Foreign Language Academies
Since 1987, VDOE has sponsored Governor's Foreign Language Academies, summer residential programs for Virginia's most motivated and talented foreign language students. As of 2011, more than 7,250 students have completed one of the programs. The 2012 Governor's Summer Residential Foreign Language Academies will include full-immersion academies in French, German, and Spanish; a partial-immersion Japanese Academy; and a Latin Academy.
The 2012 Academies will take place as shown below. Please click on the appropriate Academy name for a peek into highlights from the 2011 Academies. Additional 2012 program information and forms will be posted to the individual Academy sites in Spring 2012.
- French Academy: June 23 – July 14, 2012, at Washington & Lee University in Lexington
- German Academy: June 23 – July 14, 2012, at Washington & Lee University in Lexington
- Spanish Academy: June 23 – July 14, 2012, at Washington & Lee University in Lexington
- Japanese Academy: June 24 – July 15, 2012, at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland
- Latin Academy: June 24 – July 15, 2012, at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland
In addition, the VDOE collaborates with Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in the operation of similar STARTALK programs. Student and staff applications are available from VCU’s Virginia STARTALK Academies Web pages. The availability of the STARTALK Academies is dependent on annual grant funding. Funding is anticipated for programs in Arabic, Chinese, Russian, and possibly Portuguese. For information about these and other STARTALK programs operating in Virginia and elsewhere, please visit the STARTALK Web site.
Resources
- Applications for Governor's Foreign Language Academies
- Guide for Students and Parents/Guardians (PDF)
- Guide for Schools (PDF)
- Verification Reports
- Order form (Word) – for the 2012 Foreign Language Academies Immersion Tape/Composition Topics and Latin Test/Essay Topics
- Information about other Summer Residential Governor's Programs
Purpose of the Academies
Full-Immersion Academies
Residential, three weeks. (French, Spanish, German, i.e., the languages for which there is sufficient foundation in the secondary schools to enable all academy operations to be conducted in the language.)
- To provide an intensive experience and unique challenge for students who have excelled in language study to continue their study of that language in a total immersion environment which is generally unavailable in the regular school environment.
- To also introduce these students to a different language learning experience -- that of a less-commonly taught language (Japanese, Greek, Arabic, Russian, etc.).
- To honor excellence in foreign language learning and teaching (the students, those who have prepared them for the experience, and those selected to teach them in the academies).
Partial-Immersion Japanese Academy
Residential, three weeks.
- To provide an opportunity for interested students who have excelled in the study of another language for at least two years to be introduced to the Japanese culture and language, which are not widely taught across the commonwealth.
- To provide an opportunity for excellent language students to advance their skills by experiencing a new, less-commonly taught language.
- To provide an opportunity for students who have studied some Japanese to further their language skills and deepen their cultural understanding.
- To honor excellence in foreign language learning and teaching (the students, those who have prepared them for the experience, and those selected to teach them in the academies).
Latin Academy
Residential, three weeks.
- To provide an intensive experience for students who have excelled in the study of Latin to continue their study in a setting unavailable in the regular school environment.
- To introduce the students to classical Greek.
- To honor excellence in foreign language learning and teaching (the students, those who have prepared them for the experience, and those selected to teach them in the academies).
Who is Involved?
Students
Students must be nominated by a public high school from a Virginia public school division or a private school accredited by one of the approved accrediting constituent members of the Virginia Council for Private Education. Home-school students may apply through the public school they are eligible to attend tuition free. A state selection process will determine who is accepted to participate.
Each secondary school may nominate one student for each of the French, German, Latin, and Spanish Academies; those high schools with enrollments in grades 10, 11, and 12 above 750 may nominate two students for each of the above mentioned academies.
Each secondary school may nominate one student for the Japanese Academy.
All nominees must meet the eligibility requirements below. Eligible students:
- must be juniors or mature sophomores during the current school year, 2011-2012;
- must not have graduated before the opening of the academy;
- must be eligible to attend public school in Virginia tuition-free (i.e., be residents of Virginia);
- must be nominated by a public high school from a Virginia public school division or by a private school accredited by one of the approved accrediting constituent members of the Virginia Council for Private Education;
- may apply to only one Governor’s summer residential program or foreign language academy per year;
- may attend only one Governor’s summer residential program or foreign language academy during their high school career; and
- must be genuinely interested in attending the Foreign Language Academies and have the stamina, emotional maturity, stability, and self-discipline to live away from home for an extended period.
Students of the French, German, and Spanish Academies must meet the additional criteria below. Eligible students:
- must have completed at least level three of the language prior to the beginning of the academy;
- must have developed good proficiency in using this language; and
- must be willing to use the target language for all social and academic interactions.
Students applying to the Latin Academy must have completed at least level two of the language prior to the beginning of the academy.
Students applying to the Japanese Academy must have completed at least level two of ANY language prior to the beginning of the academy, but are not required to have previously studied Japanese. Students currently studying Japanese are also encouraged to apply.
Faculty and Staff
Most faculty members are Virginia public secondary school teachers, approximately three to five per academy. Private school teachers or college professors may also be a part of the faculty. Also, approximately three to six young people per academy who are native speakers, college majors, or former students assist faculty and monitor dormitory behavior.
Teacher observers
Language teachers from across the state are allowed to visit the academy of their language to observe and learn from the experience. This teacher observer program has proven highly successful as a leadership and staff development experience.
Program
For the full-immersion academies, all functions, from brushing one's teeth in the dormitory to class discussions to going swimming or on field trips, contribute to the academy purpose. Each academy is uniquely designed by its staff. Elements of a student's day in a language academy may include:
- Wake-up, breakfast
- Classes, such as:
- The economics of Latin America
- The unification of Germany
- Life in France seen from an economic perspective
- Great works of art
- Literary samplings
- A second language (Arabic, Korean, Greek, Russian)
- Lunch
- Another class (or two)
- Creative activities, such as:
- Journal writing
- DVD production
- Drama
- Dance
- Music
- Sports, games
- Dinner
- Films, music, theater, student and faculty talent presentations.
Background
During the summer of 1986 a pilot French Academy was conducted by the Virginia Department of Education. Title II ESEA federal funding was used. It is believed to have been the first in the nation in length (four weeks) and intensity (French-24 hours a day, seven days a week). The Academy was inordinately successful judging from the evaluations of students, parents, the Academy faculty and staff, the Virginia Department of Education staff, and other visitors. The students could and most did speak French most of the time. Almost 100% of all those associated with the French Academy in any way enjoyed the experience and were delighted to have been a part of it. Subsequent academies in French as well as German, Spanish, Japanese Language, Russian Studies, and Latin have been equally successful in every way.
The foreign language academy experience:
- Greatly intensifies the students' interest in and appreciation of foreign language study;
- Significantly develops their language skills in the immersion language;
- Builds self-confidence;
- Allows some students to be placed at a higher level of language study in their high schools; some students enroll in college courses while still in high school;
- Accelerates maturity and changes attitudes positively toward languages and peoples; and
- Positively influences fellow students, teachers, and foreign language programs within the high schools from which the students come.
The academies are one of the most notable developments in foreign language study to have occurred in the Commonwealth of Virginia. They have come to signify, even for teachers who have not had students participate, what language instruction is all about – communication. The focus of the academies is on using the foreign language in a functional and meaningful way.
In July of 1987, Charles Kuralt featured the German Academy on his Sunday Morning program (CBS). This occasioned numerous inquiries from around the country from citizens and educators interested in the academies. These inquiries continue today.
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