Azerbaijani: Baku, Azerbaijan


Location: Baku, Azerbaijan
Dates of program: June 12 - August 11, 2012
Hosting institution: Azerbaijan University of Languages
Language offered: Azerbaijani
Levels offered: Beginning, intermediate and advanced

Program Structure

The CLS Azerbaijan institute covers approximately one academic year of university-level Azerbaijani study during the 8-week program, and is designed to meet the needs of students from a variety of language levels and backgrounds, including advanced students and those learning the language for the first time.

CLS students on an overnight excursion to the city of Sheki.

Formal classroom language instruction is provided for an average of four hours per day, five days per week. Extracurricular activities are designed to supplement the formal curriculum, including regular one-on-one meetings with peer tutors for conversational practice, as well as cultural activities and excursions designed to expand students’ understanding of Azerbaijani life and culture. Students also live with host families, which gives them an opportunity to experience life inside an Azerbaijani family and practice their language skills outside of class.

For more information about the Azerbaijan University of Languages, please visit here.

Outcomes

In 2010, the CLS Program adopted the Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) developed by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) as an additional measure of the effectiveness and quality of the institutes overseas. Before the program, students take a diagnostic OPI test; at the end of their 8-week course of study, they take an ACTFL-certified post-program OPI assessment. The scores on these tests give students a concrete, widely-recognized measure of their speaking skills in Azerbaijani.

Student Activities

CLS students practice a song they learned in class before
performing it for their classmates and friends.

Students in Baku have the opportunity to explore Baku and learn about Azerbaijani culture through their cultural excursions and activities. In 2011, students also pursued personal interests outside of class by taking music classes and playing soccer with a local team.

Alumni Highlights

Read about CLS alumna Jeiran Hasan (Baku, ’10 and ’11), who studies music at a conservatory in the U.S. and took advantage of the opportunity while in Baku to learn to play a traditional Azerbaijani instrument and learn about mugham, a form of Azerbaijani folk music.

Read about the 2011 CLS Program and closing ceremony.

Program Highlights

View videos, read highlights, and more on the CLS Blog!

Alumni Ambassadors



Phillip Dehoux, '11	Stephen Snyder, '10