The Wisconsin Intensive Summer Language Institutes (WISLI) will offer virtual language instruction in summer 2020. The announcement comes as the University of Wisconsin–Madison made the decision that face-to-face instruction will not be offered on campus in consideration of the safety of participants during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is a significant shift for WISLI, but familiar territory as we have previously offered distance learning through several of the institutes,” said Felecia Lucht, WISLI director. “Institute leaders and instructors have made preparations and are ready to meet the goals of our intensive courses. Participants will be able to greatly improve their language and cultural knowledge through intensive learning.”
Language institutes are extending application deadlines to accommodate those interested in virtual instruction. In addition, several funding and scholarship opportunities are still available. Details about instruction and an FAQ will be published soon at wisli.wisc.edu.
“We are confident in our ability to offer an enriching experience for learners of all levels,” said Lucht. “Participants gain two semesters worth of experience in just eight weeks. Those taking part in our institutes can still expect to reach the same level of proficiency in our revised model of instruction.”
WISLI offers instruction in 30 less commonly taught languages, including: Arabic, Bengali, Brazilian Portuguese, Burmese, Dari, Filipino, Gujarati, Hindi, Hmong, Indonesian, Javanese, Kazakh, Khmer, Lao, Marathi, Nepali, Pashto, Persian, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sinhala, Tajik, Tamil, Thai, Tibetan, Turkish, Urdu, Uyghur, Uzbek, and Vietnamese. Twenty of these languages have been designated critical by the National Security Education Program, often making the skills and cultural fluency acquired by learners in high demand. See the WISLI website for updates and additional information.
Participants represent undergraduates, graduates, faculty, and individuals from the public and private sectors. Learn more about WISLI at wisli.wisc.edu or email wisli@iris.wisc.edu.