Participants live together on campus during the six-week or three-week German programs and are totally immersed in the German language and culture. Participants are similarly immersed in the Chinese program, which includes four weeks living on campus at URI and four weeks in China. Both programs yield up to one year’s worth of URI language credit.
“It’s ideal for adult learners from all walks of life who are seeking proficiency in these languages, from high school students to senior citizens,” said Norbert Hedderich, a URI professor of German and director of the German Summer School. “Past participants included those who were preparing to study or work abroad, others were language teachers here to strengthen their skills, and all share an interest in international cultures.”
The German program offers opportunities for students of all levels – from beginner’s to graduate – and all core courses focus on listening, speaking, reading and writing. Intermediate and advanced German students have the option of taking the certification exams from the Goethe Institute.
In addition to coursework, the program offers extracurricular programs to support the language learning process, including workshops on theater, music and current events. German films are regularly screened, and German news broadcasts are received daily via satellite. Participants and faculty live and eat together.
The German program is offered from June 27 to August 6 in cooperation with the Goethe Institute and the German government, with support from the Max Kade Foundation. For additional information, visit www.uri.edu/iep/dssa or contact Norbert Hedderich at 401-874-4710 or hedderich@uri.edu.
The Chinese program, which runs from May 18 to July 18, is open to beginners and those with up to two years of previous college-level Chinese language instruction. Participants will spend four hours each morning on language training, followed by tutoring sessions and cultural activities in the afternoon and evening while at URI. Instruction is student-centered and proficiency-based.
In China, participants will be based at Zheijang University in Hangzhou, the capital of the Zheijang province, where they will continue with intensive immersion in the Chinese language and culture, including trips to Shanghai and to local industry.
The URI Chinese Summer Immersion Program was started with support from the URI Chinese Language Flagship Partner Program and the URI International Engineering Program. For additional information, visit www.uri.edu/chineseflagship/summer or contact Erin Papa at 401-874-5566 or epapa@uri.edu.