Total Russian Immersion

[ACLI was] truly one of the best experiences of my life. I can't imagine taking another program and I know I would not have received the same progress in a different one . . . The language pledge is SERIOUS and [is] why the program is so great.

The language pledge is by far the strongest part of the program. As far as I know, the majority of the participants in my program held to it. It was fairly well drilled into our heads as required. I think this led us all to feel a bit guilty if we used 1 English word in a sentence and ultimately taught us how to explain a thought, even if we didn't know this word.

Everything was well-organized and they did a terrific job answering a variety of questions and giving advice!

I loved the number of excursions, having morning and afternoon classes, and the lectures and films were awesome. The program had a very well-rounded structure.

My host family is phenomenal. They were more than willing to take me out and include me in their lives. I met many of their friends and was given an invaluable opportunity to speak Russian and converse with Russian youth about any topic, from current living conditions to nonsensical slang terms.

I learned more about the spoken Russian language during the two months of this program than in two of my five years studying the language at the university level. The best thing about the program was the opportunity to study Russian all day every day.

The home institutions of former ACLI (2010-2011) and Critical Languages Institute (2007-2009) students include: American University, Amherst College, Arizona State University, Barnard College, Brigham Young University, Bryn Mawr College, Colgate University, Duke University, Georgetown University, Harvard University, Indiana University, Iowa State University, Johns Hopkins University, NYU, Northwestern University, Portland State University, Rutgers University, Smith College, Stanford University, UC Davis, University of Chicago, University of Florida, University of Illinois, University of Kansas, University of Kentucky, University of Michigan, University of Notre Dame, University of Pennsylvania, University of South Carolina, University of Washington, US Naval Academy, UT Austin, UVA and others.