The University’s Summer Language Institute — a program that provides students an opportunity to take up to three semesters’ worth of language credits in one summer — reached a record high enrollment in the Summer of 2025. For the first time in its 45-year history, SLI is featuring both four week and eight week options, where it previously only offered an eight week program.
SLI started June 16 and ends August 8, and offers Spanish, French, Arabic, Chinese, German, Latin and Russian.
For many University students, SLI is an appealing option to fulfill or make significant progress towards language requirements — the College of Arts and Sciences, the McIntire School of Commerce and the Frank Batten School for Leadership and Public Policy all require students to satisfy the World Language Requirement of completing courses in a language through the 2020 level.
In addition to current undergraduate University students, the institute also allows graduate students, rising juniors and seniors in high school, adults and any other motivated language learners to enroll in the immersive, intensive program designed for beginners.
According to SLI Director Vera Abbate, the SLI has seen higher enrollment in recent years. In the summer of 2022, only 69 students enrolled. However, the enrollment has nearly doubled to 120 students for the Summer of 2025.
“We have noticed an increase in interest from juniors and seniors in high school who want to learn a language that is not offered at their school or is not required for graduation,” Abbate said.
Perhaps contributing to this uptick in enrollment is a new change that the program made for the Summer of 2025, allowing students to choose between taking a four or eight week program. In previous years, students were required to commit to attending the SLI for all eight weeks.
Abbate said that students can begin with little or no knowledge of a language and after the eight weeks be at a high-intermediate level. She said that the program is unique in that students can significantly grow in their language abilities in such a short period.
Referencing the Russian program specifically, Abbate said that out-of-state, graduate and even international students come to the University to participate.
“[The SLI] is unique,” Abbate said. “You can find a 1010 Russian course or a 2010 Russian course, but it is hard to find Russian classes that students can start from zero and then achieve the intermediate level after eight weeks.”
Students take classes in-person every day, including weekends, for 7.5 hours, other than Arabic and Chinese. Chinese is taught in a hybrid model, which gives students a choice to either take classes online, in-person, or a mix of both. Arabic classes are taught online in a synchronous format. Because Chinese and Arabic only offer a maximum of eight credits, students take class for around four hours each day.
Shu-Chen Chen, Associate Professor of Chinese Language and Literature in the College of Arts and Sciences, has taught at the SLI since 2007. According to her, the hybrid model that the program offers has not hindered learning.
“It seems that whether people are online or in-person, the learning outcomes and the test results are comparable,” Chen said.
Chen said that the SLI’s unique and rigorous schedule with daily classes prepares students well going into the fall semester, especially if they choose to continue studying the language after the program. By practicing their language skills during the summer, they will be able to catch on quickly in their classes in the fall, she said.
Designed for beginner-level language students, admission into the SLI is application-based. Applicants, accepted on a rolling basis, must be in good academic standing and have reasons for why they wish to enroll, according to their website. The application includes essays and short answer prompts. Students must not be overqualified — which the SLI defines as having “significant experience in the language.”
The program can cost upwards of $21,000, if an out-of-state undergraduate student takes the maximum 12 credits that the program offers. For an in-state student taking the same number of credits, the cost is nearly $6,200. The University provides no scholarships for the program but does offer need-based aid.
According to the website, tuition does not include housing or meals. During the program, students can apply for on-Grounds housing or choose to live off-Grounds.
Francesca Russell, a SLI student and rising sophomore studying business at George Mason University, applied for on-Grounds housing and currently lives in Lefevere dormitory. Russell also has a dining plan through the University to use while she is on Grounds for the program.
The SLI’s unique, rapid-paced learning does not come without difficulty. Students are learning three classes of material every day, including weekends. According to Chen, keeping students focused can be tough. To do so, Chen and other professors have discovered some solutions throughout their time with the SLI.
Specifically, Chen said that professors incorporate breaks into their classes, and also encourage students to take breaks when studying outside of class. Similarly, Ana Piriz Moguel, coordinator of the Spanish SLI program and assistant Spanish professor, said that frequent breaks and variation in class activities keeps students focused throughout each day.
The SLI offers optional community-building events included in the tuition, such as cooking classes exposing students to foreign cuisines and a field trip to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. There is also a mid-program event called Snackfest, where students come together to enjoy international foods and practice their newly acquired language skills.
New to the University, Russell said she has enjoyed her time in the SLI so far. While she has already taken one semester of Chinese at George Mason, she hopes to acquire more language skills through the program that will assist her while pursuing her business major.
“[Chinese itself] is just interesting, but it's mostly from a business standpoint,” Russell said. “If I can reach business-level fluency, then I will have a skill that a lot of people don't have.”
For Russell, learning languages is more than a line on a resume — it is a passion. The SLI was an attractive opportunity for her because unlike programs offered at George Mason and other schools, the SLI is not an immersion program that requires students to live abroad.
“I’m getting multiple things out of it,” Russel said. “I get to stay in the state I consider home, I get to see my friends, so it's worth it to me.”
Over the course of the program, professors say they feel a sense of pride as they watch their students strengthen their language abilities and grow as language-learners.
“We have students that start without taking a Spanish class, and by the end of the institute, they score in the intermediate to intermediate-high range,” Moguel said. “There's a lot of satisfaction in seeing them grow.”
Sarah Herbert, adjunct Classics professor and coordinator of the Latin SLI program, said she is excited to watch as her students discover the splendor of Roman literature. She said that students participate in the Latin program for a variety of reasons — from exploring their passion for Roman history to being able to understand ancient texts.
“I'm looking forward to reading some real Latin literature with the students,” Herbert said. “We will be reading unaltered, original texts of Roman literature, and that's always a charge to see them understand how beautiful and interesting it can be.”
For Moguel, the SLI is an opportunity to build a new, language-learning community. By spending hours together learning, sharing lunch on Fridays, engaging in fun and meaningful activities like cooking classes, a resilient bond is formed.
“The first week, we're all strangers, and by the end of the institute, we are like a family,” Moguel said. “I really like the community aspect.”
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