In The News

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  1. Image from The Florentine.

    In The News

    Should you use AI when learning Italian?

    | 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.

  2. Students join hands at play practice

    In The News

    Radio New Zealand Interviews Associate Dean of Curriculum Thor Sawin

    “Who better to ask about learning languages than someone from what is widely regarded as the finest language school in the world?” 

    Middlebury Language Schools has a reputation for being one of the top institutions to learn a language. The Vermont school offers total immersion programmes over summer and each year more than 1400 students arrive to learn one of 13 languages. Middlebury’s Associate Dean of Curriculum at the Language Schools, Dr. Thor Sawin joins Emile to discuss why language learning there is so successful.

  6. MAT student is in front of the beach.

    In The News

    Language teachers build skills, earn license in new Middlebury program

    | by Marin Howell

    Middlebury Union High School 2017 alum Meigan Clark is back in town this summer taking part in the inaugural class of a new Master of Arts in Teaching program offered through the Middlebury Language Schools. The program offers participants a secondary teaching license in modern languages valid for teaching 7-12 grades in public school systems around the country.