VCU hosts Governor’s Foreign Language Academies

By Mike Porter

Virginia Commonwealth University is hosting the 20th annual Governor’s Foreign Language Academies for rising Virginia high school juniors and seniors.

The group of nearly 300 students will spend three weeks on the Monroe Park Campus beginning June 24.

The academies feature a concentrated learning experience in French, German, Spanish, Latin, Japanese or Russian. Students learn about the language, history, culture and customs of another country. Those participating in the French, German or Spanish academies also sign an oath promising to speak entirely in those languages for the duration of the academy.

“It is an aggressive three weeks, a really good program and very intense,” said coordinator Paul Dvorak, Ph.D., professor of German in the School of World Studies.

Though the academies are united in a “global village” setting, each academy has a unique daily schedule. Students attend classes in the morning. Afternoon activities include art, dance, music, crafts, sports, creative projects and food preparation. In the evenings, students go to movies and dances.

Students will represent their “countries” in an Olympics-style competition on July 3. They will also produce a newspaper and a yearbook to remember their experiences. And for the first time, students will set up an international market in the VCU Student Commons, selling items particular to the culture they are studying.

The Governor’s Foreign Language Academies were held on several college campuses before moving to a combined setting at VCU three years ago.

Interested students apply through their school with a recommendation from a teacher and the principal. They must also submit an essay. Participants are chosen by a state selection committee coordinated through the Virginia Department of Education.

“There really is a very rigorous selection process,” Dvorak said.

This year, 286 foreign language students were selected to participate from a field of nearly 700 applicants.

“We want students to come away with greater interest and appreciation of foreign language study,” said Helen Small, specialist for foreign languages at the Virginia Department of Education.

“The foreign language academy experience significantly develops their language skills, builds self-confidence and changes their attitudes toward languages and other people. In order to be a ‘world citizen’ you have to be able to speak another language,” Small said.

Secondary school foreign language teachers serve as faculty for the academies. Several of the instructors previously attended the academies as students.

“It really tells you there is a commitment on the part of the people who have participated and it is a real opportunity to give something back to the academies,” Dvorak said.

“The students who come here form bonds that last a lifetime.”

For more information about the Governor’s Foreign Language Academies visit http://www.has.vcu.edu/wld/academies/index.html.