Applications for the summer 2019 Indiana University Language Workshop are now open. Here are some highlights of next year’s program.
In 2019, the Arabic and Russian programs will be joining the Chinese program in having a formal language pledge. The extra exposure that students get by living alongside instructors in the dorm and speaking the language 24/7 translates into faster language gains, greater facility in speaking, and hands-on cultural experience that cannot otherwise be obtained in a U.S.-based program. We are excited to have the capacity in 2019 to offer this experience to Workshop students.
This summer, the Workshop will launch its first overseas program, in Baku, Azerbaijan. There students will be able to study accelerated intermediate Turkish or Azerbaijani while living with host families and exploring Turkic culture through guided extramural activities and excursions. Details about this program will be posted in October.
The Workshop will see a dramatic expansion of funding for students of all languages this summer due to Indiana University’s success in soliciting Foreign Language & Area Studies awards from the U.S. Department of Education. FLAS funding will be available for all Workshop languages; something that has not been true for many years.
Indiana has also become a Russian Flagship university, which will offer many new opportunities for summer Russian students and will set new standards for IU’s summer Russian instruction.
The Baltic Summer Institute will once again host the national Baltic Studies Summer Institute in 2019, offering Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian courses, along with international academic discussion series, a publically curated film series, and other Baltic cultural programming.
2019 will see the advent of the Workshop’s second intensive online course, when Dutch 2 opens alongside Pashto 1. We wish the online Dutch team and their students veel succes!
New languages for 2019 and languages returning after a hiatus include Azerbaijani, Dutch, Haitian Creole, Korean, Kyrgyz, and Uzbek.
WHAT IS NOT CHANGING
Despite all these changes, the Workshop will not lose its unique character. There will continue to be an emphasis on combining language learning and active engagement with the history and culture of the regions where Workshop languages are spoken.
The Workshop will continue to offer academic and career-planning workshops for all participants and will continue to encourage participants to take advantage of the cultural and intellectual programs offered by all 20+ languages offered. “Where else," said one 2018 participant, "can you dance a Moroccan wedding dance, play mahjong (in Chinese!), drum along with a Baltic folk band, and hone your mastery of Russian rhetoric in a mock political debate?”
Come to Bloomington in summer 2019, learn a language, and experience the international, intensive world of the IU Language Workshop.