<p>Also, for language if study abroad isn’t feasible, look for programs in the US that do immersion teaching.</p>
<p>I know that many universities offer summer intensive language schools, some of which are very expensive, but some of which are affordable (some of the VA state universities offer them pretty cheap, as college programs go.) Also, look to see if your school has a governor’s school for language, since usually these are free.</p>
<p>Finally, I will advertise yet again for Concordia Language Villages in Minnesota. These are summer camps that are each structured around the culture of a specific language. Students have camp life (cabins, art, outdoors, lake, etc.) entirely in the “target language”. In addition, the camps strive really hard to teach students about culture through history lessons, literature, film, music, dance, arts, sports, etc. Even the dining hall food is ethnic cuisine. </p>
<p>They offer a variety of programs for students. There are some 13-14 languages offered (from the commonly taught ones like French and Spanish to the critical languages, like Arabic and Chinese, to unusual languages, such as Danish and Norwegian.) FOr each program, there is the option to take a 2 week course or an intensive 4 week course for high school credit. I took the Russian 4 week program and had a fantastic time. The faculty had impressive credentials (some taught at universities, others were fulbright scholars or Peace Corps workers) and I was exposed to many native speakers. the credit students got extensive lessons on the politics of Eastern Europe and Central Asia too, so IR is mentioned. Basically, I had a great time and met fantastic people with whom I had a lot in common. </p>
<p>Check out their website: <a href=“http://www.concordialanguagevillages.com%5B/url%5D”>www.concordialanguagevillages.com</a></p>
<p>Sorry for rambling on, but this program changed my life and I hope that I can let others know more about it.</p>