article by Julissa Mota, ’26, Fellowships Assistant at the Fries Center for Global Studies, Fall 2022 The Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program is an immersive summer program that provides US citizens 8-10 weeks of language learning at various study abroad institutes around the world. These institutes promote rapid language gains in 14 different languages essential…
FLTA Series: Introducing Priyanka Chakraborty
Hello everyone! My name is Priyanka and I am the Fulbright FLTA for Hindi Language at Wesleyan for the academic session 2022-2023. I am from the beautiful, ancient and diverse country India. I was born in Kolkata, also called the city of joy which is located in the eastern part of India. I studied in…
Kennedy Odede ’12 on the United Nations Climate Change Conference: COP 27 left out Africans, but climate progress still possible
Kennedy Odede is an internationally recognized human rights activist. Kennedy was born and raised in the Kibera Slum, the largest slum in Africa. As the oldest of eight children, he assumed responsibility for his family at the age of ten. In Kibera he became a certified HIV/AIDS counselor, was a community health worker, and ran…
A Sunday at the Korean Spa (+ Yummy Food)
6 Ways to Practice Your French Before Studying Abroad
by Nicholas Summerson, Class of 2023 and VWPP Spring ’22 Before going abroad to France, many students are nervous about their language abilities and if their years of taking language classes will translate into using their skills in the real world. As a student who studied abroad the spring semester of 2022, I can attest…
Catch these awesome IEW events starting November 11th!
International Education Week (IEW), November 11-18, 2022, is an opportunity to celebrate the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide. This joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education aims to promote programs that prepare Americans for a global environment and attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn, and exchange…
Meet our Fall ’22 Global Correspondents!
The Global Correspondent Program is an initiative from within the Study Abroad Office that allows students and other members of the Wesleyan community to see what the day-to-day looks like for students studying abroad! This semester, four students were selected as Global Correspondents. While abroad, Global Correspondents will document their study abroad experience through…
FLTA Series: Introducing Yenyu Lin
Hey! My name is Yenyu Lin (Chinese name: 林晏羽), I am the Chinese FLTA this year! I grew up in Tainan, a beautiful historical city in southern Taiwan. Before I came to Wesleyan in 2021, I studied my master degree in Teaching World Languages at University of Kentucky. And before that, I taught English to…
Changes to the Middle Eastern Studies Minor
Established in 2010, the Middle Eastern Studies Minor is an interdisciplinary program that offers students interested in a Middle East concentration with a curriculum that integrates government, history, religion, art history, and language study. The minor has historically required eight credits, including two language courses at the intermediate level. After a re-evaluation of the curriculum…
Cultures and Languages Across the Curriculum (CLAC) Classes Being offered in the spring
What is CLAC? Wesleyan University’s CLAC program is administered out of the Fries Center for Global Studies, and aims to provide students and faculty across the campus with opportunities to deepen their engagement with their subjects through the use and further development of their language and intercultural skills. CLAC courses at Wesleyan can be linked to…
FLTA Series: Introducing Romane Rousseau
Hi everyone! My name is Romane and I am one of the French FLTAs for the 2022-2023 academic year. I was born in Vendée, a region located on the west coast of France, but now I live and study in Paris. I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English after completing a three-year program in…
Meet Iddrisu Saaka, Assistant Professor of Dance
Introducing Iddi Iddi Saaka is a dancer, choreographer, drummer, dance teacher, and performer from Ghana. He earned his diploma at the University of Ghana, then came to the United States to attend UCLA for his Master’s in Fine Arts. In 2008, Iddi applied and gained the position of West African Dance professor at Wesleyan. In…
A summer playing in the dirt: A day in the life as an excavation volunteer at Tel Shimron, Israel
Life at the field school I lived at for the summer began to stir well before the daylight hours in the Jezreel Valley. Each morning, I rolled out of bed at 4am, donned my mud-stained clothes, and stumbled down the stairs in a sleepy stupor for first breakfast, which consisted of a sad cup of…
Deadline extended: submit an event proposal for IEW!
What is IEW? Taking place from this year from Saturday, November 12, to Friday, November 18, IEW is a week-long event at Wesleyan that aims to increase awareness of and promote global learning opportunities within and outside of Wesleyan; preserve and celebrate our interconnected cultural and linguistic heritages and shared environment; foster togetherness via intercultural…
Welcome to Wesleyan’s International News Group!
by Dylan Campos ’24 On Friday, September 30, 2022, the International News Group held its inaugural meeting at the Fries Center for Global Studies common room. In conjunction with the FCGS and the Shapiro Writing Center, students, faculty, and staff met to share their interests in current global affairs, international media messaging, and multicultural learning…
FLTA Series: Introducing Elena Rota
Hey everybody!This is Elena and I’ll be the Italian FLTA for this academic year at Wesleyan. I was born and raised in Bologna, Italy, a city considered to be the Italian capital of food and home to the oldest University in the western world. I study Foreign Languages and Literatures, in particular the English and…