Announcing the CLS Virtual Institutes for Summer 2020

The Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program is pleased to announce CLS Virtual Institutes in six critical languages in summer 2020 for a limited number of participants. CLS Virtual Institutes will provide remote language instruction and cultural learning in Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Persian, and Russian.

Due to reduced capacity for this new type of programming, only a limited number of scholarships for the CLS virtual program will be available. This means that not all students previously selected for these languages may have the opportunity to participate in the virtual program. The number of class sections and language levels offered for each language has been matched to the instructional capacity at our overseas partner institutions, which are also impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has restricted the ability of Americans to travel and of students to participate in study abroad programs, it is still essential that American students continue to engage with critical languages and cultures of the world.

CLS Virtual Institutes will include approximately 20 hours of language activities per week:

• Face-to-face (synchronous) small group class time
• Individual feedback sessions with instructors
• Asynchronous, interactive activities, such as completing virtual museum tours, interacting with social media, etc.
• Homework assignments that reinforce course materials and concepts
• Directed independent study
• Meetings with a language partner for conversation practice

Instruction will be provided by CLS language teachers abroad, and students will have the option to receive academic credit for their participation in the virtual program. Institutes will take place over the course of approximately eight weeks between June and August.

All finalists and alternates for the 2020 CLS Program have received an email with more information about the CLS Virtual Institutes. If you are a finalist or alternate and have not received an update, please contact us at cls@americancouncils.org.