Intern in Taiwan this summer with OPIT! Applications due February 15th.
In addition to its in-person Advanced Russian Language and Area Studies Program (RLASP) in Armenia, Estonia and Kazakhstan, American Councils is pleased to offer RLASP coursework by way of distance learning. Participants attend daily, remote language instruction, meet with virtual conversation partners, and take part in a variety of virtual cultural activities. The semester program is available on a part-time or full-time track; the summer program is available for full-time only. Expert instructors are based in Chisinau, Moldova.
RLASP serves both graduate and undergraduate students as well as working professionals. The online program provides in-class instruction in Russian grammar, phonetics, conversation, and cultural studies conducted by faculty who are native speakers of Russian.
The academic program will feature daily online (synchronous and asynchronous) instruction that focuses on developing language skills in speaking, reading, listening, grammar, and writing. Participants will also complete regular assignments outside of class that expand upon the activities covered in online classes. Class sizes range from one to four students depending on language level.
American Councils will administer pre- and post-program testing with an Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) to measure participants’ language gains.
As teachers are based in Chisinau, Moldova, American Councils will work with each student on an academic schedule. Classes and activities will be scheduled to find an agreeable and reasonable time for both participants and teachers. American Councils will request information about your time zone and schedule restrictions for the online program during the acceptance process.
Live instruction is approximately 12 academic hours per week, with class sizes of one to six students depending on language level. Participants can expect at least two hours per day of synchronous instruction conducted Monday through Friday. Additional academic hours per week will be delivered in an asynchronous (recorded) format.
Upon successful completion of the summer online program, participants will receive academic credit equivalent to 8 undergraduate credit hours or 10 graduate credit hours from Bryn Mawr College as follows:
Full Time:
RUSS 350 / Advanced Conversation, Phonetics, and Intonation (for undergraduate students)
RUSS 550 / Advanced Conversation, Phonetics, and Intonation (for graduate students)
RUSS 360 / Advanced Grammar and Lexical Study (for undergraduate students)
RUSS 560 / Advanced Grammar and Lexical Study (for graduate students)
RUSS 339 / Major Field Elective: Eurasian History and Culture (for undergraduate students)
RUSS 538 / Major Field Elective: Eurasian History and Culture (for graduate students)
Live instruction is approximately 12 academic hours per week for the full-time program. Class sizes range from two to six students depending on language level. Participants can expect at least two hours per day of synchronous instruction conducted Monday through Friday. Additional academic hours per week will be delivered in an asynchronous (recorded) format.
Upon successful completion of the online program, participants will receive academic credit equivalent to 16 undergraduate credit hours or 15 graduate credit hours from Bryn Mawr College as follows:
Full Time:
RUSS 350 / Advanced Conversation, Phonetics, and Intonation (for undergraduate students)
RUSS 550 / Advanced Conversation, Phonetics, and Intonation (for graduate students)
RUSS 360 / Advanced Grammar and Lexical Study (for undergraduate students)
RUSS 560 / Advanced Grammar and Lexical Study (for graduate students)
RUSS 339 / Major Field Elective: Eurasian History and Culture (for undergraduate students)
RUSS 538 / Major Field Elective: Eurasian History and Culture (for graduate students)
Live instruction is approximately 6 academic hours per week for the part-time program. Class sizes range from two to six students depending on language level. Participants can expect each class session to meet for at least one hour in length and not to exceed two hours in a session. Additional academic hours per week will be delivered in an asynchronous (recorded) format. The total number of live instruction hours will be 84 hours throughout the semester.
Upon successful completion of the online program, participants will receive academic credit equivalent to 8 undergraduate credit hours or 10 graduate credit hours from Bryn Mawr College as follows:
RUSS 350 / Advanced Conversation, Phonetics, and Intonation (for undergraduate students)
RUSS 550 / Advanced Conversation, Phonetics, and Intonation (for graduate students)
RUSS 360 / Advanced Grammar and Lexical Study (for undergraduate students)
RUSS 560 / Advanced Grammar and Lexical Study (for graduate students)
American Councils will arrange virtual cultural activities and excursions to places of historical and cultural importance. The virtual activities and excursions are conducted in Russian by local alumni and staff, who share different aspects of local culture or traditions in order to increase cultural understanding on a local level.
Past virtual activities and excursions include virtual host family visits, virtual tours of city sights and local museums, cooking lessons, music and dance lessons, virtual holiday celebrations, discussion groups with local students.
To provide opportunities for informal Russian language practice and connections with locals, participants are paired with host country conversation partners. Participants and their conversation partners meet remotely for approximately an hour every week to provide additional contact hours in Russian throughout the program.
Multiple sources of funding are available to support participants in paying for programs abroad.
