June 29, 2008 through July 26, 2008

Kent State University in collaboration with Bowling Green State University, Oberlin College, the University of Akron and the Summit County Educational Service Center (SCESC) announces the 2008 Ohio Board of Regents Foreign Language Academy. With supplemental funding from the STARTALK program of the National Foreign Language Center, the 2008 Academy focuses on new learners of the critical languages Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese and Russian. The 2008 proposal builds on the foundation of the successful 2007 Regents Foreign Language Academy at Kent State University.

The Academy begins with a four-week residential summer language immersion experience at Kent State University that focuses on Ohio high school students who will be juniors and seniors during the 2008-2009 academic year. The Academy offers the opportunity to study Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, and Russian for four semester hours of college credit. Students who complete the summer academy will continue to earn four additional credits through several mini-immersion Saturday sessions during the 2008-2009 school year. These eight credit hours are intended to satisfy high school language requirements and will count toward fulfilling college language requirements at Ohio institutions of higher education. Students who are admitted to the academy are expected to enroll for both the summer and fall sessions.

There are 9 Saturday sessions for 2008-09: Sept. 13, Oct. 11, Nov. 15, Dec. 13, Jan. 17, Feb. 14, Mar 14, Apr 11, May 2. All sessions will be held at the Kent Campus.

Both the summer academy and follow up academic year sessions are at no cost to students and their families. The Academy will provide for tuition, room, board, admission fees and textbooks. The program provides incentives in addition to the opportunity to earn college and high school language credits: a summer stipend (earn while learning) and the use of a laptop for the 11-month period of the Academy.

The summer academy requires five day a week residence for four weeks in a language house at Kent State University where students will have daily classes followed by evening immersion experiences where they will be exposed to Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, and Russian film, games, music, cuisine and conversation. Speakers, including professionals who use foreign languages in their careers, are scheduled to make presentations during some evening sessions. The academic year session will include 8 Saturday commitments for the entire day, and some travel to other Academy sites in Akron, Oberlin and Bowling Green may be required of some students, dependent on language.

Below is the list of students accepted into the 2008 Regents Foreign Language Academy. The names are listed alphabetically, followed by the language. You may find that you were offered a place in the Academy for your second language choice instead of your first. If you do not wish to study the language for which you were offered a spot in the Academy, please inform Lorna Herdina (lherdina@kent.edu) as soon as possible so that your spot can be offered to an alternate.

Students

Adamic, Ryan [Arabic]; Aggarwal, Lewis [Hindi]; Bachman, Sofia [Russian]; Bagrich, Inna [Hindi]; Bodnar, Iryna [Arabic]; Brown, Nolan [Japanese]; Burick, Stephanie [Japanese]; Camper, Paul [Chinese]; Cancelliere, Joseph [Russian]; Christine, Ashley [Hindi]; Christman, Abigail [Russian]; Cusma, Vincent [Chinese]; Dangerfield, Randi [Chinese]; Dasch, Tyler [Chinese]; Denbow, Cassie [Hindi]; Duer, Catherine [Japanese]; Durisko, Jamie [Russian]; Duval, Simone [Hindi]; Esber, David [Arabic]; Fabian, Joni [Chinese]; Floor, Jason [Arabic]; Gorski, Grace [Hindi]; Hilbert, Victoria [Chinese]; Hill, Aryn [Japanese]; Jewell, Zachary [Arabic]; Johnson, Amy [Russian]; Jones, Chelsa [Chinese]; Kaczor, Cassandra [Arabic]; Kapusta, Michael [Russian]; Kenngott, Christine [Arabic]; Kesling, Maggie [Japanese]; Kimson III, George [Arabic]; Klein, Dorothy [Japanese]; LeDu, Hugo [Chinese]; May, Justin [Arabic]; Menning, Tearina [Russian]; Mercer, Emily [Russian]; Mermer, Sara [Arabic]; Meyer, Bailey [Arabic]; Miller-Atkins, Galen [Arabic]; Morris, Shelby [Hindi]; Mullen, Matt [Arabic]; O'Karma, Michael [Chinese]; Palmieri, Steven [Chinese]; Peterson, Ryan [Chinese]; Pillion, Elizabeth [Japanese]; Pochedly, Nick [Chinese]; Rey, Carmen-Mariah [Chinese]; Rosenberg, Joshua [Russian]; Ross, Halle [Hindi]; Schmalz, Jenna [Japanese]; Schultz, Darrin [Japanese]; Seiders, Emily [Chinese]; Sharma, Puneet [Arabic]; Sheffler, John [Russian]; Smiley, Alexandra [Chinese]; Spano, Meredith [Arabic]; Sweet, Sarah [Hindi]; Taber, Stephen [Arabic]; Talbott, Chelsea [Hindi]; Taylor, Shane [Chinese]; Tchen, Stephanie [Japanese]; Vesel, Clare [Arabic]; Waalkes, Michael [Arabic]; Wagstaff, Evan [Russian]; Williams, Michael [Chinese]; Young, Phyllica [Chinese]; Ziton, Anna [Russian]

Thanks to a grant from the National Foreign Language Center, Hindi has been added as a new language offered by the Regents Foreign Language Academy. Students interested in Hindi are encouraged to apply.

The National Foreign Language Center (http://www.nflc.org/) has awarded a STARTALK grant to Kent State University in support of the Ohio Board of Regents Summer Foreign Language Academy. STARTALK is one of the projects of the National Security Language Initiative, a multi-agency effort to expand foreign language education in under-taught critical languages by funding new and existing programs throughout students' learning careers, kindergarten through university; and to provide incentives and rewards for foreign language learning and use in the work force. The 2008 STARTALK grant to Kent State University is to enhance the Regents Foreign Language Academy's offerings in Arabic, Chinese and Hindi.
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