Program Details
Program Dates: June 2 - August 1, 2025
ACMS's Intensive Mongolian Language Program is takes place for eight weeks during the summer in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The purpose of this summer language program is to provide Intermediate-level students of the Mongolian language with an opportunity to enhance their communicative competence through systematic improvement of reading, writing, listening and speaking skills, in an authentic environment. Classroom and supervised outside-the-classroom activities will help students achieve more fluent, accurate and multi-functional communication. The program entails eight weeks of intensive study of the Mongolian language, over a nine-week period, at the Intermediate level of language learning which is equivalent to approximately nine semester credit hours. The course will be taught by experienced Mongolian language teachers
A limited number of Language Program Fellowships provides stipends of up to $2,000 to cover the cost of tuition. The fellowship is awarded to applicants based on merit and need. Applicants are encouraged to apply for funding from other sources in addition to the ACMS Intensive Mongolian Language Fellowship Program to support their studies. Demonstrations of other applications or receipt of other sources of support will be viewed favorably by the review committee, and Mongolian Language fellowships may be used to supplement other funding awards. The goal of the program is to assist as many people as possible to participate in language training to enhance their ability to conduct research in Mongolia.
Coursework
Participants will spend approximately 17.5 hours per week in the classroom and will have approximately 15 hours per week of homework. Classes will be held for three hours a day, five days a week: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are spent in the classroom and Tuesdays and Thursdays are spent in immersion activities outside of the classroom. The course will stimulate higher-level reading and listening comprehension skills and help students strengthen and consolidate their structure and writing ability. Communicative competence will be stimulated by visits to Mongolian homes, attending social and cultural events, visiting organizations and institutions, conducting research interviews/accessing archives, and touring out-of-the-way locales.
Each week is organized around a theme. The course builds on and extends activities from the previous week, and each week, the assignments are lengthened. The week typically begins with a quiz on the material from the previous week. Listening materials will be presented after certain preparatory work – introduction of the new vocabulary and structural grammar. The material for the listening will be presented both in the classroom and as part of homework. In certain cases students will be asked to work on the new vocabulary and grammar independently. Pronunciation skills will be improved through loud reading as well as by working on the recorded voices of the students. Speech will be improved by promoting monologues and dialogues on the weekly topic in oral presentations, and descriptions of the twice-weekly immersion experiences. Aspects of the writing competence improvement will include: descriptive (reproduction), analytical (essays, summaries), functional (official communication patterns) and emotional-emphatic (expressing desire, acclaim, adoration, anger, disappointment). Authentic reading passages will be used to reinforce a variety of reading skills such as guessing words from contexts, skimming, scanning, and making inferences.
By the end of the course, students will be able to produce written reports and oral presentations, and converse freely on various topics focused on lifestyle, cross-cultural issues, political and economic realities, social and cultural processes, and various aspects of human relations. Students will also be able to read/listen and better comprehend authentic and recorded texts exploring life in Mongolia, the history of Mongolia, Mongolian culture, global processes, and international relations.
Participants must attend 90 percent of scheduled classes and maintain an average minimum grade of B+ on assignments, quizzes and exams to remain in the course. All in-class, outside activities, and homework assignments are graded. Participants must plan to attend 20 hours of course training per week (which includes both in- and out-of classroom sessions) over the period of the program.
Program Costs
Tuition: $2,000
The tuition includes course materials, the cost of activities and events, and local transportation to course-required activities. Participants must submit all tuition payments by May 1. Students are responsible for their own living and travel expenses. The following are estimated costs associated with living in Mongolia for 8-10 weeks:
Estimated Housing: $1,000
Estimated Food and incidentals: $1,000
Estimated Round-trip Travel from the United States: $2,500
Health and Evacuation Insurance: $300
Total Estimated Living Expenses: $4,800
Total Expenses + Tuition: $6,800
For questions about the application or program, please contact tsermaa@mongoliacenter.org.