Critical Language Scholarship Participants Depart from the United States for Intensive Summer Study in China and Turkey

On June 8, 2012, more than fifty students in the U.S. Department of State’s Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program departed from the United States to attend an eight-week-long intensive language institute. Thirty students will spend their summer studying Chinese in Beijing, China, and the other twenty students will study Turkish in Bursa, Turkey. Throughout the summer, CLS participants will work on developing fluency in their targeted critical language by engaging in group-based intensive language instruction and structured cultural enrichment experiences. CLS students in Beijing and Bursa will live with host families and be partnered with local Chinese or Turkish university students for language practice and cultural access.

Prior to departure, CLS students participated in orientations where they acquired strategies for successful language learning, information about their host countries, and guidance on how to apply their critical language skills into their career plans. At the pre-departure orientation on June 7, held by American Councils, Ann Stock, Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, delivered the keynote address. Ms. Stock commented on the unmatched advantage that speaking a foreign language offers and expressed her gratitude to the scholars for devoting their time to studying Chinese and Turkish.

This year’s 630 participants were chosen from more than 5,200 applicants through a merit-based selection process. The students come from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and are currently enrolled in a wide range of U.S. public and private universities, including minority-serving institutions and community colleges.

Funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) and administered by American Councils for International Education and the Council of American Overseas Research Centers, the CLS Program aims to expand the number of Americans studying and mastering thirteen critical languages, including, Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Indonesian, Korean, Persian, Russian, and Turkish.

Click here to watch the video of the CLS pre-departure orientation with Ann Stock.

Click here to learn more about American Councils and the CLS Program. Follow American Councils and the CLS Program on Twitter: @AC_Global @CLSscholarship and Ann Stock at @AnnatState.