Harinder Khalsa, a Turkish by birth, converted to Sikhism was born in Ankara, Turkey. After finishing
her school education, she moved to Istanbul where she studied Italian language and literature. She also
started taking classes in Italian at a young age. It was her interest in the studies of languages that brought
her several scholarships to study abroad in Italy during summer time. She further studied in Siena and
Perugia and then ended with a Master degree in Italian and linguistics in 1998. Since then she has been
teaching Italian and has emerged as one of the best teachers of their language. Thus, she has got a proficiency
in Italian, Turkish and English. She is a role-model as she motivates others to learn as many languages as
possible. In her words “It’s important to learn a language different than yours. Learning a language different
than yours. Learning a language helps one grow in a way that may not be possible otherwise. Seeing the
world from a totally different perspective, seeing yourself from a different perspective-it brings objectivity.
It helps one face their own limitations but also discover their own strengths and see that there is not only
one way of doing things.” Her passion lies in keeping language learning funds, interesting and meaningful
for all generations of students through research in pedagogy and advancements in technology. In her classes
she seeks to create a community of learners who are able to recognize where they are with their language
skills and their understanding of culture; and working on improving upon them day-by-day. Her main
interests are integrating information technology in the classroom and outside, curriculum development
and assessment. Recently she also started teaching her native language, Turkish, as part of the UO Yamada
Language Center’s Self Study Language Program and is the coordinator of the same program. She is the 2015
recipient of the Thomas F. Herman Award for excellence in Pedagogy. She served as an academic advisor for
undeclared undergraduate students. She served on the UO Senate NTTF Committee 2005-2007, UO Senate
2009-2013, UO Senate Executive Committee 2010-2012, UO Senate Committee on Committees 2012-2015
and is currently an elected member of UO Undergraduate Council and a member of RL Undergraduate
Committee. She is also a co-convener and a member of the steering committee of the UO Language Council,
a large group of faculty, administrators and students dedicated to the advancement of language studies at
the University of Oregon.
