<p>If you or anyone you know is interested and might qualify for a need-based scholarship to attend Concordia Language Villages Arabic Language camp, please refer them to this scholarship form, which just came on line today. (“Concordia Language Villages thanks to the Qatar Foundation International for their continued support of Al-Wāḥa Arabic Camp and the study of Arabic in the US.”)<br>
<a href="https://concordialanguagevillages.wufoo.com/forms/qfi-scholarships-available-for-summer-2013/%5B/url%5D">https://concordialanguagevillages.wufoo.com/forms/qfi-scholarships-available-for-summer-2013/</a></p>
<p>As you may know, Concordia Language Villages is in North Central Minnesota and has been around for more than 50 years. Our daughter was an Arabic major in college. This will be her fourth summer teaching Arabic there. She attended Spanish camp there when she was young. Arabic Language Camp runs from July 22 to August 17; there are two 2-week sessions and one 4-week session. Concordia</a> Language Villages - Schedule</p>
<p>Please share this with anyone you know whose 8- to 18-year old wants to learn Arabic but doesn’t have the finances to do so. (If a student wants to learn Arabic and has the resources to do so, none of the four Arabic camp sessions are at capacity yet; there are still openings for paid students. I think 6th to 10th graders particularly appreciate these language immersion camps. As with all of the Concordia Language Villages camps, you can come in knowing not one word of the language or as a beginner or an intermediate student.)</p>
<p><strong><em>A Brief History of Concordia Language Villages</em></strong>*
• In 1960, Gerhard Haukebo, Ph.D., a Concordia College faculty member, suggested the college initiate an experimental program using immersion techniques to teach language. The intent of the program was to teach young people about other languages and cultures, while giving Concordia students the opportunity to gain practical teaching experience.
• Concordia College sponsored the project in the summer of 1961. The college rented Luther Crest Bible Camp, north of Alexandria, Minn., for the first two-week German session. "Camp Waldsee," which was limited to 72 campers aged 9-12, was a resounding success.
• Interest in the program increased steadily and more "Villages" were organized. In addition to German (1961), French (1962) was added the second year. Spanish and Norwegian (1963) followed. Russian (1966) was a bold addition during the height of the Cold War. The Villages concentrated on building and maintaining the infrastructure that had been started.
• The Nordic languages grew when Swedish (1975), Finnish (1978), and Danish (1982) were added. Soon a focus on Asian language learning developed into Villages for Chinese (1984), Japanese (1988) and Korean (1999). Then we took what we knew about children and foreign language learning and applied it to our own language and culture with the addition of English (1999). Italian (2003) and Arabic (2006) and Portuguese, added in 2008, are the newest Villages.</p>