APPLICATIONS ARE NOW AVAILABLE. A link to the application is at the bottom of this page. Contact Information The University of Virginia's Russian Summer Language Institute (June 11-August 14, 2007) is an intensive program offering a twelve-credit course covering the equivalent of first- and second-year Russian. The approach is proficiency-based, using Golosa as the primary text and emphasizing each of the four basic skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Class meets Monday through Friday from 8:30 to 11:30 and 1:00-4:00, with one instructor for the morning session, and another for the afternoon. Students live in a language house where tutoring, direct additional practice in conversation, and cultural activities are provided by a resident native speaker. Students are expected to be in the house from 6:30-8:00 each weekday evening for review, homework, and further work on the language.
Summer 2007 will be the twenty-seventh anniversary of the University of Virginia's Summer Russian Language Institute. The Institute is unusual in offering the equivalent of not one, but two, years of Russian in the eight and one-half week Summer Session. Participants in the Institute earn 12 University of Virginia credits, and those who are regular University of Virginia students take RUSS 301 and 302 in the academic year following the Institute, should they wish to continue with the language. Students completing the program should be prepared to profit fully from the experience of study abroad. The Russian Summer Language Institute has been especially helpful to graduate students who find that they need, or want, knowledge of Russian language but did not take it during their undergraduate careers. It also enables undergraduate students who decide late that they wish to major in Russian language and/or area studies to do so.
The faculty of the Russian Summer Language includes: Mark J. Elson, Director (BA, University of Michigan; MA and PhD, Harvard University). Summer 2007 will be Mr. Elson's 26th with the Russian SLI. He is Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University. His research interests include general linguistics and Balkan linguistics, especially the history and structure of Macedonian and Bulgarian ( Balkan Slavic languages) and Romanian (a Balkan Romance language). He is also interested in the history and structure of Spanish and Italian. In addition to his research, he enjoys language teaching, and looks forward each summer to the challenge of completing 12 credits (the equivalent of first and second year) of Russian in 9 weeks. Rachel Stauffer (BA, Randolph Macon Woman's College; MA, University of Virginia). Summer 2007 will be Ms. Stauffer's 3rd with the Russian SLI. She is currently a PhD candidate in Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University, but her language interests extend to Spanish, which she has taught at the University during the academic year. Her research interests are in the area of second language acquisition and Russian language pedagogy. She spent three weeks in Novosibirsk (Siberia) in May. John H. Lyles (BA, University of South Carolina; MA, University of Virginia). This will be Mr. Lyles' first summer with the Russian SLI. He is currently a PhD candidate in Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University. His research interests are in Russian language pedagogy, twentieth century Russian satire, and the role of literature in race relations in Russia. He spent academic 2005-2006 in St. Petersburg taking courses at St. Petersburg State University.
	Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the University of Virginia is distinctive among institutions of higher education; it is both public and selective. The College of Arts and Sciences, in which the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures is administratively situated, is the largest of the schools of the University. The faculty of the College is committed to maintaining high standards of excellence in both research and teaching. The University is located in Charlottesville, a vital community with rich traditions, located about 120 miles southwest of Washington, D.C.
For more information contact: Mark J. Elson, Director PO Box 400783 109 Cabell Hall Charlottesville VA 22904-4783 434-924-3548 slavic@virginia.edu
LINKS  Summer Foreign Language Institute UVA Summer Language Institute Application Academic Links Folklore and Culture Links Rotunda Cam (live view of the Lawn and Rotunda from Old Cabell Hall)