Read about the program, selection process, and rewards
overview | requirements for
schools | requirements for students | selection process
| program costs | financial aid | 2009 program dates | student pledge
| many rewards
Overview of program
About thirty students are selected for each of the seven-week programs: in France, St. Brieuc and Brest; in Germany, Krefeld; in Mexico, San Luis Potosi, and in Spain, Valencia, Leon, Oviedo and Ciudad Real.
Each student is placed with a local family selected by the coordinators abroad. The
families, chosen on the basis of their willingness to help the American students learn the
culture and language of the foreign country and to welcome them as their own children,
receive a compensation for their generous hospitality. Most of the students maintain a
warm friendship with their host families for many years.
Intensive study conducted in the foreign language is the focal point of the program.
Students are taught by qualified teachers in classes established exclusively for
the Honors Program participants. The emphasis is on improving speaking, listening, reading, and
writing skills, to which end a no-English rule prevails while the students are abroad.
Formal learning involves daily morning classes and activities. Each class has about ten students, which allows active participation in grammar, culture, conversation. literature and phonetics.The students write a diary in the foreign language and
have homework assignments. Informal learning comes about through singing, acting, dancing,
sports, artistic performances, and field trips into the surrounding regions.
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What qualifies a school?
To be eligible a high school must offer, or plan to offer, four or
more years of instruction in French, German, or Spanish. An important requirement of the
Honors Program is that the students who participate return to their school after the
summer abroad and actively participate in the study of the language for the
following year. The Program is open to all secondary schools in Indiana, public, private,
or parochial. Schools may apply in one or more languages.
Participating high schools are asked to cooperate in the various steps of the selection
process. They are asked to offer advanced foreign language instruction to returning Honors
students, and are welcome to encourage school or community clubs and organizations to
contribute to the financial aid and matching funds of the Program.
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What Qualifies an Applicant?
Prospective applicants must be in at least their third year of study of French,
German, or Spanish, and must be in their junior year of high school. Participants are
required to continue the study of the language through the senior year.
The personal qualities that distinguish successful participants include a deep desire
to learn, intellectual and social maturity, sincere commitment to abide by the rules of
the Honors Program, the most important of which is to forgo the use of English for seven
weeks, and willingness to adjust to new customs and habits.
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The Selection Process
The selection process is based on personal and academic merit. The program attracts a large number of candidates and is very
competitive.
1. Testing: Eligible students interested in applying for the program obtain through their school an "Intent to Apply," which they complete. Students also need to submit a non-refundable nominal fee at this Web site: https://quikpayasp.com/iu/commerce_manager/payer.do?orderType=UA~INTP~deposit. Students are tested in grammar, reading and listening skills at regional centers in late October.
2. Application: Students who have achieved a high enough score on the test are invited to apply. In addition to a personal application, school transcripts, and confidential appraisals by teachers and an adult friend are evaluated by a selection committee.
3. Students who have passed the exam and the application review will receive information about further steps in early 2009.
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Program Costs
The test application fee is $15.00, to be paid by October 3, 2008 in advance of the regional language testing in mid-October.
The basic program fees are $5900 for the programs in France, Spain and Germany; and $4400 for the program in Mexico. This fee includes:
- Round-trip transportation between the point of departure (generally Chicago or Indianapolis) and the study town abroad
- Classroom instruction
- Room and board
- Health insurance
- All program-directed field trips
- All program-related directed activities
This program fee does not include:
- The test application fee;
- Travel costs to regional centers for testing and interviewing as part of the application process
- Travel costs to Bloomington for orientation
- Passport fees and photographs
- Physical exam prior to leaving
- Transportation to and from the point of departure
- Personal expenses abroad such as souvenirs, gifts, postage, optional activities, etc., which can run from $400 to $600, depending on individual needs or allowance provided
- Optional field trips
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Financial Aid
Students may apply for financial aid. An on-line need-based assessment tool will be made available after acceptance to the program. Financial aid will be based on individual family need and is given in varying amounts. Students may also solicit sponsorships from public or private sources towards program costs.
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2009 Program Dates
Programs in France:
Brest: June 9 to July 25
St. Brieuc: June 7 to July 22
Programs in Germany:
Krefeld: June 8 to July 23
Programs in Spain:
Ciudad Real: June 9 to July 25
León: June 8 to July 24
Oviedo: June 9 to July 25
Valencia: June 10 to July 27
Programs in Mexico:
San Luis Potosí: June 11 to July 27
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The Student's Pledge
The selected students pledge to work to their best ability in order to become
proficient in the use of the foreign language; to be responsible, mature, and courteous
guests in the foreign country, and to follow the rules and regulations set by the program
directors and the host family. The students also pledge to continue the study of the
foreign language
after completing the Program, and to encourage and help other classmates
to study foreign languages through their active participation in class and their
willingness to act as teacher's aides under the teacher's guidance. The students who are faithful to their pledge receive an "Award of Excellence" from the director of the Honors Program.
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The Rewards are Many!
Total immersion in a foreign culture and giving up one's native language for another
are challenging but extremely rewarding experiences.
The summer abroad helps students make tremendous progress in their foreign language,
and enlarge and deepen their knowledge of the world, thus creating bridges of human
understanding between the United States and other countries.
The returning students share their enthusiasm and knowledge of the foreign culture with
their classmates, and there can be no doubt that their experience has a positive impact on
the foreign language programs of their school.
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