June 1,2000

Middlebury College Language Schools Begin

Summer Session on June 9

MIDDLEBURY, Vt.-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 9 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’ 85-year history, more than 35,000 students

from all walks of life-including more than 11,000 advanced 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.

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 9; the seven-week session for French, German,

Italian, and Spanish will begin on Friday, June 23; and the six-week session

for graduate-level French, German, Italian, Russian, and Spanish will begin

on Monday, June 26.

Programs offered by the Language Schools reflect Middlebury

College’s overall commitment to excellence in language education and international

studies.

— end —