The Middlebury Language Schools, which are known around the world for their full immersion approach and Language Pledge, will welcome more than 1,400 students and 300 faculty and staff to the campuses of Middlebury and Bennington Colleges this summer.
| by Mike Williams
United States Marine Corps Veteran attended the School of Spanish in Summer 2025 at Level 1, and plans to return Summer 2027.
Before I started teaching at the Kathryn Wasserman Davis School of Russian, I was a student there! I spent four transformative summers at Middlebury, and it was the single best thing I ever did to finally get my Russian on its feet.
At Middlebury Language Schools, learning a language has never been just about the language alone.
| by Daniel Peirce
Daniel Peirce and his sister, Lynn Scalia, enrolled in the 8-week Chinese School at the Middlebury Language Schools in Summer 2025. Daniel is from Woodstock, Vermont, and is currently a Brand Strategy and Social Impact Consultant. We sat down to learn more about Daniel’s experience at the Language Schools.
Middlebury Language Schools creates and sustains a campus environment that is conducive to learning and that fosters engaged discourse. Watch our video, and experience the Language Schools!
Video
| by Seth Joyner
Fifteen years after arriving in Daegu, the Korean language remains central to School of Korean alum Seth Joyner’s professional (and personal) identity. He continues to study, to practice, and to learn.
Why learn a language?
We want to hear YOUR story.
Share your “Why [your language]?” moment in your own post!
We met during the opening week of our first summer at the Middlebury Spanish School’s Graduate Program in 2022.
| by Nicole Karlis
Thor Sawin, the associate dean of curriculum for Middlebury Language Schools, said he believes there is a place for AI when learning a new language, but that place is small. Hypothetically, chatbots can be used to practice a conversation that a person knows they will have in advance. However, if a person is exclusively learning Italian with an AI chatbot and never transitions to practicing with a real human—or the transition takes too long—it can have negative effects on learning and leave a person feeling “unprepared” for real-world interactions.
