Last Tuesday, in a gesture that typifies her unique approach to teaching, Professor Gloria Ascher invited five of her students to open their textbooks and sing "Hanukah Linda," a song praising the joy of Hanukah in the Ladino language.
Ascher, co-director of Judaic studies and an associate professor in the German, Russian, and Asian Languages department, teaches one of Tufts' most unusual and lively language and culture classes.
The program is comprised of two classes: an introduction to Ladino language and culture, and an advanced class that takes a closer look at the culture. Because of its wide scope, the program is cross-listed in the Spanish department and in the German, Russian, and Asian department. It fulfills a number of Tufts requirements, including foreign language, humanities distribution, Judaic studies primary course, Spanish-related field, and the Judaic or Hispanic culture option.
Ladino, also known as Judeo-Spanish, is a mix of Spanish and Hebrew. Ascher's program concentrates on teaching the language and culture that have defined Sephardic Jews for over 500 years. When the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492 during the Spanish Inquisition, they took their language with them. Over the centuries, it has adopted the influences of different cultures and incorporated elements of Greek and Turkish, amongst other languages. The evolution of Ladino mirrors the story of the Sephardic Jews' exodus.
Ascher's class, which began last spring, was her personal brainchild. Born to Turkish parents of Sephardic origin in the Bronx, her childhood was bathed in Ladino culture and tradition.
"My parents spoke Ladino at home," she said. "I was told by my mother to speak English because I was born here and I was American. But... I would write poems and stories in Ladino. I got into the language in a scholarly way very early."
Because Ladino culture is so important to her, Ascher chose to create a teaching program through which she could pass on her knowledge. Though there were no academic publications in Ladino, Ascher was determined to organize the class. She vowed to put together her own teaching material, write a grammar book, and compile the stories and proverbs that she learned from her family.
Fortunately, before the first class started, several works by prominent Ladino scholar Matilda Koen-Sarano became available in print. Ascher now teaches the class with these texts as well as "Aki Yerushalayim," a cultural Ladino review published in Israel that contains everything from recipes to scholarly articles.
But written texts are not the main component of the class. "This language is so special," she said. "You can't just learn it through a book. You have to learn it through living."
To make her students truly understand Ladino, Ascher engages them in all kinds of cultural activities. "We sing songs, we do skits, we discuss stories and proverbs, [and] as much as possible we speak Ladino," she said. "I want my students to really be living it."
Many of the students enrolled in the Ladino course in search a language offering more exotic than Spanish or French.
"I wanted to look into an area that wasn't so well known," freshman Carmen Staaf said. "It's important to preserve languages and cultures."
Her classmate expressed a more personal motivation.
"My family married into a Sephardic Jewish family. Taking this class allowed me to get a better insight into the culture," freshman Michael Kleinman said.
Regardless of their original interests, the small size of the class - currently six people, with a cap of ten - its interactive character, and Ascher's enthusiasm have led students to increase their involvement. All have been inspired to use their creative and artistic abilities to create projects that surpass those usually found in a language class. Staaf, for example, cooked a traditional Sephardic meal and served it to the class. Junior Jessica Green created paintings in the Sephardic tradition, while freshman Angie Brice is working on a musical project. Freshman Abby Meyerson wrote an entire play in Ladino.
