Photo Credit: TheAlieness GiselaGiardino²³

As most of you probably know, there is very little quantitative data out there on interracial marriages, especially anything beyond a basic count of how many there are. I recently stumbled across a study currently being conducted regarding satisfaction within interracial relationships, and I’d like to take a moment to encourage everyone here to consider taking about 20 minutes out of your day to help out a doctoral student completing the study, if you meet the requirements listed below. I’ve already completed it, and it’s pretty straight-forward.

What is the purpose of this study?

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between interactional styles, religious beliefs, and social support on interracial marriage satisfaction. This study is an effort to better understand the experience of social support in interracial marriages and the impact it has on the satisfaction of the married partners.

Who can participate?

At this time, the study is limited to legally married, heterosexual, interracial couples. The interracial pairings that this study is specifically looking at are Black/White (the longest history of interracial couples in the US) and Asian/White (the fastest growing group of interracial marriages).
Volunteers must meet the following requirements to participate:

• Must currently be in a heterosexual, interracial marriage. This study is solely recruiting Black/White and Asian/White couples.
• You must have been married for at least one year.
• Both partners must be 18 years of age or older.
• Both partners must speak proficient English.
• Both partners must be US residents.

Please keep in mind that individuals of “Mixed Race” backgrounds are welcome to participate! Individuals  are welcome to participate as long as he/she can:

1. Self-identify, in part or in whole, with one of the racial groups being studied
2. Has heritage in that racial group they self-identify with and
3. Meets the other criteria listed in the study above

What will be asked of me as a participant?

In order to carry out this study, volunteers will be asked to fill out a series of questionnaires that will take approximately 10-20 minutes to complete. These questionnaires ask questions about interaction, religion, social support, and relationship satisfaction. Both the husband and the wife must fill out the questionnaires and are asked to do so separately. Participants are asked to refrain from discussing the questionnaire until both partners have completed the study. Survey responses will be kept confidential and participants may choose to refrain from providing any identifying information.

How do I volunteer? Who do I contact?

To volunteer, please send an email to: interracialmarriagestudy@gmail.com
You will receive a response asking some preliminary questions to ensure you and your spouse meet the requirements for participating in the study. If so, you will be given an ID code for you and your spouse, and the option to complete either an online questionnaire or have the questionnaire mailed to you. Questionnaire information and details of participating in the study will be provided to those that volunteer

What do I gain from volunteering?

While there are no individual benefits from participating in this study, your involvment will assist in deepening scientific understanding of factors that affect satisfaction in interracial marriages. Additionally, upon completion of the questionnaires, you may choose to enter into a drawing for one of two $50 gift certificates to either Target or Crate and Barrel. This drawing will be open to all participants in this study and is voluntary

If you have other questions, you can also ask them at the facebook page created for the study (or go there to share the study with your other interracial couple friends).

I’ve written briefly in the past about ways to learn a new language, but with my new Hindi Project pushing language learning to the forefront of my free time, I realize that I need to spell out exactly what my language learning goals are, and the timetable I’m setting to achieve them. A large part of the Hindi Project is accountability – and that requires specific details!

My Hindi Goals

Set your goals high, and don’t stop till you get there.

- Bo Jackson

I think it’s important that you learn your partner’s native language, if it’s one that you don’t know. In my case, that means learning both Hindi & Bengali, as those are the two languages (along with English) that Aditya grew up speaking – at the moment I’m focusing on Hindi. Ideally, I think one should strive for a near-native level of fluency, but I strongly suspect that most people (including me!) cannot get to that level without spending a significant amount of time in the country where the language is spoken. Since Aditya and I have no current plans to move to India, my long-term language goal is a little less lofty.

Long-Term Language Learning Goals

In five years or less, I would like to:

• Read at a Stage 3 level. This includes being able to understand a typical news article on the BBC Hindi site without a dictionary on hand (although I may not understand every word) and being able to comfortably read a pop fiction novel in Hindi.
• Write at a Stage 2 level. I suspect I will have little need to communicate in writing with anyone in Hindi, so being able to write extensively is not a high priority for me. I’m not looking to write any books here – I’d just like to be able to communicate at a practical level in writing.
• Listen at a Stage 3 level. This includes being able to easily understand all Hindi conversation I’m likely to hear on the street in India or with my in-laws, being able to easily watch Bollywood films without subtitles, and being able to follow a news report on television if I concentrate.
• Speak at a low Stage 3/high Stage 2 level. Extemporaneous speech has always been a difficulty of mine (even in English some days!), so I’m keeping expectations a little low here, even though getting to a low Stage 3 level will be my largest challenge in learning Hindi. Functionally, I’d like to be able to have basic conversations with people I meet, communicate effectively in things like bartering or ordering meals, and speak to my in-laws and Aditya about my day.

Written out in detail, these long-term goal seems more than a little intimidating to me! However, I have achieved these levels of fluency in German in only a few years, so I think I’ll be able to do so with Hindi (or so I kept reminding myself when I was tempted to downgrade these goals while writing out the list).

When making long-term goals, it’s important to visualize what sort of life and experiences you’d like to be having in the future compared to what you’re experiencing in the present.

Currently, I understand next to nothing of Hindi, and am not able to communicate with Aditya in one of his native languages (which he dislikes). Five years from now, I’d like to be able to hold a regular basic conversation with him (and any future kids) as easily in Hindi as in English. Right now, my inability to speak Hindi makes communication with some in-laws difficult, and makes trips to India a challenge. Five years from now, I’d like to be able to communicate confidently and comfortably with my in-laws, and be able to move to India for good if Aditya’s and my careers and interests lean that way. There’s obviously a lot to be done if I want to move from where I am today to where I’d like to be in five years!

Short-Term Language Learning Goals

Aditya and I leave for India in mid-February 2010, so I’m setting that trip as my short-term goals date. That gives me roughly 13 weeks of serious studying time. (While we aren’t traveling for the holidays, I’m sure they’ll suck up some free time.)

When we leave for India, I would like to be at a Stage 1 level in reading, speaking, and listening. Furthermore, I’d like to be able to:

• Read menus, maps, and basic informational signs without trouble.
• Communicate and understand Hindi well enough to give basic directions to staff (at a hotel, in a restaurant, driver, etc) and barter at shops
• Answer that my in-laws will undoubtedly pepper me with once they learn I’ve been studying Hindi, and ask a few of my own.

If the first list of long-term goals intimidated me, this one has me near petrified. I’m treading on completely new ground here, having never attempted to learn a language this quickly – I sort of eased into German with a typical slow-moving American high school language class. So I’m not completely certain I’ll be able to achieve this – but I can certainly try! (If anyone wants to chime in with their own experiences on learning languages quickly, I’d love to get some feedback.)

My Hindi Learning Plan

To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan, and not quite enough time.

- Leonard Bernstein

Right now, I’m going to focus on detailing a specific learning plan for the three months I have to study until our India trip. After the short-term Hindi Project is finished, I’ll reassess where I am in learning Hindi, where I’d like to go, and how I’ll get there. After all, no battle plan survives contact with the enemy – you gotta stay flexible!

While thinking about this over the weekend, I reread my copy of Barry Farber’s How To Learn Any Language: Quickly, Easily, Inexpensively, Enjoyably and on Your Own (recommended!). The book is a bit dated – no mentions of the internet or computer software here – but it remains an excellent guide to learning languages. The most important chapter in the book outlines Farber’s “Multiple Track Attack” method of using all of the tools available to you to learn.In my own experience, I learn languages the best when I’m following some version of the “multiple track attack”. I picked up German the quickest when I was living in the country itself, taking a German language class at the local Volkshochschule AND working on vocabulary lists with another person AND reading German children’s book to the six-year-old I was a nanny for AND attempting to communicate to people in German in daily life AND pouring over my old German textbooks every night.

Obviously, I can’t live and breathe Hindi everyday like I did with German when I was in Germany. But I plan to follow a similar multi-pronged approach, and would strongly recommend it to everyone else as well.

Hindi Language Tools

In order to figure out a plan of action, it’s important to figure out what tools you have (or can get) to help you in learning your target language, right? Here’s a list of mine – they aren’t, perhaps, the best possible tools I could get, but they’re good enough for getting started now.

• Teach Yourself Beginner’s Hindi Script by Rupert Snell
  • There are 8 units in Beginner’s Hindi Script, starting with a background on the Hindi script, then covering the constants, the vowels, conjunct constants, and other writing conventions. So far, I’ve worked my way through all of the constants, and am starting on the vowels (Unit 4). This is one of the must-have tools for anyone learning Hindi, in my opinion.
• Teach Yourself Hindi Complete Course Package (Book + 2CDs) by Rupert Snell
  • This book, by Snell, is another one of the must-haves, covering a full college course or two of material in a straightforward manner over 18 chapters (of which I’ve completed one). I plan on using this book as my primary grammar tool and main textbook.
• Teach Yourself Hindi: And Subjectwise Dictionary by Mohini Rao
  • This is another grammar + vocabulary book – one which I don’t recommend, as the typesetting is not good, and the lessons are a little more “old school”. However, since I have it, I might as well use it as a secondary reference.
• LiveMocha
  • I recently rediscovered this website, and am quite impressed with the improvements made since I last visited it. There are four Hindi courses – 101, 102, 201, 202 – spanning 160 hours of work. I’ll be using LiveMocha as my primary “computer program” tool.
• Rosetta Stone: Hindi Level 1
  • Rosetta Stone, I feel, is at about the same level of quality as LiveMocha. However, LiveMocha is accessible from anywhere, so Rosetta Stone is going to become my secondary software tool.
• Phrasebook
  • Currently, I don’t have a hard-copy phrasebook. I’ll be using the WikiTravel Hindi Phrase page for now. If anyone has any suggestions for good Hindi phrasebooks (perhaps Say It in Hindi (Dover Say It Series) ?), I’d appreciate suggestions.
• Flash Cards
  • Flash cards are KEY for learning vocabulary and phrases. I’m in the “make them yourself” school of thought, so that’s what I’ll be doing.
• Aditya
  • A fluent speaker is also key for learning a language, in my opinion. Aditya’s main roles in helping me learn Hindi will be to correct my pronunciation, check over (and correct) my exercises, and be a conversational partner.

Now, you may be looking at that list of tools, and think I’m insane. While I don’t necessarily deny the charge, I won’t be using all of these tools at the same time.

Hindi Learning Schedule

As I discussed in the Hindi Project post, my first goal is to learn Hindi script. With that in mind, my main focus for the next ten days or so will be completing the Beginner’s Hindi Script book. While I work on that, I will use flashcards to memorize the vocabulary the script book uses, and I’ll also start in on the first Hindi course on LiveMocha.

Once I finish the Hindi Script book, I’ll shift to Snell’s other book, Teach Yourself Hindi, while continuing to use LiveMocha and flashcards. By then it’ll be mid-Novemeber, and I should be ready to start juggling a fourth ball, namely travel-friendly phrases (which will be learnt via flashcards and stilted “conversations” with Aditya). When I start in on the second LiveMocha course in early Decemeber, I’ll throw in a fifth ball – Rosetta Stone. If and when I finish the first Rosetta Stone, I’ll start using the Rao Teach Yourself Hindi book to supplement Snell’s.

Perhaps this would be clearer with a chart, hmmm?

Let it never be said that I’m not ambitious enough, right?

So far, I’ve really enjoyed my evenings studying Hindi, so I’m upping the amount per week to about seven or eight hours. I don’t expect to use every “scheduled” tool every evening, but like a juggler, I’ll won’t ignore any one “ball” for any length of time. So one night may be LiveMocha and creating flashcards to study when I have spare moments, and the next night might be focused on picking up a particularly hard piece of grammar, and then practicing it with Aditya. Hopefully, the Hindi Project will be a success. I’ll keep you all updated!

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As always, if anyone else is interested in doing their own “_____ Language Project”, I’d love to see your exact plans as well – either on your blog (leave a link here), in the language and communication forums section here on Gori Girl (feel free to start your own personal thread), or in the comments on this post. Don’t feel that you need to make it as detailed as I did, altho the more details the better for keeping on track! If you’re wondering where to get started, I recommend reading this short guideline on Managing Your Language Learning Program.

Photo Credit: vm2827

The tickets have been purchased. We’re headed to India for a three week vacation/business trip in February and March of next year.

And man, does my Hindi suck.

Longtime readers may be scratching their head, thinking they’ve heard this song & dance about learning an Indian language from me before. They’d be absolutely, totally correct.  Last year, however, I was trying to learn Bengali. And I have – some. Not much; mainly, I can play cards in Bengali. And curse. (Sometimes I get to do both at once!)

This year it’s all about the Hindi. With a trip to Delhi and North India in sight, Aditya and I have both agreed that I need to focus more on learning Hindi. There’s the functional aspects to knowing enough to get around town and communicate when Aditya isn’t right at my side. Then there’s the social aspect of extended family, friends, and (in my case) Delhi coworkers. At our Indian wedding two years ago I could get away with saying “a little” in the appropriate language when asked if I knew  either Hindi or Bengali. Guests and family loved it then, but I suspect the joke does not age well.

What’s the problem? Well, like most humans, I lack self-control. Specifically, I lack the ability to correctly choose “studying” in the moment, when I’m faced with either doing my Hindi lessons or watching the awesome new Project Runway episode.  Luckily, economists have studied this problem in-depth (see Nobel Laureate Schelling’s amazing lecture, for instance (pdf)) – and have arrived at a pretty useful solution: create a commitment device that really hurts when you deviate from what you should be doing.

The most common commitment devices require you to sign a binding contract to give up a lot of money (often to a cause or person you don’t like) when you fail to do what you ought. However, given our combined income, it seemed a bit unfair to me that Aditya suffer along. If I fail, not only does he lose money, but he also has a non-Hindi-speaking spouse!

So instead, I thought of you guys. Wouldn’t I look like such a hypocritical chump if I publicly announced my exact plans to learn Hindi on my intercultural blog – and then failed to live up to that promise? And had to announce that to all my col blog readers?

Thus, we have…

The Hindi Project

Here’s the deal: I’ve promised Aditya three days per week of at least an hour’s study, and another three days of at least 30 minutes, kicking off next week. To stay accountable to this heavy workload, I’ll be writing in the forums here everyday on my Hindi progress. I’ll also be updating this blog weekly on my progress – most likely with some humorous story about how I accidentally insulted Aditya’s mom on the phone.

Moreover, I’d love to have you participate in this project too! If there’s something you’re working on -  learning your partner’s language, cooking new dishes, or even something not at all interculturally-related – and you’d like to have some public accountability to get your butt in action, then it’d be great to have you join me. Misery-shared and all that, right? (Or, to think positively, let’s share tips on keeping motivated!)

Everyone else: keep me accountable, and have an awesome Diwali weekend! I’ll post pictures of coworkers and myself in the saris we wore to the office soon.