Reconnect with Your Roots
Language is profoundly personal. It’s how we experience the world. These classes are an opportunity to develop a new relationship with Bangla - rooted in feeling safe, comfortable, and supported in the process. In our first session, we’ll take time to unpack some of the barriers that might stand between you and your goals. Discussing past experiences trying to learn Bangla is an important step in redefining your relationship with Bangla on your own terms.
If you were made fun of as you tried to learn Bangla as a young person, those experiences can fuel insecurity or hesitation to speak Bangla as an adult.
A নৌকা / nowka/ boat in St. Martin, Chittagong, Bangladesh
I offer supportive, non-judgmental Bangla language classes for all levels. Virtual Bangla classes can be intimidating at first but I work with learners to build their conversational confidence, expand their vocabulary and build practical communication skills in Bangla. These classes are for people seeking to:
Deepen relationships with Bangla speaking relatives or parents
Speak on complex topics like marriage, politics, or mental health
Improve Bangla to cultivate the language with young people (your children, nieces, nephews, etc.)
Strengthen their ability to organize in Bangla and discuss social justice issues
Increase oral proficiency skills for business travel and negotiation from novice to intermediate or intermediate to advanced
We will work together to identify realistic goals and benchmarks of improvement that these classes will help you achieve. For each class, I will prepare a lesson plan with different activities designed to strengthen the skills you want to focus on. This can include listening comprehension, conversational skills and/or specialized vocabulary.
I offer a variety of class schedules to meet your availability and budget. See below for more details on pricing and structure. If you’d like to move forward, get in touch with me today so we can schedule a 30-minute consultation.
About Me
I am a journalist and professional Bangla interpreter with over 7 years of experience. I’ve interpreted for clients such as Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Desis Rising Up and Moving, and the Working Families Party.
I was born and raised in the US and grew up speaking Banglish. My family used to laugh at my Bangla and consequently, I felt extremely nervous speaking Bangla at all. After college, I lived and worked in Bangladesh as a Fulbright Scholar in Chittagong after completing an intensive Bangla class at the Bangla Language Institute at Independent University in Dhaka. I continued practicing my Bangla in a professional capacity working with activists in Bangladesh. I have also worked as a teacher for 5 years teaching Spanish, English, and various social justice topics which inform my pedagogy.
So many young Bangali folks have asked me how they could improve their own Bangla, but unless they were willing to attend classes with young children, I didn’t know of any resources available to them. That’s why I decided to start offering one-on-one virtual Bangla tutoring.
These classes will be a supportive, engaging environment. Improving conversation skills in any language requires a fun environment where you feel comfortable making mistakes and learning from them. No guilt, no shame, no laughing at mistakes. If you feel insecure speaking Bangla, we can work on that!
When I moved back to the US from Bangladesh, my relationship with my family transformed. I attended a dawat/ family gathering where I told my chachi/aunt, entirely in Bangla, that she should hold her son accountable for his own behavior instead of blaming her daughter-in-law for something that has nothing to do with her because that was patriarchal. My chachi, who always has a witty comeback, stared at me in disbelief. Then she slowly turned to my mother and said, “this one has learned to speak too well.” I took it as a compliment. The ability to be my authentic self in Bangla is one of the greatest privileges of my life and I want to support others in our community in their journey to reconnecting with Bangla.
Structure & Pricing
Pressed for Time
2 Classes a Month
$270 a month
2 Month Minimum Commitment
Group Classes
Fill out an interest form to learn more about group classes. This is only available for those who have 0 familiarity with Bangla.
All In
4 Classes a Month
$540 a month
1 Month Minimum Commitment
Pay As You Go
As Often As You Want
$150 per class
No Minimum Commitment
The higher rate helps support those who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford these classes.
Live more of your life in Bangla
Photo taken on the ferry to St. Martin, Chittagong, Bangladesh.
How It Works
You can get in touch with me, so I have a sense of what you’re looking for. Then I’ll e-mail you to set up a 30-minute consultation.
The consultation is an opportunity for us to get to know each other. You can ask me any questions you may have. I’ll ask you to expand on what you’d like to work on in these classes and co-create a learning plan based on what you’d like to work on.
Many learners may want a more structured curriculum with milestones and assessments while others may want to have open-ended and exploratory sessions. We can work together to find the right balance to get you to your language goals. At the end of the consultation, I’ll go over the logistics of how these lessons would work and next steps.
By the end of the consultation, if you choose to move forward with the classes, we’ll schedule a recurring time and discuss payments and paperwork.
Our first class will consist of a conversation about the barriers you’ve faced in improving your Bangla and an assessment where I’ll get a better sense of your current Bangla conversation and comprehension skills. That assessment will then inform how I design the curriculum for our following sessions.
Testimonials
“Before, any interaction I would have with a Bangla speaker my mom would have to be the translator but now, after these classes, I don’t necessarily need that. I can speak and get my point across. It feels great.
As a result of this class, now I’m willing to speak Bangla. Before, I knew I couldn’t do it so I wouldn’t. But now, I have the foundation and confidence so I’m willing to speak it.
— A former student who took classes 2x a month.
“I have first-hand experience with Rebecca teaching me Bangla and trust me, she’s the real deal! I’m a NYC public school teacher and during the pandemic, when schools were first switching to virtual learning, my school asked me to record a voice message in Bangla to send to all the Bangla-speaking parents at the school. My Bangla is absolute crap so I panicked and called Rebecca. She did her magic and the recording was a success. It informed parents of how remote learning would work, all as a result of her work.”
— Saika Haque
“Rebecca was my inspiration behind reconnecting to my Bangladeshi roots and language this past year. Her commitment and dedication to language justice is powerful and necessary. She’s firm but compassionate so makes a great teacher.”
— Israt Audry
“One of the only people I would take Bangla lessons with.”
— Ayesha Akhtar
FAQs
Why are these classes so expensive?
As a professional with years of teaching and interpreting experience, this rate allows me to be compensated fairly for my time. While classes are 55-minutes long, I’m also spending additional hours preparing lesson plans, researching learning materials, managing payments and scheduling. I’m also designing individualized lesson plans and homework activities based on your goals. I send calendar invites for each class and ensure all your class materials are conveniently located in an easy to access virtual folder. The time and energy I spend on all of this needs to be compensated because like you, I also have bills to pay and dealing with inflation is no fun.
Why are the “Pay As You Go” classes so expensive?
This package is rooted in economic justice. Your money goes towards scholarships for folks who do community organizing or activists that may not have as much disposable income because they also support their extended family. This is an opportunity to not only take this class and improve your Bangla but also support your fellow community members to do the same.
How much work do these classes involve?
Classes will involve homework, but it’s not designed to stress you out. The length of the homework will vary based on which package you sign up for and your own capacity.
Learning a language is like working out. If you want to see results, you need to be consistent. Without regular practice, it will be hard to improve your Bangla. So if you sign up for two classes a month, there will be more homework so you can continue practicing in between sessions. If you sign up for weekly classes, the homework will be shorter. During the consultation, we will have a conversation about your capacity to do homework and I’ll keep that in mind as I create assignments. The point of these classes is to meet you where you’re at, not to stress you out.
Do you teach Sylheti?
No, I do not.
How will you create a fun, supportive environment in these classes?
Language is very personal and emotional, especially for Bangladeshi folks (the liberation war wasn’t that long ago). Often the greatest roadblocks to feeling comfortable speaking a language or being willing to try and make mistakes are emotional blocks. These classes will hold space to talk through those topics (if you’d like) so we can take the plunge into experimenting and speaking. From my years working in social justice spaces to my current work as a journalist who interviews people who have survived very traumatic experiences, I know how to create an emotionally supportive and encouraging space where you feel in control of your journey learning Bangla.
I speak a mix of Bangla and my regional language, can I still take these classes?
Yes, of course! These courses can help you learn to communicate comfortably in Bangla. I have plenty of experience learning to make the switch from speaking a mix of a regional language and Bangla to solely communicating in Bangla.
I’m not Bangali but I still want to learn Bangla, can I sign up?
Yes, fill out an interest form and indicate that you’d like to take group classes!
I want to take these classes but can’t afford them. What can I do?
I encourage you to seek outside funding or ask your employer if they could cover these classes as part of your professional development. Or encourage your friends/family to take these classes and opt to pay a higher rate (Pay As You Go) so I can afford to take on more clients who can’t afford to pay for these classes. Otherwise, I’m sorry to say there’s not much else I can offer at this time. Sigh, capitalism.
I’m not sure if I want to take the classes, should I fill out an interest form anyway?
That depends. If you’re sure that 1) you can afford these classes and 2) you are ready to make the time commitment, then please do fill out an interest form and we can talk through any concerns you may have.
Redefine your relationship with Bangla
Fill out an interest form and I’ll be in touch to schedule a consultation