One of the highlights for many a language major or minor is the time they spend on a study abroad program. Study abroad is essential to the mission of the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures to cultivate language proficiency and intercultural skills among our students, and it is a key component of the Internationalize Your Major initiative, which involves adding a language major, minor, and/or study abroad to another program of study.
When the Office of International Studies and Programs (now the Office of International Engagement) gave programs the green light to run this summer—after two years of pandemic shutdown—language students and faculty alike were thrilled. The department was able to launch a new study abroad program in Bologna, Italy, as well as resurrect its longstanding faculty-led summer program to Avila, Spain. A total of 18 students from Languages, Literatures, and Cultures headed to Europe to sharpen their Spanish and Italian skills, respectively, and another 16 participated in affiliate programs that offer courses for language majors and minors in Chile, Peru, Costa Rica, France, and other programs in Italy and Spain.
Italy is one of the most popular choices for ISU students studying abroad, and the three-week program to Bologna, led by Laura Edwards, is new and includes an emphasis on speaking Italian. Students spend three weeks with the city as their classroom, a bustling, university town of 80,000 students and the oldest university in the Western world, the University of Bologna (established in 1088). Students earn six hours of credit for two courses through a combination of intensive language classes 10 hours per week, real-life service encounters in Italian, a course on Italian food culture focusing on notions of Italian history, politics, family and personal life, and numerous excursions within and outside of the city to Bologna hills, mountains and sea, Florence, and Ravenna. Students in this program especially appreciated the chance to build their language skills and engage with people in Italian while visiting the country. Sal Cesario enjoyed, “experiencing more of an everyday lifestyle” in addition to more touristy activities.
Montserrat Mir led a four-week program to Ávila, Spain, in which students learn about Spanish culture first-hand, living with host families and traveling to nearby towns and cities such as Madrid, Salamanca, and Seville. Students earn six credits for two Spanish courses that satisfy the final requirements for the Spanish Minor (and count toward the major) on this intense and enriching experience that changes students for the better, making them more confident in their Spanish skills and excited about traveling more in the future. Students welcomed the group bonding on the trip as well as spending time with host families and, being immersed in the language and meeting new people in Spanish, and, as Mary Otto states, “actually being able to live in Spain.” As Christabel Thomas put it, “My favorite part of my study abroad experience was being able to grow in my language comprehension and speech while exploring a new culture and history.”
The Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures welcomes these students and faculty back to campus and can’t wait to hear from others able to travel the globe. Likewise, we wish a wonderful semester to students heading to Chile, Costa Rica, France, Italy, Japan, and Spain this fall. The deadline to study abroad in spring 2023 is September 1. Deadlines for summer 2023 and the next academic year are coming up in the spring. The Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures works with a variety of study abroad programs that will develop your language skills in French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Japanese. Stay tuned for details about a new study abroad program for students of German in Munich. Many of these programs offer opportunities for internships and volunteer experiences in addition to a variety of classes offered in the target language and immersive housing options with host families or student residences. For details on the application process and financial aid, contact the Office of International Engagement’s study abroad.
