Louisa Armstrong Selected for the Chinese Critical Language Scholarship Program

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. - April 17, 2013 - PRLog -- Adelphi University is proud to announce that student Louisa Armstrong ’13, dance major and Asian studies minor, has been selected for the 2013 Chinese Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program for intensive summer language study. Armstrong was  selected from a highly competitive pool of applicants because of her hard work and dedication to the language. The application for the program included personal information, academic information, details about activities and involvement, and details about her Chinese studies. This eight week program will begin June 5, 2013 and end August 4, 2013.

Louisa Armstrong is from Cleveland, Ohio.  She began studying Mandarin Chinese in her junior year of high school and continued to study the language at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. For her junior year of college, she transferred to Adelphi University, where she has been studying Chinese with adjunct Professor Lixue Lin. In October of 2012, Louisa was a Finalist in the Hong Kong Cup Chinese Speech Contest. Professor Lin suggested that Louisa apply for the Critical Language Scholarship Program, and in February, Louisa was notified that she had been accepted into the selective program. Louisa is very excited to finally have the opportunity to study in China, where she can improve her Chinese language skills and experience Chinese culture.

The CLS Program is part of a larger U.S. government effort to expand the number of Americans studying and mastering critical foreign languages. There are four different sites for the Chinese CLS program: Chengdu, Qingdao, Suzhou, and Xiamen. The program requires participants to speak only Chinese during all program activities. For additional information on other exchange opportunities offered by the U.S. Department of State, including the Fulbright and Gilman Programs, please visit exchanges.state.gov.

The Adelphi University Department of Languages, Literatures, and Culture Studies believes that Language is a cultural currency. A language is used by people to express themselves—their needs, feelings, and thoughts. Culture is woven into language; thus, when we learn another language, we are better able to understand how and why people of other cultures view the world differently. We also gain insight into their distinctive solutions to universal problems. The curriculum enables students to acquire and expand their fluency (in listening, speaking, reading, and writing) in one or more languages. The department believes that the benefits of acquiring competency in foreign language as part of a liberal arts education are intellectual, philosophical, and practical.

For more information about the Adelphi University Department of Languages please visit adelphi.edu.

About Adelphi University: Adelphi is a world-class, modern university with excellent and highly relevant programs where students prepare for lives of active citizenship and professional careers. Through its schools and programs—The College of Arts and Sciences, Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies, Honors College, Robert B. Willumstad School of Business, Ruth S. Ammon School of Education, University College, and the Schools of Nursing and Social Work—the coeducational university offers undergraduate and graduate degrees as well as professional and educational programs for adults. Adelphi University currently enrolls nearly 8,000 students from 43 states and 45 foreign countries. With its main campus in Garden City and its centers in Manhattan, Hauppauge, and Poughkeepsie, the University, chartered in 1896, maintains a commitment to liberal studies, in tandem with rigorous professional preparation and active citizenship.