Purdue Language and Cultural Exchange Partnership
By: Hannah Bush
For nearly a decade, the Purdue Language and Cultural Exchange (PLaCE) program has worked with the Colombia Purdue Partnership to provide English language courses and short-term immersive programs at Purdue University for undergraduate students, faculty, and staff from various universities in Colombia. Hannah Bush, a Senior Lecturer in the PLaCE program, has been heavily involved in developing and implementing many of these English language courses, such as the Language and Cultural Exchange Course for NEXO Global Rural and summer English Language Institutes for faculty and staff.
In May 2024, Hannah piloted an exciting new program: the Language and Cultural Exchange Program for Educators in Colombia. The PLaCE program created the LaCE for Educators program to facilitate instructors’ professional and personal development through short-term immersive learning experiences abroad. While abroad, Hannah had various personal and professional opportunities to apply her interpersonal skills and intercultural knowledge and reflect on how she could share her experiences back home with their international students in their academic courses at Purdue University.
Hannah with EFL teachers at Centro Colombo Americano.
Hannah coordinated with Margarita López Pinzón, Jefe Oficina de Internacionalización, Universidad de Caldas, Manizales, Colombia, to give presentations on topics such as “Engaging English Language Learners” to faculty and students at the Universidad de Caldas, Manizales, and local educators at El Centro Colombo Americano in Manizales. In these professional settings, she exchanged ideas and information about addressing the English language needs of students and faculty at different educational institutions in Colombia.
Hannah was interviewed about her professional goals and opportunities while visiting the Universidad de Caldas, Manizales. (Interview: https://www.ucaldas.edu.co/portal/u-de-caldas-fortalece-lazos-linguisticos-y-culturales-con-la-universidad-de-purdue/).
Hannah and some former students from Nexo Global Caldas Program.
Lastly, Hannah experienced the vibrant, diverse Colombian culture while traveling and visiting not only Manizales but Cartagena, Pácora, Pereira, and Medellín with some of her former NEXO Global Rural students, exchange students and faculty mentors from Purdue University, and Luz Inés Tascón-Villa of Global Partnerships and Programs. Some of the most meaningful experiences she had were everyday conversations with members of the local communities in the stores, taxis, hotels, and restaurants.
She really liked the Colombian arepas.
In her academic courses at Purdue, she has shared her language and cultural exchange experiences with her first-year international students and has been able to support them in more empathetic and meaningful ways. She hopes to have more opportunities to participate in LaCE for Educators programs to other countries in the future to continue her professional and personal growth.
Hannah is immensely grateful to Dr. Matthew Allen, PLaCE Director, Juan Diego Velásquez de Bedout and Luz Inés Tascón-Villa with the Global Partnerships and Programs, Margarita López Pinzón, Universidad de Caldas, Manizales, and her NEXO Global Rural students who supported her throughout the program. Muchas Gracias por todo!
Hannah's Bio
D. Hannah Bush graduated from Concordia University, Irvine, CA with her B.A. in English and later earned her M.A. in Linguistics with a specialization in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from Oakland University, Rochester, MI. She has been teaching in the Purdue Language and Cultural Exchange (PLaCE) program at Purdue University since 2014, where she develops and teaches courses that assist international students and visiting scholars as they adjust to living and studying abroad in the United States.
In May 2021, Hannah graduated with an M.S. Ed. in Learning Design & Technology from Purdue University and gained expertise in the field of instructional design to create more meaningful and inclusive learning experiences for her students. Presently, she is pursuing a master's degree in public health at Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN (formerly IUPUI). Her interest in public health, specifically health promotion and education, stems from her experiences teaching first-year college students about the importance of wellness and working at local hospitals.
Hannah’s research interests also include curriculum development, literature for language and cultural exchange, and learning design and technology. She has presented at professional conferences including INTESOL, TESOL International Convention, Symposium on Second Language Writing, and the Association for Communications & Technology (AECT) Design and Development Showcase.
