FLIP

The Faculty Language Immersion Program

The Office of International Affairs (OIA) is pleased to announce the fifth UIC Faculty Language Immersion Program (FLIP). This coming summer, the Office of International Affairs (OIA) will again offer UIC faculty the opportunity to participate in the intense study of a foreign language. Whether you plan to teach abroad, conduct research in a foreign language, or communicate with your colleagues from overseas, FLIP will start you on the path to language skills that can be used in academic and professional environments.

The expectation is that participating faculty will eventually be able to make full use of additional language capability as they represent UIC through their professional activities abroad. We seek participants at a career stage in which they can invest the time required for the summer immersion experience and for follow-up study during the academic year.

The format of FLIP entails having a maximum of 15 participants per language section. During the summer term, the group will meet three hours a day, five days a week, for six weeks, on campus. It is expected that study will continue on a less intense schedule during the academic year, contingent on the number of course participants willing to renew their commitment, on a self-supporting basis. The Office of International Affairs organizes and administers the FLIP program. For this summer’s immersion program, UIC faculty participants will be required to pay a course fee of $400 plus the cost of instructional materials. They will receive 90 contact-hours of small group instruction, among colleagues, in an informal setting and on a non-credit basis.

In the past, FLIP sections have been offered in French, German, Mandarin and Spanish. Depending on the faculty’s interest and needs, groups may be formed in other languages as well.

Please be advised that funding and instructor availability can limit the number of sections and the variety of languages offered in a given year. However, every effort will be made to accommodate faculty interested in this program.

Participants will attend three-hour daily classes for six weeks. The majority of the participants then continue to meet two hours per week, for thirty weeks, during the school year. One year from the first summer, participating faculty following this schedule will have completed 150 contact hours, facilitating substantial proficiency. At that point, OIA will make every effort, working with interested UIC faculty, to place them for the second summer in institutions abroad. The intent will be to place them with the option to work in English, but in an environment otherwise confined to the language they will have been studying through FLIP.

Faculties studying a foreign language in FLIP have been drawn from all departments and colleges throughout the university—from Engineering to Emergency Medicine, from Public Administration to Biology. While most participants had some prior study of their FLIP language in high school or college, many started the program at a level close to beginner, and some were true beginners.

FLIP groups are limited to a maximum of 15 participants. For all FLIP languages offered, the relevant academic programs at UIC are very closely involved in the selection of instructor, the development of curriculum, and the monitoring of progress. FLIP instruction is a structured, group-based experience, custom designed for faculty who will use language in professional settings. No university credit is involved.

Spanish was taught during the summer 2003 term. The summer 2004 program was conducted in German and culminated in a week-long trip to Berlin and Humboldt University, funded in part by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). Both languages, German and Spanish, were taught during summer 2005. And in 2006 French and Mandarin were added.

This coming summer, the program will run from May 19th to June 27th 2008. (Dates subject to the majority of participants’ schedules)

Summarizing a few key points:

This year, the languages proposed are: French, German, Mandarin, Portuguese, and Spanish. We are open to considering other languages depending on faculty interest. Opening a given group in any language will depend on the number of colleagues ready to participate. However, no FLIP group will exceed 15 members.
FLIP groups meet for 3 hours a day, 5 days a week for 6 weeks.
To participate in this program, you must first fill out an application.

Full application includes:

A complete and signed application form
Your department head’s signature endorsing FLIP participation

Application deadline is Friday, April 2, 2008. You will be notified via email once you application has been reviewed and you have been accepted in the program. Please be advised, that application submission does not guarantee automatic acceptance to FLIP. Please send your applications to:

Faculty Language Immersion Program
Office of International Affairs (MC590)
University Hall 509
601 S. Morgan Street, Chicago, Il 60607
oia@uic.edu
Tel: 312-996-5455 / Fax: 312-413-7857