DAHLONEGA - While it's common to hear a variety of languages spoken by North Georgia College & State University students and faculty, nearly 100 high school students are on campus this summer to learn Arabic, Chinese or Russian this summer.
Both sessions of the Foreign Service Foreign Language Academy (FSFLA) are full, as more than 350 applications were received for 96 slots, according to Dr. John Wilson, language education program developer and assistant director for the Center for Language Education at North Georgia. The students chosen hail from 17 different states across the nation, including Hawaii.
The program also represents the university's commitment to internationalization that is supported by nearly $2 million in federal funding to fund instruction in strategic languages. North Georgia also offers a similar six-week language program for college course credit during the summer and a three-semester Strategic Language Intensive Program.
During the 21-day camp, students focus on one of three languages and cultures identified as strategic for military or foreign service careers, such as the CIA, FBI, Department of State or armed forces. Representatives from each agency will visit during the camp. Students earn Georgia high school course credit and also get a jump-start on college-level foreign language or international affairs studies.
The seven-day-per-week schedule keeps students busy, and they are expected to spend their time in and out of class immersed in the language they've chosen to study. Students start each morning at 6:30 with physical training and spend a total of eight hours learning each day -- six hours in the classroom and two hours in the evening participating in study groups or other language activities. Each class also takes a field trip during the session that is specific to the language they are studying.
Spending so much time in the classroom is a challenge for the teachers, too. They use interactive activities like role-playing and a Pictionary-style game in Arabic to keep students motivated.
Xiajun Zou is from Guilin, China, and teaches Mandarin Chinese at a high school in Whitfield County. This summer is the first time she's ever had to teach the same group of students for an entire day.
"The challenge for the teachers is that we need to maintain that motivation and interest for six hours every day," Zou said. "We teach the students to start talking right away. This is the importance and the big difference from the regular high school classes. Even students who have never learned this language, they can start talking right away. That's exciting for students to see and hear."
Rafik Misak, a native of Alexandria, Egypt, teaches Arabic at an elementary school in Charlotte, N.C., and is the Arabic instructor for the program. He agrees that the intensive atmosphere is tough, but thinks it is important to help high school students understand Arabic language and culture despite the challenge.
"Critical languages are really important right now, especially Arabic with what's going on in the Middle East," Misak said. "I'm glad I'm here and hopefully the program will continue because I think this is really, really important, especially for high school students, to learn something they've never heard about before."
Zou also is excited about the work she's doing and looks forward to seeing the program grow.
"I really hope that this program will be developing and next year, we'll have more students coming. It's exciting and I'm so glad I'm here," she said.
Anastasiya Lakhno, a native of Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, teaches Russian language and culture in the progra. Wednesday, the students studying Russian went on a field trip to a Russian orthodox church and other locations in Atlanta to learn more about the culture. Students studying Chinese and Arabic also visited sites in the Atlanta area, including a Chinese cultural arts center, a mosque and ethnic restaurants.
Sunday
June 29th, 2025
4:41PM
