The Course:  Classes will be conducted at AIBS facilities located on the campus of Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB), located in Baridhara, Dhaka, Bangladesh.  The classes are based on a communicative approach, emphasizing speaking and aural comprehension first, followed by reading and writing.  Classes will be led by master teacher Farrah Sattar and her regular AIBS language teaching staff, utilizing syllabi developed for the Bangla Summer Institute and in conjunction with the Bangla teaching staff at the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London.

Contact Hours:  Instruction will be conducted five days per week from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in fully equipped air-conditioned classrooms.  Students should expect and be prepared for twice-weekly afternoon or evening outings for hands-on instruction (e.g., structured teaching trips with faculty to negotiate rickshaws, to the local market, to restaurants, to mosques, etc. with emphasis on developing appropriate vocabulary, etc., for each setting and learning how to handle real-life situations).  Total contact will exceed 160 hours (120 in class room, 40 in supervised afternoon/evening activities).

Textbooks:  All teaching materials, including textbooks, will be provided.  Prof. William Radice's Teach Yourself Bengali will provide the basic structure for introductory and intermediate classes, supplemented by Dr. Hanna Thompson's Essential Everyday Bengali.  Additional materials have been developed by local staff, with advanced materials tailored to student needs.

Tutorials:  Conversation and tutorial help beyond the classroom and formal exercises can be added by individual arrangement between the student and local teaching assistants and trained college student conversation partners.  Fees for these services will be negotiable at local rates (ranging form Bangladeshi Taka 150-500/hour [US$1 = approx. 70 BDT].

Housing:  Subsidized furnished housing will be available for all students, and may be extended by individual arrangement, subject to availability (anticipated to extend through May, 2008).  Housing is adjacent to the IUB campus in Baridhara, Dhaka, a few minute walk to the AIBS language training center.  Housing is in three bedroom air-conditioned flats, fully furnished with functioning kitchens (fridge, pots and pans, utensils, plates, etc.), potable water, desktop pc with broadband internet connections, television and dvd player.   

Charges:           Tuition:   $3,300/student/term
                          Housing: $750/student/term

Application:  Click here for application.  

The Deadline for receiving completed applications for the Fall Term is 6 August 2007.

For more information, contact: 
Prof. Tony K Stewart
Resident Director
Bangla Summer Institute
Block K, Road 11, House 23, Flat 3-B
Baridhara, Dhaka 1212
ph. +880 (0)171 433 9473
email:  tony_stewart@ncsu.edu

or

Dr Guy Welbon
President, AIBS
South Asia Center
820 Williams Hall
255 S. 36th Street
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA   19104-6305
ph.  215 898 7475; 610 565 3613
e-mail:  gwelbon@ccat.sas.upenn.edu