[434]IMMERSE YOURSELF IN A SECOND LANGUAGE THIS SUMMER

IMMERSE YOURSELF IN A SECOND LANGUAGE THIS SUMMER
Annual Summer Language Institute Offers Faster Communication

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 2, 2008
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Dr. Shelley Thomas, 615-898-5757 or shthomas@mtsu.edu

(NASHVILLE)—Middle Tennessee State University’s Center for Accelerated Language Acquisition will conduct the sixth annual Summer Language Institute at the University School of Nashville.
Sessions will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 16-20, June 23-27 and July 28-August 1. Languages taught include Mandarin Chinese, French, German, Scottish Gaelic, Arabic and Spanish Level 1 and 2.
The program combines innovative teaching methods known as Total Physical Response and Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling. These hands-on methods allow students to learn a language faster and with more focus on communicative skills than they would with traditional instruction.
Most language courses require memorization of vocabulary lists and tedious grammar work. Traditional instruction stores what you have learned into short-term memory, where it is easily lost without constant practice.
TPR and TPRS are designed to teach students a second language the same way they learned their first—by relating vocabulary to movement and learning grammar through storytelling. Students are completely immersed in the language from the first day of instruction in a fun and changing environment.
“I have seen these methods work with adults in their 70s, even with languages as difficult as Mandarin. I can now tell people who regret never having studied a language or who had a bad experience that it is not too late,” said Dr. Shelley Thomas, associate professor at MTSU and founder of the Summer Language Institute.
Thomas has spent years spreading the practice of using TPR and TPRS in foreign language instructors to teachers worldwide. Most recently, her work has taken her to India and China.
Thomas also has received an MTSU “Synergy Grant” to research how these foreign language methods influence areas of study like psychology and education.
Sessions are available for both children and adults. Adult classes include rising seventh-graders and up. All classes are offered by the University School of Nashville. Find out more information at www.usn.org/summer.
Cost for the 20-hour course is $325 for participants registered before April 30 and $350 for those after. The tuition includes instruction and course materials and must be paid in full by May 15.
There are sessions for instructors interested in teaching with TPR or TPRS held from 2 to 5 p.m. June 16–20 and again June 23-26. The cost for this session is $100.


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Registration and tuition payment by credit card are available on CALA’s website at www.acceleratedacquisition.com. There is also a short video about the institute and testimonials from past students on the site.

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IN BRIEF: Middle Tennessee State University’s Center for Accelerated Language Acquisition will conduct the sixth annual Summer Language Institute at the University School of Nashville. Sessions will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 16-20, June 23-27 and July 28-August 1. Languages taught include Mandarin Chinese, French, German, Scottish Gaelic, Arabic and Spanish Level 1 and 2. The program combines innovative teaching methods known as Total Physical Response and Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling. These hands-on methods allow students to learn a language faster and with more focus on communicative skills than they would with traditional instruction. Cost for the 20-hour course is $325 for participants registered before April 30 and $350 for those after. The tuition includes instruction and course materials and must be paid in full by May 15. Visit www.acceleratedacquisition.com for more information and interviews with students and instructors.


For MTSU news and information, visit www.mtsunews.com.


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ATTENTION, MEDIA: For a color JPEG of Dr. Shelley Thomas using TPR and TPRS to teach English to children and teachers in Coimbatore, India, please contact Gina E. Fann in the Office of News and Public Affairs via e-mail at gfann@mtsu.edu or by calling 615-898-5385.

Also, this release was written by Claire Rogers, a junior majoring in advertising/public relations at MTSU. We request your use of her byline if you use the release in its entirety.

Thanks!