Teaching Interculturally with Irene Theodoropoulou

Welcome to Episode 72 of the Think UDL podcast: Teaching Interculturally with Irene Theodoropoulou. This interview is about 25 years in the making, though I didn’t know it at the time I met Spyros Kissas in Athens, Greece, in 1995. In 1997 I married into his Greek family for us to become cousins. And then he married the incomparable Sofia Fournaridou and we became fast friends. Recently, Sofia introduced me to her cousin Irene Theodoropoulou, and I can’t thank her enough because I am absolutely floored by what Irene is doing to make her very diverse linguistics classes at two universities in Doha, Qatar, inclusive and inviting for her vast array of students! Irene Theodoropoulou is an Associate Professor of Linguistics at Qatar University and a Visiting Associate Professor of Linguistics at Georgetown University in Qatar. This conversation is filled with ancient wisdom for modern problems and illustrates practical ways to apply UDL principles in culturally diverse classrooms. We talk about language, linguistics, varying format and content (and paying attention to both), happiness and creativity, and how to leverage learner diversity and variability to create rich and rewarding educational experiences for both students and instructors. It is such a fun conversation, too, and although you can’t see me, you may hear how much I love talking about the ancient wisdom of the Greeks (because you know that subject always comes up when I have the chance to talk with a Greek). So fry up some Haloumi cheese, break out your pitas and Tzatziki, and settle in for a practical yet still philosophical discussion about intercultural teaching and UDL!