 Study in Cuernavaca, Mexico May 18-June 14, 2008
 Learn Spanish in Mexico! Travel with other MATC students to Cuernavaca, the “city of eternal spring,” for an engaging summer study abroad program.
In partnership with the Cuauhnáhuac Spanish Language Institute, Madison Area Technical College (MATC) will offer a 4-week study abroad program in Cuernavaca, Mexico. The program will run from May 18-June 14, 2008.
Students will learn Spanish from native speakers in an intensive program of language and cultural immersion. Home stay lodging will facilitate maximum cultural and language learning and numerous field trips and excursions will allow participants to take in the sights and culture of Mexico.
The application deadline for the program will be April 7, 2008. Completed application materials and non-refundable deposit (see below) must be received before 4:00 pm.
Admissions Requirements:
This program is open to serious students, teachers, and individuals from the community who have a strong interest in immersing themselves in Spanish language and culture. Student participants will be required to have a 2.5 GPA, based on at least 12 credits of college study and some history of Spanish language training. Community participants will need to contact the program coordinator for more information regarding their participation.
Academic Program Description:
Participants can enroll for up to 6 credits during this 4-week summer study. Students can register for four college transfer credits in Spanish language (levels 1-5) and/or two associate degree credits (either in Conversational Spanish or Special Topics in World Languages and Culture). All participants must be registered for at least 2 credits. Students seeking to apply federal financial aid to this program are required to register for all 6 credits.
MATC Spanish language faculty will travel with the program as academic escorts who will help to facilitate student learning and monitor program and student success.
This 4-week program is designed primarily to provide students with a Spanish language immersion opportunity. Research indicates that learning of a foreign language is significantly enhanced by immersion in environments where the target language is spoken by native speakers and the learner is surrounded by target language usage. This “ear-training” allows for more rapid learning of the target language, not only during the immersion experience, but also carries over into their ability to learn and pronounce the language after their return. Additional learning activities will structure students’ immersion in Mexican culture and encourage intercultural understanding and personal development.
Lodging and Meals:
Students will stay in shared host family placements in order to deepen the language immersion experience. All host families are individually selected and screened by Cuauhnáhuac Spanish Language Institute including personal visits to the homes of the participating families. Families are interviewed to see whether they meet with the criteria of the program including proximity to campus, cleanliness, health and safety, and shared fit with the philosophy and objectives of the program.
Three meals daily are included as part of the host family lodging program. Cuauhnáhuac will make every effort to accommodate special dietary needs, including vegetarian students. However, if students have very restrictive diets it is not always possible to accommodate all needs. If students have special dietary restrictions they should make that known in their application process and MATC will work with Cuauhnáhuac’s housing coordinator to explore suitable host family placement.
Excursion Package:
As part of the program cost students will experience a number of excursions and cultural activities including excursions to:
Tepoztlan Village
Ruins of Xochicalco
Taxco (The Silver Market City)
Las Estacas spring Fed River
Mexico City & Teotihuacán
Tequesquitengo Lake
And numerous cultural “intercambios” including movie nights, dancing lessons, and conversational language activites.
About Cuernavaca: Cuernavaca, located about a 90-minute drive from Mexico City, is at an altitude of 1542 meters (5059 feet), and has a mild climate with warm, sunny days and cool nights. In Mexico Cuernavaca is known as the “City of Eternal Spring.” It is the capital of Morelos, one of Mexico's smallest states and is located roughly an hour south of Mexico City.
Cuernavaca has a rich cultural history dating back nearly 2000 years. It was first home to the Tlahuica peoples and later was a site of Aztec civilization until the Spanish conquest in the early 1500s. Spanish conquistador Hernando Cortez was so taken with the climate and location that he had a personal palace built there that now serves as a regional museum.
Today Cuernavaca is known as a center for Spanish as a Second Language instruction. There are numerous language schools in the region and the community has worked to establish a safe and supportive environment for North American students studying abroad.
About Cuauhnáhuac Spanish Language Institute:
Cuauhnáhuac Spanish Language Institute, was founded in 1972. They are dedicated to providing a variety of intensive and flexible programs in the language and culture of Mexico for people interested in acquiring a functional fluency in the shortest possible time. Native Spanish speakers are trained in Cuauhnáhuac’s exclusive method of intensive Spanish language instruction and are government certified to teach Spanish as a Second Language. See more information on Cuauhnáhuac online at http://www.cuauhnahuac.edu.mx/
Fees and Payment:
The cost of this program is $1,990 plus MATC tuition, and airfare. This fee covers all Cuauhnáhuac fees, home-stay lodging, meals, ground transportation to and from the Mexico City airport, and the excursion package. Costs not included in the program fee include MATC Tuition (variable depending on number of credits taken) and airfare ($350 - $450), mandatory insurance (roughly $50), and potential immigration fees (ranging from $30-60, dependent on Mexican port of entry).
Participants are required to place a $500 deposit at the time of application (if a student is not selected this deposit would be returned in full; if accepted for participation, the deposit will apply to the overall cost of the program). Unless a participant’s application for participation is rejected, this deposit is non-refundable. Full payment of the program will be due at the pre-departure orientation on May 3, 2007. Participants will need to have or acquire a current passport before the date of departure (applicants must allow at least 6 weeks for standard processing).
Application and Deadlines:
The application deadline for the program will be April 7, 2008. Completed application materials and non-refundable deposit must be received before 4:00 pm. See below for downloadable PDF application form:
MATC-Cuauhnáhuac Application Summer 2008 (PDF, 304KB)
Agreement, Code of Conduct and Waiver of Liability Form (28KB, RTF Word File)
Submit Applications or Direct Inquiries to:
Geoff Bradshaw, Ph.D.
International Education Coordinator
Madison Area Technical College
3550 Anderson Street
Madison, WI 53704
(608) 246-6165
gbradshaw (at) matcmadison.edu
Last
Modified:
April 3, 2008
|
