Waleed Abdulabbas: Living a dream in Monterey
Waleed Abdulabbas is at the Monterey Institute on a scholarship from his home country of Iraq to get his Master of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). He will be working with Monterey Radio as an Arabic broadcaster and he hopes to teach the Arabic language at BUILD classes this fall. Waleed's goal is to create cultural connections and mutual understanding between Americans and Iraqis. He wants to foster a better understanding of Iraqi civilization, culture and language.
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New Class Includes Citizens of 33 Countries, Speakers of 22 Native Languages
The fall is always an exciting time at the Monterey Institute where faculty, staff and returning students welcome a diverse group of new students from all over the world. This year the incoming class includes citizens of 33 countries and speakers of 22 native languages. What they discover during the first week of orientation is that now they all have one important thing in common—they are all citizens of the Monterey Institute community.
BUILD: Students Teach Each Other New Languages
Beyond yoUrself In Language Development (BUILD) is a student-run organization that provides beginning-level language classes to the entire MIIS community. All of the classes are completely free, informal, and fun!
This year BUILD will offer classes in at least 10 different languages throughout the week to accommodate all students' busy schedules. Whether you want to learn how to order a meal in Chinese, sing a song in French, or play a game in Portuguese, BUILD classes will give you that opportunity! Learn more on our blog.
Summer Intensive Language Program Grows 30 Percent in One Year
The Monterey Institute of International Studies’ Summer Intensive Language Program (SILP) celebrated a very successful summer in 2011, welcoming 152 students to study one of six languages, a 30 percent increase from last year. This year also saw the return of the Japanese program after a six-year hiatus. “This was a great year, with wonderful students and exceptional faculty from 15 countries,” says SILP program director Alicia Brent.
Thirty-Seven Fulbright Scholars Prepare for Graduate School in the U.S. at MIIS
Thirty-seven Fulbright scholars from countries ranging from Madagascar to Poland and Panama to Bangladesh have arrived for a three-week intensive course at the Monterey Institute designed to prepare them for graduate studies in the United States. The focus of their studies at MIIS is on academic English, public speaking and other graduate school skills.
Teaching Languages in the Context of Culture
Feasting on Russian blinis and borscht (traditional beet soup), taking a tasting tour of a Mexican supermarket, singing karoake in Chinese, visiting a Japanese cultural fair in Santa Cruz and practicing the Jordanian folk dance Dabke are among the many cultural activities offered to students in the Monterey Institute Summer Intensive Language Programs (SILP).
6 Languages, 150 Students, 8 Weeks = MIIS Summer Intensive Language Program
For more than fifty years the Monterey Institute has offered summer intensive language instruction ranging from elementary to advanced level. This summer around 150 students are enrolled in the MIIS Summer Intensive Language Program (SILP) studying six different languages: Arabic, Chinese, French, Japanese, Russian, or Spanish in an intensive eight-week program. The program pushes students to strongly improve their language skills over the summer digesting three semesters worth of material with their full-time language focus.
Graduates Embrace Challenge to “Leave the World a Better Place”
Addressing the 247 graduates at the Monterey Institute’s May 21 commencement ceremony, President Sunder Ramaswamy spoke of the road ahead: “Like any proud parent, we have high expectations for you, but only because we know the great things you are capable of accomplishing.” The president talked about the different backgrounds of students hailing from places like “Belarus and Brazil, India and the Ivory Coast, Malta and Mexico, Pakistan and Paraguay, China and Russia” and the common goal that they each have of making a difference i
Intensive English Program Prepares for Busy Summer
As many students are getting ready for new jobs, internships or summer adventures, others are gearing up for a busy summer of language learning. Among those in the latter group are the 140 students who will be attending five different Intensive English Programs at the Monterey Institute this summer.
Approximately 40 students from around the world will take part in the Intensive English as a Second Language (ESL) Summer Session eight-week long course, including six prospective Middlebury College students.
Five Monterey Institute Students Land Prestigious Fulbright Awards
Five students from the Monterey Institute of International Studies will receive Fulbright awards for the 2011-2012 academic year, the most U.S. student awards received in the Institute’s 56-year history.
