Sukarat was named College ESL Instructor of the Year 2021 at the annual New York State TESOL conference on November 4. Awards are given both to students and teachers in the state of New York who have contributed to the field of English language learning.

Sukarat has been teaching at Binghamton University since 2009 and is currently director of the English Language Institute (ELI), a support program for matriculated students under the provost’s office.

With a background in English Literature and TESOL, she spent most of her adult life teaching abroad. After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh, she became a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand. She then attended SIT Graduate Institute, taught in Mexico, and conducted research in Indonesia before returning to Thailand.

… the philosophies of education that the SIT learning community instilled in me are what have made my teaching career stimulating and fulfilling.

From 1989-2009, she was involved in international development as a teacher trainer at Silpakorn University, where she taught elementary and high school EFL teachers incorporating music, culture, poetry and literature in foreign language teaching pedagogy. She also participated in NGO work as well as after-school EFL programs there.

At Binghamton University, she teaches courses that revolve around ESL teacher training, pronunciation for bilinguals, and a writing course that explores cultural identity.

How did your time at SIT inform your approach to language teaching and learning?

SIT’s experiential philosophy directly influenced my view of teaching and learning. I firmly believe that students learn best by doing, that qualitative research is important and that the relationships formed between students and the speakers of a language/culture are vital to the process. 

I love that I have never stopped being a student.

I also learned from SIT that we can and should be lifelong learners. I attended SIT when Earl Stevick and Caleb Gattegno came to campus. We students sat around brainstorming ways to use our wooden rods, and I still use them to this day to teach certain grammar points and to get students talking conceptually.

When I was in Thailand, Donald Freeman came as a guest to my Thai university to demonstrate “Learning Centered” teaching and this also stuck with me. I still believe that the philosophies of education that the SIT learning community instilled in me are what have made my teaching career stimulating and fulfilling.

What is your favorite aspect of being a teacher?

For me, teaching is learning. I love that I have never stopped being a student: I love learning more about many different subjects, learning various methods of teaching, and most of all, learning new perspectives from my students.

What is your advice for new students and new teachers?

Always be curious and never think you already know all there is to know about something. If we stop asking the why and how, we become stagnant. Students shouldn’t just sit back, waiting for teachers to “give” them some knowledge, and teachers shouldn’t think they are the only knowers in the classroom. We all have to be continually asking questions, and as soon as we know an answer, we should move on to the next question. That’s how we keep both learning and teaching vibrant.

Archna has taught for SIT Study Abroad in India since 2008. She holds a master’s degree in English literature and a bachelor’s in education from Rajasthan University. She has taught for study abroad programs for many years and is affiliated with On-Site Language Services. She has in-depth knowledge of Indian cultures and traditions and assists her students with cross-cultural learning. She is fluent in Hindi, Gujarati, and English. Her favorite pastimes include dancing, reading, and traveling.

Goutam earned a master’s degree from Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi, India, in 1989. He has taught Hindi for more than 12 years for study abroad programs in India and worked with Antioch University’s Buddhist studies program and for On-Site Language Service’s International Language Learning program. Goutam previously worked with SIT’s India: Sustainable Development and Social Change program.

Goutam is fluent in Hindi, Bangala, Gujarati, Bhojpuri, Brij, and English and is an expert on Indian culture.

Bhavna has worked with SIT Study Abroad since 2004 as a language teacher, student affairs and homestay coordinator. She holds a BA from Lucknow University and recently completed a postgraduate diploma in rural development with a specialization in public health in India.

Bhavna previously conducted Hindi workshops for Japanese and Canadian students. She is fluent in English, Hindi, Rajasthani, Avadhi, and Nepalese. She is an athlete and Kathak dancer.

Dr. Abid Siraj has been engaged in teaching, research, and program management in public health in India for the past 20 years. He has also been actively involved in rights to health advocacy work. His doctoral work focused on India’s trajectory in reproductive, sexual, and child health programs with special reference to family planning and population control from beneficiaries’ perspectives and perceptions. Besides his doctorate degree, he holds a master’s degree in social work from Central University of India-Aligarh Muslim University.

Dr. Siraj has worked with SIT since 2011, first as academic coordinator and later as the academic director of a public health program. Before joining SIT, he worked for a USAID-funded project to train the village heads of local self-governments to promote reproductive and child health in the villages of Aligarh district in Uttar Pradesh in India. District and state government officials have praised his work as the manager of a community-based distribution project of family planning methods for achieving the family planning targets and implementing a choice-based contraceptives program with the help of community volunteers.

Dr. Abid was part of a team that did pioneering work in thethe ‘National Rural Health Missio, the largest public health program initiated by the government of India in 2005. His proposed initiative for an emergency helpline for safe delivery to ensure the timely shifting of pregnant mothers to the nearest hospital was adopted in various states.

Ashutosh is a Panchakarma expert with a practice of holistic and traditional treatments mentioned in Ayurveda. He has treated patients all over the world. Along with a Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery degree from Goa University’s Gomantak Ayurveda Mahavidyalya & Research Centre, Ashutosh holds a postgraduate certificate in Panchakarma from Kasturba Medical College, Manipal University, Karnataka. He has presented and published scientific papers across India and translated Ayurvedic Anatomy from Marathi to Hindi. He is an avid blogger and writer.

Dr. Azim Khan is a professor of global health and human rights. He is director of SIT’s International Honors Program in human rights and co-chair of the MA in Global Health at School for International Training. He received the prestigious Ford Foundation International Fellowship for Human Rights for academic excellence, leadership, and commitment to the community in 2003. In 2007, he was awarded a Scholar of Peace fellowship by the Foundation for Universal Responsibility of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.  

In a career spanning more than 23 years, Dr. Khan has worked with universities in India and the U.S., teaching law, human rights, public health, and sustainable development. The primary focus of his work has been to create global citizenry through international education.   

He pursued his doctorate degree in health, gender, and human rights from Aligarh Muslim University, where he focused his thesis on sex-selective abortions and effectiveness of prenatal diagnostic techniques legislation in India. He has earned two master’s degrees; an MA in human rights from the University of London and Master of Laws from Aligarh Muslim University, in addition to a Bachelor of Laws with distinction in constitutional law from the University of Lucknow. 

Before joining SIT in 2008. Dr, Khan worked as professor and a law school dean, and as a political analyst for the U.S. government. He was a facilitator for Ford Foundation’s Leadership for Social Justice Institute in Washington, DC, in 2006. Besides being a committed academic practitioner and policy influencer, he has worked as a consultant and researcher for international nonprofit organizations, including the United Nations. 

Dr. Khan was lead writer for a shadow country report on India for the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (UN CERD). He is the founder of a K-12 school in his rural community, which was ranked in government records as one of the most educationally and economically challenged areas in India.    

Dr. Khan is a member of Global Alliance for Justice Education (U.S.), a fellow of the Royal Society of Public Health (UK), a fellow of the Public Health Association of India, and a member of the International Federation on Aging (Canada) and the Clinical Legal Education Association (U.S.).

See Dr. Khan’s full list of publications