The foreign-language-immersion program of Middlebury College is expanding its reach -- to teenagers.
Motivated teenagers, that is. Beginning next summer, middle school and high school students will have an opportunity to spend four weeks living and breathing Arabic, Chinese, French or Spanish. That means using their chosen language and no other in the dining hall, on the soccer field, in the dorm lounge and everywhere else -- not just in the classroom.
This program is expected to have a national appeal -- drawing students and faculty from around the country to three sites: St. Michael’s College in Colchester; Menlo College in Atherton, Calif.; and Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass. Each will have about 200 students, about 50 per language.
That Arabic is among the four offerings reflects the national scope. There are 210 Arabic language programs in high schools around the country, said David Toomey, director of pre-college language programs for Middlebury College, but none, to his knowledge, is in Vermont.
The signature summer immersion program at Middlebury College, which will add a 10th language -- Hebrew -- next summer, dates from 1915. That program, which groups learners together for seven- and nine-week sessions on the Middlebury campus, is rigorous, demanding, and tailored to adults able to withstand heavy workloads and occasionally intense pressure.
By contrast, the pre-college program will be shorter and less intimidating -- a combination of 24/7 “language learning and fun,” Toomey said.
Besides daily classes, co-curricular activities are a key part of Middlebury’s standard summer immersion school -- including sports, theater, cooking, cabarets. The pre-college camp will take a similar approach.
“They’ll be cheering for their team in Arabic or Spanish,” Toomey said.
Why expand to secondary schools?
“We get a number of calls from parents” of children who have been abroad or who want to learn a language, said Michael Geisler, Middlebury’s vice president for language schools, schools abroad and graduate programs. The standard summer program is for “adults who know how to prepare themselves,” he said, not for “kids who can’t handle the pressure.” The new academy will be designed for younger people.
In addition, Middlebury is well placed to develop curricula for secondary students by working with its affiliate, the Monterey Institute of International Studies, Geisler said.
Registrations have begun, Toomey said. The total cost for four weeks is $4,000; financial aid is available.
The academy is open to middle and high school students, grades seven-12. They will be housed separately according to age, sex and language. Toomey said they will be expected to take some version of the language pledge for which the college’s summer program is known: a vow to use only the language they’re learning during their stay.
Applicants don’t have to be straight “A” students, Toomey said. What they should be, he said, is “highly motivated to learn a foreign language.”
Contact Tim Johnson at 660-1808 or tjohnson@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com.
