The American Center for Mongolian Studies (ACMS) invites students and scholars to enroll in an eight week Intensive Mongolian Language Program from mid-June to mid-August (dates to be announced), 2016 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The purpose of this summer language program is to provide Intermediate-level students of the Mongolian language with an opportunity to enhance their communicative competence through systematic improvement of reading, writing, listening and speaking skills, in an authentic environment. Classroom and supervised outside-the-classroom activities will help students achieve more fluent, accurate and multi-functional communication. The program entails 8 weeks of intensive study of the Mongolian language, over a 9-week period, at the Intermediate level of language learning which is equivalent to approximately 9 semester credit hours. The course will be taught by experienced Mongolian language teachers.
Coursework
Participants will spend approximately 15 hours per week in the classroom and will have approximately 15 hours per week of homework. Classes will be held for three hours a day, five days a week: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are spent in the classroom and Tuesdays and Thursdays are spent in immersion activities outside of the classroom. The course will stimulate higher-level reading and listening comprehension skills and help students strengthen and consolidate their structure and writing ability. Communicative competence will be stimulated by visits to Mongolian homes, attending social and cultural events, visiting organizations and institutions, conducting research interviews/accessing archives, and touring out-of-the-way locales.
Each week is organized around a theme. The course builds on and extends activities from the previous week, and each week, the assignments are lengthened. The week typically begins with a quiz on the material from the previous week. Listening materials will be presented after certain preparatory work – introduction of the new vocabulary and structural grammar. The material for the listening will be presented both in the classroom and as part of homework. In certain cases students will be asked to work on the new vocabulary and grammar independently. Pronunciation skills will be improved through loud reading as well as by working on the recorded voices of the students. Speech will be improved by promoting monologues and dialogues on the weekly topic in oral presentations, and descriptions of the twice-weekly immersion experiences. Aspects of the writing competence improvement will include: descriptive (reproduction), analytical (essays, summaries), functional (official communication patterns) and emotional-emphatic (expressing desire, acclaim, adoration, anger, disappointment). Authentic reading passages will be used to reinforce a variety of reading skills such as guessing words from contexts, skimming, scanning, and making inferences.
By the end of the course, students will be able to produce written reports and oral presentations, and converse freely on various topics focused on lifestyle, cross-cultural issues, political and economic realities, social and cultural processes, and various aspects of human relations. Students will also be able to read/listen and better comprehend authentic and recorded texts exploring life in Mongolia, the history of Mongolia, Mongolian culture, global processes, and international relations.
Participants must attend 90 percent of scheduled classes and maintain an average minimum grade of B+ on assignments, quizzes and exams to remain in the course. All in-class, outside activities, and homework assignments are graded. Participants must plan to attend 20 hours of course training per week (which includes both in- and out-of classroom sessions) over the period of mid-June to mid-August, 2015.
Program Costs
Tuition and fees: $2,000
The program costs cover the tuition, course materials, admission to museums and events, and local transportation to course-required activities. Tuition payments must be received by the ACMS by May 1, 2016. Students are responsible for their own living and travel expenses. The following are estimated costs associated with living in Mongolia for 8-10 weeks:
Housing: $1,000
Food and incidentals: $1,000
Estimated Round trip travel from the United States: $2,500
Health and Evacuation Insurance: $300
Total Estimated Living Expenses: $4,800
Total Expenses + Tuition: $6,800
Application
Deadline for receipt of complete applications: March 1st, 2016
Applications must be submitted online HERE . Note: Your application is not saved until you click the “submit” button on the last page of the online application form, so you may initially work through the application without submitting the form to see all required data. It is advisable to prepare your data for the application in advance before attempting to submit your complete application.
CLICK HERE TO ACCESS ONLINE APPLICATION
All inquiries about the program should be sent to: apply@mongoliacenter.org
Instructions for applying are available directly below:
The ACMS is committed to equitable access and participation without regard to gender, race, national origin, color, disability or age. The ACMS will work to ensure access for any persons with disability, but cannot guarantee that Mongolian facilities will be appropriately equipped for all types of disability. Please inquire about specific conditions or questions with regard to disability access.
For questions about the application or program, please contact info@mongoliacenter.org .
Fellowship Awards
The Language Program Fellowship provides up to $2000, to cover the cost of tuition. The fellowship is awarded to applicants based on merit and need. Applicants are encouraged to apply for funding from other sources in addition to the ACMS Intensive Mongolian Language Fellowship Program to support their studies. Demonstrations of other applications or receipt of other sources of support will be viewed favorably by the review committee, and Mongolian Language fellowships may be used to supplement other funding awards. The goal of the program is to assist as many people as possible to participate in language training to enhance their ability to conduct research in Mongolia. All applicants who submit their applications by March 1st, 2016 will be considered for Language Program Fellowships. Applications received after this date will not be considered for fellowship awards.
Applicants not seeking fellowship consideration should submit the same information by March 1st, 2016.
General Terms and Conditions
- All applicants must have a self-assessed or officially assessed Intermediate or greater level of proficiency in Mongolian and at least 1 year experience studying Mongolian or equivalent. (Examples of proficiency level guidelines are available at http://www.languagetesting.com/scale_gov.htm). Lessons will be conducted entirely in Mongolian, and participants will be expected to handle daily activities outside the classroom on their own. Individuals without prior experience studying Mongolian are not eligible for this program.
- Participants must attend 90 percent of scheduled classes and complete 90 percent of work assigned outside the classroom, referred to hereafter as the “90-90 requirement.” Participants must commit up to 10-15 hours of classroom training and up to 15 hours of out of class training per week over an 8-10 week period. This is not flexible. However, partiipants will be given regular weekends and official holidays off (Naadam Festival), and they may use the time outside the committed 30-35 hours per week to pursue other activities if it does not interfere with the recipients’ abilities to observe the 90-90 requirement.
- All applicants must be current members of the ACMS to be considered for the fellowship program.
- Tuition payments must be received by the ACMS by May 1, 2016. The ACMS will send payment information to participants after acceptance in the program.
- Program participants are responsible for ensuring proper medical and evacuation insurance coverage during their time in Mongolia. Proof of insurance coverage will be required in order to participate in the program and before disbursement of fellowship funds to award recipients.
6. Participants are responsible for their own lodging, travel, and other expenses throughout their stay in Mongolia. However, the ACMS is available to provide assistance in securing housing and making other travel and living arrangements upon individual request from participants.