MMLA adds site at Swarthmore

The Middlebury-Monterey Language Academy (MMLA) has announced the addition of Swarthmore College to the summer school’s locations for 2011. Located in Swarthmore, Penn., the school and its new program will draw 70 faculty and staff members and over 250 students.

The MMLA was created by the Language Schools of Middlebury College and the Monterey Institute of International Studies in Monterey, Calif., one of the College’s graduate schools.

The MMLA at Swarthmore will feature Spanish, French and Chinese and will host middle and high school students from around the country.

MMLA also has programs in Vermont, California, Illinois, Ohio, Rhode Island and South Carolina. Together, the locations offer courses in Spanish, French, Chinese, German and Arabic.

“We are excited to be partnering with an institution that understands and values the importance of foreign language skills,” said Kevin Conroy, MMLA’s director.

Conroy added that the MMLA’s approach to learning languages through immersion helps the students learn important skills not always taught in the classroom.

The MMLA strives to meet the different learning styles of its students, incorporating cooking classes, group hikes, soccer tournaments and other social events. Students attend language classes, live in language-specific housing and speak the target language during daily activities.

The MMLA also adapts the program to each student’s experience with a language, regardless of skill level.

“We think that MMLA is a good match for Swarthmore, both for the richness and rigor of its curriculum and for its tradition of successfully preparing students to further their academic goals,” said Swarthmore Provost Constance Hungerford. “We hope to enjoy a relationship with MMLA for many years to come.”

The MMLA also recently became part of Middlebury Interactive Languages, a technology-based education company and leader in online learning that the College launched, through a partnership with the education company K12 Learning, in the spring of 2010. The company’s goal is to create more opportunities in which students can further their language skills using video communication.

“MMLA’s immersion approach to teaching language and culture — like that of the internationally recognized Middlebury Language Schools — is an ideal way to provide today’s young people with the skills and resources to become tomorrow’s citizens,” Conroy said.