Howard University in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin at Madison

The first African Languages Flagship Program is a collaborative program between Howard University and the University of Wisconsin at Madison. During its initial year, Flagship will offer intensive instruction in Swahili at Howard and in Yoruba at Madison. Full-time undergraduate students from any academic major are eligible to apply. The student selection process is competitive.

Flagship students will participate in a unique language and culture learning experience during the academic year and summer sessions. The innovative Flagship curriculum is designed to lead students to Superior Level proficiency as measured by the ILR (International Language Roundtable) scale over a four-year period by:

• Providing many experiential learning opportunities by designing hands-on and language use activities/tasks
• Emphasizing elaborated and rich input in all classes
• Training students for chunk learning and for focusing on both language forms and functions
• Providing opportunities for cooperative and collaborative learning through group tasks
• Emphasizing corrective feedback whenever possible
• Making individualized instruction an integral part of the curriculum

Student proficiency levels will be constantly monitored by class instructors and by professional evaluators at each level of instruction. As cultural understanding is a major goal of the Flagship curriculum, eligible Swahili students will study in Tanzania while Yoruba students will study in Nigeria. These carefully-designed and challenging overseas programs will allow students to engage in real-life situations with local Swahili or Yoruba-speaking families and communities. The overseas study component will be administered for Flagship by the American Councils for International Education.

Accepted Flagship students may be funded up to $5,000 per semester.

How to apply:

• Completed Application
• Statement of Purpose and Commitment
• Two letters of recommendation from Faculty at your current institution
• Academic Transcript

Contact: James J. Davis, Ph.D.
Director, African Flagship Center - Swahili
Department of World Languages and Cultures
Howard University Washington, DC 20059
202 806-6758
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OR

Antonia Y. Schleicher, Ph.D.
Director, African Flagship Center - Yoruba
Department of African Languages and Literature
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Madison, WI 53706
608 265-7905
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