Teaching in Tajikistan: OSU Fulbright recipient finds new opportunities in Central Asia

Wednesday, September 24, 2025

Media Contact: Hailey Rose Viars | Communications Specialist | 405-744-5496 | hviars@okstate.edu

Handmade tapestries cover the stands and walls of the bustling bazaar. A cacophony of voices carries throughout the market stalls, crafting a bright and colorful landscape of ancient Tajikistan traditions with a modern twist. 

The Central Asian nation of about 10 million is technically a newer country still finding its modern identity, less than 40 years after the fall of the Soviet Union. But its heritage remains strong, cohesively fusing its past and present in an exciting environment.

Here is where Oklahoma State University graduate Ellie Scheaffer has been teaching English in Tajikistan through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program over the past seven months, putting her expert knowledge in the language arts to use.

Scheaffer has a long history with Central Asia. She participated in exchange programs in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, supported by OSU’s Humphreys Long-Term Travel Grant, and befriended fellow international students from Tajikistan in both countries. Last year, she completed a Boren Fellowship in Uzbekistan for the intensive study of Russian and Uzbek languages.

These experiences helped lead Scheaffer to her current position, where she assists in classrooms and American spaces across Tajikistan, teaching English to students. She received her master’s degree in global studies from OSU, with research focusing on language policy in Central Asia, and her bachelor’s degree in German from OSU. 

“Our goal is to help young people learn, usually their fourth language, and it gives them more access to international opportunities and international education,” Scheaffer said. “It’s a skill that can act as a bridge for many communities to have more access to the world. Language learning is fundamentally important to understanding people.” 

Many people in Tajikistan are trilingual, with Tajiki serving as the official state language and Russian as a “language of inter-ethnic communication.” Other languages, including Uzbek, Shughni and Yagnobi languages, are spoken across the country. Programs for English language education in Tajikistan complement this language environment.

Scheaffer has been teaching in Dushanbe, Tajikistan’s capital, for four months after completing a teaching rotation in a smaller village called Gharm in the mountainous Rasht Valley. 

“It was a really rare experience to be in that part of the country for any extended period of time, even if it was a short amount of time in the scheme of things,” Scheaffer said.

Gharm is a valley town in the Alaï mountain range that adheres to traditional cultural ideas and practices. Scheaffer had been the first English teacher to stay longer than a few weeks in this town, which is distinct in its history and is known for its apples and other fresh produce from its high mountains.

“It was the most beautiful place I’ve ever lived,” Scheaffer said. “My students were very kind and eager, and toward the end of my time there, would greet me with [Hi, Teacher] when passing by on the street.” 

In her free time, Scheaffer visits countless bazaars or street markets. These bazaars offer food, antiques and Scheaffer’s favorite, suzani. 

Suzani is a large textile panel of embroidery decorated with intricate patterns and colors, many of which carry a deeper meaning. Generally created by women as textiles for daily use in the home, suzani patterns reference themes of nature, the moon and sun, protection from evil, and other symbolic messages, all through the expressive artistry of their individual embroiderers. 

Scheaffer said she could spend hours at these markets, sitting and talking with merchants, who told her how the art of suzani has been passed down through families for many generations.

“It’s so special. Most recently, in Dushanbe, I went to a woman’s shop in one of the bazaars,” Scheaffer said. “She had all these stacks of old suzani and she let us spread them out and look at them and appreciate them. Walls and floor and shelves covered with suzani, just bold, bright, expressive color. There are often geographic connections to each of the designs — color patterns from one city or another.”

Scheaffer explained where her best meal came from. When she was in Gharm, her host family made qurutob, an extremely popular dish in Tajikistan. 

“So, it’s a yogurt dish made from ground-up bread and vegetables,” she said. “You chop up all this bread, which is usually homemade and the best thing you’ve ever eaten. Then warm yogurt sauce is poured over the bread, then fresh tomato, cucumber, onion, and herbs like dill and cilantro are sprinkled on top. Then you boil mostly flaxseed oil until it’s crackling, then pour it over the whole dish. In a way, it kind of softens everything. It’s the most delicious dish: creamy, savory, sweet, crunchy, soft, fresh and rich, all of these in one.” 

Through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, students and young professionals can pursue research, graduate studies, or teach English abroad. The program partners with 140 countries to promote dialogue between cultures and expand global perspectives.

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