From student to educator
A dog named Tammy prompted an eye-opening experience about language for Northern Arizona University graduate Hannah Gish. She was in Spain on a study abroad trip, met her host family for the first time, and learned to give the family dog commands—in Spanish.
Now, Gish is preparing to return to Spain as a Fulbright Scholar to teach English to elementary school-aged children in the Canary Islands. The scholarship will fund her ambitions to expand her knowledge in bilingual teaching programs and her passion for community service.
“Before Tammy, I had never thought about how dogs speak different languages like people can, but I quickly picked up commands and words to talk to Tammy,” Gish wrote in her application for the scholarship. “I was able to see a real-life example of how language works. People, and dogs like Tammy, know and understand many things but express them in different languages.”
Read more from The NAU Review.