World-Renowned Middlebury College

Language Schools Begin Summer Session

on June 11

Visitors and residents of Middlebury can expect to

overhear a diverse mix of languages this summer: Arabic, Chinese,

French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish.

Friday, June 11, marks the beginning of the Middlebury

College Language Schools summer sessions, known internationally

for a rigorous approach to the teaching of languages and cultures.

This year, approximately 1,165 students will come

to Middlebury to participate in the Language Schools throughout

the summer. During the course of the Language Schools’ 84-year

history, more than 35,000 students from all walks of life—including

more than 11,000 advance degree holders—have attended one or

more of the schools. Corporate executives study side-by-side with

writers, journalists, doctors, lawyers, missionaries, government

officials, and diplomats. Undergraduates and graduate students

from Middlebury College and other institutions also attend the

summer sessions to fulfill language requirements or complete degrees.

Under the guidance of approximately 200 faculty members

from colleges and universities throughout the world, students

of all ages and numerous nationalities live on campus, totally

immersed in their target language. Students eat, sleep, drink

and shop the language they have come to study, and all agree to

abide by the Language Pledge, a formal commitment to speak the

language of study and no other for the entire summer session.

Long-time Middlebury resident, Dr. Stephen A. Freeman,

has been a trailblazer in the field of foreign-language teaching,

and his efforts have been critical in the growth of the Language

Schools since they were founded in 1915. Freeman served as the

Language Schools’ director, and dean of the French School—second

of the Language Schools. He also established the first of C.V.

Starr-Middlebury Schools Abroad in Paris. Freeman celebrated his

101st birthday this past May.

Each summer, the College offers three sets of summer

sessions for foreign languages. The nine-week session for Arabic,

Chinese, Japanese, and Russian begins Friday, June 11; the seven-week

session for French, German, Italian, and Spanish will begin on

Friday, June 25; and the six-week session for graduate level French,

German, Italian, Russian, and Spanish will begin on Monday, June

28.

Programs offered by the Middlebury College Language

Schools reflect the College’s overall commitment to excellence

in language education and international studies.