Living in Language in the Age of AI
At Middlebury Language Schools, learning a language has never been just about the language alone.
Language Schools Blog
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Brother and Sister in the Middlebury Language Schools
| 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 College Campus: Spend a Summer 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!
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Middlebury Alum's Career Sparked with Korean Language
| 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's Your Why?
Why learn a language?
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We want to hear YOUR story.
Share your “Why [your language]?” moment in your own post!
Love in the Language Schools
We met during the opening week of our first summer at the Middlebury Spanish School’s Graduate Program in 2022.
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.
Post-JET Panic & Paving My Path: Finding the Right Graduate Program with Middlebury
| by Sydney Michael
“What are your plans for after JET?” Many JET (Japanese Exchange and Teaching Program) alums can recall the confusion and “now what?” feeling after deciding not to renew their contracts or hitting the maximum number of years on the program. When I found Middlebury’s hybrid MA program in Japanese Language and Culture, I knew it was perfect for me.
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.
$13 million renovation to Stewart Hall furthers Energy2028 efforts
| by Luke Power
Over the summer, long-planned renovations to the first year residence Stewart Hall began. The renovations will update aging facilities in the dormitory as well as support Middlebury’s Energy2028 initiative by installing an energy-efficient geothermal HVAC system.