June 3 – July 25, 2013
The Summer Language Institute provides intensive language courses emphasizing political, economic and international topics in Arabic, Chinese, Persian and Russian. In addition to receiving formal classroom instruction, students have access to SAIS’s Multimedia Language Center to explore the languages through interactive technology and software programs. For a course to be offered, a minimum of five students must be registered.
Please note that the information above is subject to change. Continue to visit this Web site for additional updates and information.
ARABIC
Offers eight weeks of intensive training for students and professionals interested in developing their Modern Standard Arabic skills in international relations and political, social and economic issues. The program aims to develop listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. Classroom activities are conducted individually and in teams and include video, lectures, exercises and presentations. Some self-study may be required. Arabic courses are offered for eight graduate-level credits each and are held four evenings per week.
Coordinator: Professor Mohamed Derbi
M/T/W/TH 5:30 p.m. 8:30 p.m.
Novice Arabic
Course Number: 901.710
Emphasizes listening and speaking skills, including pronunciation. Begins study of reading and writing of Modern Standard Arabic. Engages in exercises, games, dialogues and other activities to help students talk about themselves and their surroundings. Introduces some aspects of the Arab culture. Uses a textbook as well as materials from Arabic newspapers and broadcasts.
Novice High Arabic
Course Number 901.712
Reinforces and continues objectives from Novice Arabic. Enhances basic building blocks of vocabulary and expression. Teaches simple grammatical patterns to develop a student's ability to speak, listen, read and write. Covers current events through Arabic media sources. Prerequisites: One semester of college-level instruction or equivalent and a placement interview.
Intermediate Low Arabic
Course Number: 901.720
Focuses on political, cultural, economic, religious and business topics. Presents acquisition and vocabulary use in context. Enables students to scan and read longer texts for comprehension. Focuses on discussing daily routine activities, responding to questions and making comparisons using complex sentences and expressions. Drills grammar through classroom discussions and role-playing activities. Prerequisites: One to two years of college-level instruction or equivalent and a placement interview.
Intermediate Mid Arabic
Course Number: 901.722
Meets the needs of intermediate students studying language skills to cope with written and audio media. Develops skills for comprehending and gathering information from audiovisual materials. Demonstrates correct use of common linguistic connectors. Explores readings from authentic Arabic language newspapers and broadcasts of current political and social issues. Enables students to narrate, compare, contrast and express opinions about these issues. Enhances reading, listening, speaking and writing with a major focus on vocabulary and grammar. Prerequisites: Two to three years of college-level instruction or equivalent and a placement interview.
Intermediate/Advanced Arabic
Course Number: 901.723
Advances listening, speaking, reading and writing skills development and linguistic accuracy. Uses books, periodicals, videos and radio documentaries to help students gain mastery of the language. Integrates vocabulary and grammar in class activities. Seeks to make students independent users of Arabic. Prerequisites: Three or more years of college-level instruction or equivalent and a placement interview.
MANDARIN CHINESE
Offers eight weeks of specialized training in Mandarin Chinese. Fundamental language skills are taught at beginning levels while the intermediate and advanced levels emphasize sociopolitical and business usage. Vocabulary, language structures and text materials all reflect this unique orientation. In addition to classroom time, each participant is expected to work with audiotapes and complete eight to 10 hours of self-study per week. Mandarin Chinese courses are offered for six graduate-level credits each and are held three evenings per week.
Coordinator: Professor Li-Chuang Chi
M/W/TH 5:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Novice Chinese
Course Number: 902.710
Emphasizes basic grammar, limited reading, writing and speaking skills using the Pinyin system of romanization and simplified characters. Uses an introductory textbook to supplement classroom discussion.
Novice High Chinese
Course Number: 902.712
Continues objectives from Novice Chinese. Reinforces grammar, reading, writing and speaking skills using the Pinyin system of romanization and simplified characters. Prepares students for vocabulary building. Prerequisites: One semester of college-level instruction or equivalent and a placement interview.
Intermediate Low Chinese
Course Number: 902.720
Places continued emphasis on fundamental grammar, vocabulary building, reading, writing and speaking skills using some translation. Continues work with the introductory textbook. Prerequisites: One year of college-level instruction or equivalent and a placement interview.
Intermediate Mid Chinese
Course Number: 902.722
Incorporates development of reading comprehension with longer texts and both aural and oral skills. Uses a textbook with supplementary exercises and selections of current writings. Prerequisites: Two years of college-level instruction or equivalent and a placement interview.
Intermediate High Chinese
Course Number: 902.724
Places further emphasis on reading comprehension exercises, including discussion, translation and writing, through use of authentic newspaper texts. Enhances listening comprehension skills with selected news broadcasts. Prerequisites: Two to three years of college-level instruction or equivalent and a placement interview.
Advanced Low Chinese
Course Number: 902.730
Further develops language proficiency in listening, speaking, reading and writing. Enables students to conduct research and converse with Chinese scholars and specialists on political, economic and international topics. Uses authentic newspaper articles, documents and news broadcasts for classroom discussions and debates. Prerequisites: Three to four years of college-level instruction or equivalent and a placement interview.The SAIS Hindi-Urdu Program offers a unique learning experience for graduate students in the fields of international relations. Through classroom activities, students are given the opportunity to develop their Hindi-Urdu skills, and also to incorporate and transfer knowledge from their other academic courses and professional interests. Typical classroom activities include simulations, class debates, production and assessment of development projects, and political discussions. In all the activities, a careful balance is maintained in the development of communication and grammatical accuracy.
HINDI/URDU
Coordinator: Staff
M/T/W/TH 5:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Hindi/Urdu Novice
This beginning level is designed to meet the students’ needs to be able to communicate in the basic daily life situations. This course is for students with no experience in the study of the language and culture or with only minimal skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing. The focus is on the four basic language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Some aspects of the culture will be introduced. After having some exposure to the writing system, the students will be able to read short passages and to listen to materials from the daily life contexts.
Novice High Hindi/Urdu
Continues objectives from Novice Hindi-Urdu. Reinforces grammar, reading, writing and speaking skills and enhances basic building blocks of vocabulary. Covers current events through Indian and Pakistani media sources. Prerequisites: One semester of college-level instruction or equivalent and a placement interview
Hindi/Urdu Intermediate Low
The third level caters for the needs of students at an intermediate low level of proficiency. Students at this level have been exposed to most elements of elementary grammar, but are still performing in a very limited manner in speaking. In addition to using very familiar memorized material, students at this level can create with the language by making up own sentences, participate in short conversations, ask and answer questions using declarative sentences. While they learn to achieve tasks in every day communication based on their personal needs, they expand their knowledge of the writing system to improve their reading and writing skills. Specifically, they can read for key ideas and some supporting detail by answering questions on the content of assigned readings featuring description and narration, and recapitulation the reading material. They are also able to meet a number of practical writing needs.
PERSIAN (FARSI)
Coordinator: Professor Mohamad Esmaili-Sardari
M/T/W/TH 5:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Novice Persian (Farsi)
Course Number: 916.710
This beginning level is designed to meet the students’ needs to be able to communicate in the basic daily life situations. This course is for students with no experience in the study of the language and culture or with only minimal skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing. The focus is on the four basic language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Some aspects of the culture will be introduced. After having some exposure to the writing system, the students will be able to read short passages and to listen to materials from the daily life contexts.
Intermediate Low Persian (Farsi)
Course Number: 916.720
The third level caters for the needs of students at an intermediate low level of proficiency. Students at this level have been exposed to most elements of elementary grammar, but are still performing in a very limited manner in speaking. In addition to using very familiar memorized material, students at this level can create with the language by making up own sentences, participate in short conversations, ask and answer questions using declarative sentences. While they learn to achieve tasks in every day communication based on their personal needs, they expand their knowledge of the writing system to improve their reading and writing skills. Specifically, they can read for key ideas and some supporting detail by answering questions on the content of assigned readings featuring description and narration, and recapitulation the reading material. They are also able to meet a number of practical writing needs.
Intermediate Mid Persian (Farsi)
Course Number: 916.721
The primary emphasis for this intermediate mid level course is the acquisition of higher fluency and accuracy than that achieved in Level III in speaking, listening and reading in dealing with a variety of task-oriented and social situations. By the end of this course, students complete the major grammatical elements required for the foundation of the language, and take the proficiency exams in reading, listening, and speaking.
POLITICAL RUSSIAN
Offers eight weeks of intensive training in Russian for generalists and practitioners of international relations. Emphasizes political, economic and national security use. Introduces students to the important context of language, which is political culture itself. Vocabulary, text and multimedia materials reflect this unique orientation. Participants work with audiotapes and video and complete some daily self-study. Political Russian courses are offered for eight graduate-level credits each and are held four evenings per week.
Coordinator: Professor Alexandra Khlebnikova
M/T/W/TH 5:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Novice Russian
Course Number: 909.710
Emphasizes basic grammar, conversation and elementary political vocabulary. Introduces readings in the Russian press toward the end of the course.
Novice High Political Russian
Course Number: 909.712
Continues objectives from Novice Russian. Uses newspaper articles and broadcast media to build speaking, reading, listening and grammar skills. Prerequisites: One semester of college-level instruction or equivalent and a placement interview.
Intermediate Low Political Russian
Course Number: 909.720
Focuses on grammar review and political vocabulary building. Incorporates readings in the Russian press, listening skills development and conversation about international affairs issues. Prerequisites: Two to three semesters of college-level instruction or equivalent and a placement interview.
Intermediate Mid Political Russian
Course Number: 909.722
Emphasizes more sophisticated grammar and further development of political vocabulary. Explores nuances in readings. Uses speaking and listening exercises to emphasize politics, national security issues and socioeconomics. Introduces strategies of paragraphed speech. Prerequisites: Two to three years of college-level instruction or equivalent and a placement interview.
Intermediate High Political Russian
Course Number: 909.724
Focuses on improving grammar control and political argument. Continues development of strategies for paragraphed speech. Enhances listening skills through use of longer broadcasts. Conducts discussions and debates on political, economic and national security issues. Prerequisites: Three or more years of college-level instruction and a placement interview.
Please note that Summer Programs 2011 information is subject to change. All updates are posted on this Web site.