Participants in the six and a half-week Learn & Serve 2011 program will learn about the Arab and Islamic cultures of Tunisia and serve as Language & Cultural Fellows at the Language Village. This project is a cooperative effort of AMIDEAST/Tunisia and the Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research & Technology, with the support of the American Embassy in Tunis.

Learn: The first two weeks in Tunisia consist of classes, seminars, and travel focused on Tunisia’s ancient and modern history and its cultures, societies, and pathways to economic development. During the Learn segment, participants stay in a hotel near AMIDEAST in the city of Tunis and have classes at AMIDEAST/Tunis. During the classes English-speaking Tunisian specialists give lectures on their areas of expertise. A four-day travel-study tour to the Tunisian Sahara and other points south of Tunis is a high point of Learn. Participants enroll in a three-credit course, Tunisian Cultural Anthropology in Context, and are required to write regular reports during both the Learn and Serve portions of the program. Arabic language lessons also are a focal point of study. Approximately 15 hours of Tunisian Arabic classes take place during Learn.

Serve: Early in the third week, participants move to the English Language Village located near the Mediterranean seaside town of Nabeul to serve as Language & Cultural Fellows. Participants serve as Fellows for two fourteen-day sessions at the Language Village. A three-day Enrichment Seminar between the two sessions provides a break to assess the experience of LVN I and explore ways to develop participants’ teaching and mentoring strategies in anticipation of LVN II. The Enrichment Seminar is held in the town of Mahdia, an historic small city down the Tunisian coast.
2010 is the fourth year of the English Language Village. In this innovative project, each summer nearly 400 Tunisian second-year English majors practice intensive spoken English and experience English through classes and in cultural events with the assistance of the Language & Cultural Fellows plus American and Tunisian English language and cultural specialists. Every day is a working day during Serve. Participants become employees of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and receive a small stipend for their work in Serve.

For more information about the Language Village at Nabeul (LVN), please go to http://sites.google.com/site/languagevillagenabeul/home.