The Middlebury-Monterey Language Academy (MMLA) is a summer language immersion program for pre-college students in 8th–12th grades. Founded in 2008 by Middlebury College and its graduate school, the

Monterey Institute of International Studies The Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS), formerly known as the Monterey Institute of International Studies, is an American graduate school of Middlebury College, a private college in Middlebury, Vermont. Established ...

, the Language Academy convenes on two college campuses in the United States and at three abroad locations. Languages taught at MMLA include

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

, French,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

Curriculum

MMLA requires students to take a Standards Based Assessment of Proficiency (STAMP) test and an ACTFL test, administered at the beginning of the summer. MMLA faculty use this test to place students into proficiency levels. There are five proficiency levels in Chinese, German, French, and Spanish academies, and three proficiency levels in the Arabic academy. The STAMP test is also administered at the conclusion of MMLA’s summer program. MMLA uses these two STAMP tests to measure student progress and submit a metric to the regular school-year teachers of MMLA students. The Academy organizes its curricular calendar into four weeks, each assigned a theme by MMLA faculty. Following these themes, faculty cover one lesson unit each regular day. There are nineteen total lesson units in a summer at each Language Academy. Lessons change week-by-week according to the students' experience in an immersion language program. For example, during the initial week, the curriculum makes efforts to include vocabulary that will help students begin living on a college campus. The curriculum that faculty use is a program designed by MMLA in 2010. MMLA asserts that this program is based around the student workbook, designed, edited, and translated by MMLA staff in 2011.

Language Pledge

Middlebury-Monterey Language Academy requires students, faculty and staff participate in a "Language Pledge." The Language Pledge is a formal agreement meant to encourage members of the program to communicate in a foreign language. The Language Pledge originated with Middlebury College's Language Schools and is included in the Middlebury College curriculum at its schools abroad and graduate program. MMLA asserts that the Language Pledge is a central concept in its pedagogy. Events throughout the four-week calendar of the program often focus on the Language Pledge. The concept has been adjusted from year to year in an effort to accommodate a student body that includes young, beginner students and older, advanced students.

History

Middlebury College Language Schools

Founded in 1800 in

Middlebury, Vermont Middlebury is the shire town (county seat) of Addison County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 9,152. Middlebury is home to Middlebury College and the Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History. History On ...

, Middlebury College is most often recognized for an undergraduate liberal arts program on its Vermont campus. In 1915, the College established the first Language School, the School of German. In an attempt to maintain an immersion environment, faculty at this summer program asked that students and colleagues commit to a "''Language Pledge''" to communicate exclusively in their target language. The Schools offer instruction in

, French,

, and

. Currently, Middlebury Monterey Language Academy run programs at Green Mountain College in Vermont and another college in Vermont. For years they had programs at Green Mountain, Swarthmore, Pomona, and Oberlin Colleges. In 2015 they will only be offering programs at the two campuses in Vermont.

Middlebury-Monterey Language Academy

Middlebury College and its graduate school, the

opened MMLA with the intent of hosting a Language Schools program for pre-college students. The summer program has often highlighted its use of the Middlebury Language Pledge and maintains that the Pledge helps create an educational community and promotes a

language immersion Language immersion, or simply immersion, is a technique used in bilingual language education in which two languages are used for instruction in a variety of topics, including math, science, or social studies. The languages used for instruction ...

environment. MMLA opened in 2008, and now hosts Academies on the U.S. campuses of

Saint Michael's College Saint Michael's College (St. Mikes or Saint Michael's) is a private Roman Catholic college in Colchester, Vermont. Saint Michael's was founded in 1904 by the Society of Saint Edmund. It grants Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees ...

, Colchester, Vermont and Green Mountain College, Poultney, Vermont. These locations teach Arabic, German, Chinese, French, and Spanish.

Current locations

Green Mountain College,

Poultney, Vermont Poultney is a town in Rutland County in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Vermont. New York state is on its western border. Castleton, Vermont, is on its northern border. Poultney was home to Green Mountain College, a private liberal ...

Languages: Arabic, German, Spanish

Colchester, Vermont Colchester is a town in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of Colchester was 17,524. It is the fourth-most populous municipality and second-most populous town in the state of Vermont. Colchester bor ...

Languages: French and Chinese Study Chinese Abroad: Beijing, China Languages: Chinese Study Spanish Abroad: Granada,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Languages: Spanish Study French Abroad: Quebec City,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Languages: French

Sources

Middlebury College Language SchoolsMiddlebury-Monterey Language Academy CurriculumMiddlebury-Monterey Language Academy Campuses
{{Middlebury College, state=autocollapse Middlebury College Language schools in the United States Educational institutions established in 2008 Language immersion 2008 establishments in the United States