2009 Regents Foreign Language Academy Announced! Options

[Gregory M. Shrev...]

June 21, 2009 through July 18, 2009

Kent State University in collaboration with Cleveland State University, Oberlin College, the University of Akron and the Summit County Educational Service Center (SCESC) announces the 2009 Ohio Board of Regents Foreign Language Academy. The 2009 Academy focuses on new learners of the critical languages Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese and Russian. The 2009 Academy builds on the foundation of the successful 2007 and 2008 Regents Foreign Language Academies 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 2009-2010 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 2009-2010 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 2009-10: Sept. 12, Oct. 10, Nov. 14, Dec. 12, Jan. 23, Feb. 20, Mar 20, Apr 17, May 15. 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 9 Saturday commitments for the entire day, and some travel to other Academy sites in Akron, Oberlin and Cleveland may be required of some students, dependent on language.

Download Application Forms Now! Applications Due By April 15, 2009