Language Instruction

at the University of Washington | at other US universities | in Southeast Asia

Language Instruction at the University of Washington

The Department of Asian Languages and Literature offers instruction in Indonesian, Thai, and Vietnamese while the Department of American Ethnic Studies offers instruction in Tagalog. Emphasis is placed on the roles of these languages within the cultures they serve as well as on linguistic, textual, and literary analysis. The Language Learning Center provides services and resources that advance language study and instruction for students, faculty, and departments at the University of Washington. Finally, the Experimental College offers non-credit instruction in Conversational Tagalog.

Through the Office of Student Services at the Jackson School of International Studies, academic-year Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowships are awarded for language and area studies relating to Southeast Asia. Awards pay up to $11,500 for tuition and most fees, including graduate appointee health insurance, plus a stipend of $14,500. Summer FLAS fellowships are awarded solely to support intensive language study. They provide tuition up to $4,000 and a stipend of $2,500, and may be used at the University of Washington, at other US universities, or abroad.

Return to Top

Language Instruction at Other US Universities

The Southeast Asian Studies Summer Institute (SEASSI) is an eight-week intensive language training program for undergraduates, graduate students and professionals. It has been held since 1984 and hosted for the last 6 years by UW-Madison. Instruction is offered for academic credit in nine languages, including Burmese, Filipino, Hmong, Indonesian, Javanese, Khmer, Lao, Thai, and Vietnamese at the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd year levels.

Return to Top

Language Instruction in Southeast Asia

The Advanced Filipino Abroad (AFA) summer program at De La Salle University is designed to provide American teachers and students with the opportunity to learn the Filipino language (Tagalog) in a Philippine setting, through a unique short-term immersion program.

The Advanced Study of Khmer (ASK) Program is an intensive six-week advanced Khmer language-training program held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It aims to fill in a void in the academic community by providing 3rd year level students a "one-of-a-kind" opportunity to acquire the linguistic foundation necessary to engage in academic research, professional discourse, and cultural interaction with all segments of Cambodian society.

The Advanced Study of Thai (AST) program is an intensive eight-week course of instruction in advanced Thai language to be conducted in Thailand with instruction provided by members of the faculty of Chiang Mai University (CMU), Chiang Mai, Thailand. Equivalent to a full year's academic work and providing benefits far beyond increased foreign-language proficiency, this overseas program will be offered to approximately 12 exceptional individuals selected nationally on the basis of their need for and ability to absorb additional, advanced training in Thai, their readiness to benefit from in-country experiences, and their commitment and potential to become the next generation of Thai language and area-studies scholars in the US. The intensive, competency-based classroom study is accompanied by guided exercises outside the classroom setting that closely approximate real field work.

The Consortium for Teaching Indonesian (COTI) program is designed to provide intensive and specialized instruction in Indonesian. One of the primary goals of the program is to provide an in-country experience whereby participants learn to use Indonesian on a daily basis while at the same time developing the social skills appropriate for residence in the region. Participants carry out a field project under the supervision of a faculty member of the Universitas Sam Ratulangi (UNSRAT). These research projects do not entail a great deal of library research. Rather, they provide an additional opportunity for the participants to interact with the community both within and without the university setting. Participants should plan to consider this a full-time educational endeavor and should not plan to carry on any other academic projects for the duration of the program.

The United States - Indonesia Society (USINDO) runs an intensive ten-week language and general studies program for US students - selected in a competitive application process - in Indonesia at Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, Central Java.

The Vietnamese Advanced Summer Institute (VASI) is funded by a grant from the US Department of Education. It is an intensive eight-week course of study in advanced Vietnamese to be conducted in Viet Nam with instruction provided by the Hanoi Vietnamese Language Center, under the auspices of the Hanoi University of Foreign Studies, and the Saigon Vietnamese Language School for Foreigners, under the aegis of the Viet Nam National Ministry of Education & Training.

Return to Top