Summer Language Intensive

The Bard-Smolny Summer Language Intensive provides challenging courses for students who have completed between two and six semesters of college-level Russian or its equivalent. Students can choose to enroll for four or eight weeks; the four-week program focuses on solidifying language concepts already covered while improving language skills, and the eight-week program is the equivalent of one year of Russian at a North American institution and covers text such as V Puti: Russian Grammar in Context and materials developed by Russian as a Second Language faculty. Students' Russian skill level will be measured with a short assessment administered at the time of application.

SLI is an immersive program, with 22 hours of classes per week, daily quizzes and written assignments, and weekly tests. Class sizes are small (typically 8 to 10 students), with coursework that emphasizes vocabulary acquisition, grammar comprehension, reading improvement, and writing achievement as well as verbal and aural precision. Language is taught in conjunction with our cultural program, which integrates academic experience with a feel for the city of St. Petersburg. Coursework for upper-level students includes a thematic workshop that focuses on language learning through content-specific instruction, such as Russian history and literature. Past workshops have included Russian politics, literature, and art history.

SLI students are provided a rich cultural program, including biweekly excursions and events. Excursion sites have included:

• St. Issac’s Cathedral
• Peterhof
• Petter and Paul’s Fortress
• Velikiy Novgorod (overnight trip)
• Dostoevsky Museum
• Hermitage
• Ballet and opera at either the Mikhailovsky or Mariinsky Theater
• Blockade Museum
• Political Hitsory Museum
• Elagin Island (ballroom dancing)
• Russian Museum
• Pushkin (Tsarskoe Selo)
• Museum of Modern Art “Erarta”