This summer, two UF Gators, Deborah Ogunmodede and Yewande O. Addie, participated in the Fulbright-Hays Intensive Advanced Yoruba Group Project Abroad (YGPA). The summer immersion program was hosted at the University of Ibadan’s Yoruba Language Centre in southwest Nigeria. The program is funded by the United States Department of Education through Fulbright-Hays fellowships and offers American college/university students a rare opportunity to learn Yoruba among the native speakers in Nigeria.
Ogunmodede is a junior health science student from Miami, Florida and one of the cooking director’s in UF’s African Student Union. Addie is a Spring 2022 PhD graduate from UF’s College of Journalism and Communications. Both Ogunmodede and Addie are of Yoruba descent and cultivated their formal Yoruba language learning at UF.
“Before attending the program I had already been taking Yoruba for 2 years with Professor Kole Odutola,” Ogunmodede said. “It was because of him that I was able to foster my previous knowledge and understanding of the Yoruba language and Culture. I’m forever thankful to be taught by him.”
Addie’s introduction to Yoruba language learning came through time in the African Flagship Languages Initiative (AFLI) Program.
“With support from UF’s Center for African Studies and a FLAS (Foreign Language and Area Studies) Fellowship, I was able to participate in a 2018 summer intensive at UF,” Addie said. “I’m really grateful that professors like Dr. Akinyemi Akintunde, Dr. Todd Leedy, and Dr. Brenda Chalfin encouraged me to apply because throughout the program, I learned so much about the structure and culture of the Yoruba language. It was also a real joy to learn Yoruba alongside other students from around the country that were learning and sharing other African languages like Zulu and Swahili.”
Building on those skill sets, Ogunmodede and Addie were able to hone their previous classroom time with native speakers in Nigeria through 120 hours of classroom instruction, one-on-one time with language partners, weekly guest lectures, weekend excursions throughout Yoruba land, local field trips to the market, and in their time living with host families.
“When entering the YGPA program, my main focus was leaving the program being able to speak Yoruba beyond my initial ability, Ogunmodede said. “However, I not only improved in my speaking capability, but I also was able to connect with my roots. Through this program I was able to learn more about the intricate culture my parents came from.”
In addition to reconnecting with Yoruba culture and family, both YGPA fellows were featured in an interview by BBC Yoruba about their experience.
“It was a real full circle moment for me because my dissertation research was inspired by a BBC documentary I came across during my time in the AFLI program,” Addie said. I feel so fortunate because I was just analyzing my research findings in Lagos through another Fulbright program this time last year and now here I am back in Nigeria as a proud UF graduate, being interviewed by the same organization that encouraged my research interests in culture and health communication.”
To learn more about the Fulbright Hays Yoruba Group Project Abroad, please visit their website.