The Summer Advanced Critical Language Institute is designed to help students approach the goal of full fluency in Russian, a Critical Language. ACLI students speak only Russian for the duration of the 6-week program. ACLI students enjoy wonderful Russian-speaking homestays while studying for 4-5 hours daily in small groups.

The ACLI curriculum additionally includes lectures, films, and a dynamic cultural program designed to allow participants to see the many faces of St. Petersburg and suburbia from magnificent palaces and aristocratic mansions to standardized apartment buildings and celebrity homes, from classical opera and ballet performances to contemporary shows and artists' studios.