“The university is such a place where you will transform yourself and your thinking,” said Dr. Romina de Jong, Dean of Academic Affairs of Parami University, at the Matriculation Ceremony of Parami University—Class of 2026. With the diversity in our student body, the students will have a great opportunity to be exposed to different opinions, ideas, and cultures during their studies at Parami university.
As getting ready for their university life and academic journey, the first cohort of Parami undergraduate students joined the Language and Thinking (L&T) Program before starting their semester. The L&T Program curriculum focuses on intensive reading and writing to introduce students to critical reading and writing required in academia and other skills such as respectful and active listening and communication for productive discussions.
The program introduced students to different techniques in writing and reading, such as erasure poems, text exploration, timed writing, private/focused freewriting, loop writing, underlining text and writing out of it, re-writing a story in a wide range of genres, translation, experimental translation, and collaborative reading and writing. Students engaged in their writing process through various state-of-the-art writing-based teaching techniques and guided exercises that enhanced their writing, thinking, editing, brainstorming, and analyzing skills.
This intensive two-week program is developed in partnership with Bard College, a private liberal arts college in New York. Over the Summer of 2022, facilitators of Bard’s Institute of Writing and Thinking (IWT) trained our instructors to become L&T instructors. For ten days, 3 hours per day, students would meet in small groups of 12-16 students and one instructor.
Let’s hear from our instructors and undergraduate students about their experiences in the L&T Program.
Instructors’ experience Teaching L&T Program
Teaching students from Parami was an uplifting experience for me. I was constantly in
awe of how talented, opinionated and insightful they were. They bring diverse and meaningful insights to the class every day, making their learning community vibrant and exciting. The students from Parami University are a joy to work with.
L&T is a second-to-none program designed with a robust curriculum, innovative teaching methodologies, and engaging activities that allow students to practice writing across a wide range of genres. L&T also fosters students to reflect and recognize their learning and thinking processes. The students were introduced to different writing approaches. They also read a variety of literature, from Plato to Burmese poems. Through these selected readings, they could deepen their critical and thoughtful reading skills. Then, they practiced writing in response to the prompted questions by articulating their thoughts. Language & Thinking (L&T) Program plays a crucial role in the Parami Undergraduate program. Before the students step further into their academic journey, it is very important to immerse themselves in critical reading and writing practices to strengthen their learning process. I sincerely hope that L&T helped the students in order to thrive during their academic journey at Parami University. ⸺ Thazin Nyein Kyaw, Faculty of General Education, Parami University
Parami students are engaging in the program. They are able to entertain ideas and
express their thoughts well. Their respect for each other's thoughts and ideas is to be commended. The L&T Program is a good way to start their school year as they are thrown into the pool, so to speak, to write, read and think and write for ten days! It readies them for a semester full of exciting classes and provides them the tools to read, collaborate, and express their thoughts in a concrete way. ⸺ Zaw Lin Myat, Visiting Faculty, Parami University
Students’ experiences joining L&T Program
Writing is a skill of vital importance to our academic journey and was very much
encouraged. Much as I had been aware of how beneficial writing could be, I never really got down to doing it for myself before joining the Parami L&T Program, where I had to write a lot. It was not just about enhancing our writing alone. We were also academically and intellectually provoked in the process as we, at times, had to engage in thought-provoking readings, questions, and discussions. I became better at letting my hand and my thoughts and feelings communicate effectively with each other. Diversity was embraced as we got exposed to different interpretations, opinions, and ideas of others. We were better equipped to cope with our academic journey at Parami University.” ―Kaung Myat Phyo, Class of 2026
It’s amazing and memorable. L&T Program is such amazing prep for my university life. I had never read an academic article before joining this program. The class was reeling and welcoming. I met lots of people (classmates) who are wiser and more experienced. The reading homework from the L&T Program is a great exercise. The readings were academic and novel. I enjoy focused free writing and private free writing. Especially for the private free writing, I could document my thoughts of the day. I am doing private free writing every day after my morning class session. It helps me to focus on my thoughts and think about them in a relaxed manner. I look forward to using the techniques from the program in my future learning at Parami. ― Kenneth, Class of 2026
First of all, the instructor was nice and patient. We read different texts, which include Antigone, war, diversity, and so on. We discussed what we read before the class. Specifically, we got the chance to express who we really are and what we think freely. We did a lot of writing. Among these writings, I love loop writing because it gives you the chance to ask related questions and dig deeper. And I certainly can tell that this writing habit I got from the class will help me a lot through my learning at Parami. ― Naing Lin Thu, Class of 2026