Language Training: Siberia by Southwest (UT-Austin)

Deadline for Applications: December 30, 2017

Program participants—educators, future educators and students pursuing careers in fields critical to US national security—will study at the Irkutsk State University in the city of Irkutsk, located on the Trans-Siberian railroad in South Central Siberia, a remote region of Russia marked by a mosaic of cultures and a breathtaking range of geographic features and ecosystems.

Funded by a U.S. Department of Education long-term Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad Advanced Overseas Intensive Language Training grant, the program is dedicated to providing US educators and students from higher education institutions across the southern and southwestern US with advanced Russian language training and an innovative disciplinary experience that will build both Russian language proficiency and professional skills.

The “Siberia by Southwest” program will provide 20 current/recent students, educators, and education administrators at the third- and fourth-year levels of language proficiency with ten weeks of advanced Russian-language and area studies training relevant to their future careers. Qualified instructors will provide intensive Russian language training in an interactive classroom environment four days a week. Student placement with Russian host families will deepen language immersion and direct engagement with the local culture.

Language learning will continue beyond the classroom through an interdisciplinary, project-based component guided by an on-site UT faculty member. Group or individual experiential learning projects will allow participants to connect their own academic or professional interests to their language and area studies training.

Participants will also explore the city and regional sites, as well as Moscow and St. Petersburg, in a number of planned excursions that will provide them with a broader picture of Russian history, culture, and contemporary issues.

“Siberia by Southwest” seeks to allow participants to play an active role in their own path to professionalization through experiential learning projects and the publication of concrete digital deliverables for future classroom and research use. The program will respond to vital regional interests through an emphasis on geography, energy, and the environment that corresponds to concerns shared by Texas, the Southwest, and Siberia.

For more information, and to apply, click here.