June 11, 1999
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.