Since 2018, Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University (TSU) has been hosting the participants of the Critical Language Scholarship Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, with funding provided by the U.S. Government. The Program is supported in its implementation by American Councils for International Education. A local host organization is selected considering the experience in teaching and complex project management, as well as its infrastructure capacities.
This year, TSU is again hosting American students, who will undergo an intensive Russian language course using TSU academic and administrative resources, and will participate in cultural excursions, lectures, and other enrichment activities designed to support and enhance language learning and exposure to the host culture.
Head of TSU Administration, Nunu Ovsyannikova and Dean of the TSU Faculty of Humanities, Nana Gaprindashvili welcomed American students and acquainted them with the opportunities offered by the Georgian side. Tea Gergedava, head of the TSU Foreign Relations Department, noted that “the project envisages teaching 15 foreign languages in various universities of the world to a group of students selected by the U.S. Department of State. The Tbilisi State University has been selected as one of such universities following a long selection process and we are hosting American students for the second time this summer. The program involves teaching the language, as well as public lectures, cultural and archaeological events that will help the beneficiaries familiarize themselves with Georgia’s history, culture, economy as well as its archaeological and architectural monuments.”
Timothy Blauvelt, Regional Director for the South Caucasus of American Councils for International Education, noted that Georgia had always been open to the U.S. programs, adding that the Caucasus is a very important territory among Russian-speaking post-Soviet countries.
A broad range of activities are planned during the eight-week program, among them master classes at the Tbilisi State Conservatoire to acquaint foreign students with centuries-old Georgian folklore; a lecture on the key priorities of Georgia’s foreign policy at the Levan Mikeladze Diplomatic Training and Research Institute; a lecture delivered at the Georgian National Museum and a visit to the Simon Janashia Museum of Georgia; Georgian dance master classes at TSU; participation in archaeological diggings underway at Grakliani Hill, etc.
The Critical Language Scholarship program provides scholarships to U.S. undergraduate and graduate students to spend eight to 10 weeks overseas studying one of 14 critical languages: Arabic, Azerbaijani, Bangla, Chinese, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Swahili, Turkish or Urdu. The program includes intensive language instruction and structured cultural enrichment experiences designed to promote rapid language gains.
