In talking with students from the past summer Academy sessions, and in reading comments they sent to us, we heard two things most often and most strongly:

They made incredible progress in their language and I learned a lot.

Students said:

This program was a lot of fun and I learned a lot. It is a very close community and I feel more prepared for Spain in the fall.

I did an evening class on Arab countries with Elias. It was one of my favorite classes ever and I am so glad that I got experience it. I learned a lot...thout it was very challenging. I would definitely recommend it to other students.

I have been taking French at school for seven years, and in the four weeks at MMLA I learned more than all those seven years combined. It was an awesome language immersion experience.

The best thing about the language immersion was the very fact that it was language immersion: using the target language all day, every day, in a variety of engaging hands-on activities with a dedicated group of teachers and students.

The best thing about the language immersion was just getting used to speaking on an everyday level and having words come out of my mouth without careful preparation. I loved being able to just talk and joke with my friends—but in French. 

They made incredible friendships.

Students said:

The best part of my language immersion this summer was the time I spent with my friends speaking Spanish.

By week three I had made some great friends from all over the country! I still talk to them and practice Arabic with them.

Students also told us their Academy experience had opened doors for them—helped them achieve their goals. For example:

I now have the ability to understand when a native speaker is talking. I am able to speak well. 

I began to learn Arabic, a language that I've been wanting to learn for a few years and that my school does not offer.

I got to meet really fun people, and my French became usable. Right afterwards I went to France—and it was so nice because I could actually communicate with people. I felt like I used my summer in a really productive way.

I'm happy that Chinese is no longer mysterious to me. Also, I really enjoyed meeting so many great people.

I ended up being able to skip three grades in Spanish—and it wasn’t just me. There were definitely people who were skipping grades in school after MMLA.

For some recent students’ favorite activities at the Academy, click here.