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Location: Kolkata, India
Dates of program: June 7 - August 20, 2012
Hosting institution: American Institute of Indian Studies (AIIS)
Language offered: Bangla/Bengali
Levels offered: Intermediate, advanced

Program Structure

The CLS Bangla/Bengali Program in Kolkata, India is flexible, learner oriented and tailored to the needs of the participants. The goals of the program are language acquisition and cultural immersion. Language classes cover the concepts of grammar, conversation, pronunciation, journal writing, and dictation that hone the four skills of language development – listening, speaking, reading and writing. The CLS Program works with students to set both short and long term learning goals, and the faculty works collectively and individually to help students achieve these goals throughout the summer institute.

In addition to formal evaluations such as tests and quizzes, student–teacher meetings are held every week to discuss student progress and language learning goals. Classes are held five days a week from 9am until 1pm. In the afternoons, students complete homework, in addition to participating in tutoring, cultural activities, and language partner activities. Weekly activities supplement the formal classroom instruction and include local trips, guest lectures, monolingual guests, and music and dance performances. Each student works with his or her instructors to complete an independent project during the CLS institute. Students present their research and projects to the group during the final week of the program.

CLS students performing a skit in Bangla.

CLS participants live with host families to maximize language learning and the cultural immersion experience.

The American Institute of Indian Studies (AIIS) is the host of the CLS Bangla Program in India. AIIS is a consortium of 64 American universities with South Asia Studies Centers and is recognized by the Government of India as an institution of higher learning and research. Situated in the heart of south Kolkata, the AIIS Bangla Center has four spacious air conditioned classrooms, an airy dining and living hall, and a lounge.

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 addition, students’ writing and reading abilities are assessed throughout the program in a variety of ways.

Student Activities

CLS Bangla students at Calcutta University.

CLS Kolkata participant Maura Farrell spent time during her 2010 CLS experience volunteering with “CRAWL”, an NGO in Khardah, Kolkata. When she returned as a participant in the 2011 CLS Program, she was able to reconnect with several young women she had met the summer before. Maura linked her community outreach with her classroom studies by narrating the story of a fifteen year old girl who she worked with at the center for her instructors and fellow students in Bangla.

Alumni Highlights

Andrew Rumbach (CLS 2009) is completed his PhD on urbanization and disaster risk in Kolkata, West Bengal. He is now on the faculty at the University of Hawai'i, Manoa as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning.

Program Highlights

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

Alumni Ambassadors

Jessica Ludd, '10 (Punjabi)	Jessica Sarrantonio, '11 (Hindi)	Travis Glynn, '11 (Urdu)	Todd McKay, '09 & '10 (Bangladesh)	Marielle Newman, '11 (Bangladesh)