Participants in the 6th Summer Institute for the Languages of the Muslim World gather on Thursday, June 19, for a picnic at the Foreign Language Building.

The University’s School of Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics is now offering fast-paced, two-week language courses through the Intensive Foreign Languages Program.

Courses are taught by advanced graduate students or faculty at the University. Classes will be held from Monday through Friday, beginning on May 15 and lasting through May 26.

The courses will focus on conversational skills, travel preparation and language survival skills.

Courses will be offered at the elementary, intermediate and advanced levels. The classes offered include Arabic, French, German, Greek, Italian, Latin, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. There will be minimal homework, no attendance policy and no academic credit.

“(The program) is taught between sessions, or ‘intersession’, in January (Winter) and May (Spring),” Rick Partin, coordinator for Outreach and External Relations, wrote in an email. “In the past, the courses were three weeks long, but more recently have been reduced to two weeks as everyone’s schedule becomes tighter.”

During the two weeks, students will learn new vocabulary and structures in the target language and they will use what they are learning to communicate effectively with classmates in various situations. Students will also connect the new knowledge with their experiences, they will explore the culture of the countries where the target language is spoken and become more aware of cultural practices while comparing and contrasting the culture being investigated with their own.

“Considering that the classes have little to no homework, students (will be) in charge of setting personal goals and monitoring their learning, whether they are using the target language for enjoyment, enrichment, and/or advancement,”Raquel Castro Goebel, Portuguese instructor, wrote in an email.

Classes are open to University students for $100, faculty for $125 and the general public for $150.

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