Four Week Credit Sessions

High School Credit | College Credit

Villagers engage in intensive, innovative language instruction and receive credit for these academic programs with receipt of an official transcript from Concordia Language Villages.

Classes are small, allowing for individualization according to need and learning style. Course work and grades are typically based on instruction and practice in language listening, speaking, reading and writing; activities (sports, arts, environmental, etc.); cultural programs; projects; portfolio development; singing; journals; formal and informal conversation with native and expert speakers; and other activities specific to particular programs.

High School Credit

Please note that you will need to check with your high school administrators to see if they will accept the credit at your school.

Grades 9-12 (entering high school freshman year, but not a fully enrolled college student).

The four-week high school credit session is offered at all language Villages except English. It offers at least 180 hours of instruction and is designed for learners at all levels – beginning to advanced. No previous language study is required.

A thematic curriculum, experiential immersion techniques and performance-based assessments are the basis for this academic program. Upon successful completion of the program, students receive a credit equivalent to one year of high school language study; students not wishing to receive credit also must participate fully in all activities and assignments.

The high school credit session is accredited by the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement.

Why do villagers choose to enroll in high school credit sessions (in the Minnesota programs or abroad)?

• To skip a level at school, advancing to the next level.
• To be better prepared for a school class.
• To look good on college or scholarship applications.
• To take a language not offered at school or to add another language already studied at school.
• To take a language not offered at school, bypassing language classes at school.
• To enrich.
• To remediate.
• To fit other classes into the school schedule by not taking language at school (making room for more music, science, other college prep courses).
• To get a head start on a school language course.
• To supplement school language by taking more levels of one or more languages than would be possible in the school alone.
• To retake a course that was failed in school.
• To increase the likelihood of successful language learning through immersion learning, for those who have difficulties learning language.
• To "retake" a course in which material wasn't retained (but a passing grade was received), to be better prepared to continue in the next level at school.
• To continue the much-loved Language Villages learning experience in a more intense and in-depth way.
• To develop literacy (reading and writing) skills—whether oral language is learned from being spoken in the home or from Concordia Language Villages sessions.
• To develop conversational skills in a way that is difficult to replicate in a traditional school environment, even with talented and committed teachers and excellent programs.
• To have an alternative to language in the school, if there is dissatisfaction with the school's program.
• To earn credit in a fun, energizing, interactive, learner-centered immersion atmosphere.
• To live and experience the culture in a powerful way while earning credit.
• To earn credit while learning language through content areas such as sports, drama, ethnic cuisine, music, and more.

High School Credit Forms:

Additional Information:

College Credit Sessions
for High School Students

Villagers engage in intensive, innovative language instruction and receive college credit for these academic programs with receipt of an official transcript from Concordia College, Moorhead, Minn.

Classes are small, allowing for individualization according to need and learning style.

Open to grades 11-12 (entering high school junior or senior year, but not yet a fully enrolled college student, with three previous years of language study).

For advanced language speakers, the college credit sessions are designed for high school students studying French, German or Spanish who want to be challenged in their language study. Sessions take place at the Villages in the context of the Villages, not at Concordia College.

The three college-level courses are:

Upon successful completion, students receive one college credit (four semester hours) from Concordia College, Moorhead, Minn.

Class discussions of substantive readings are supplemented with guest lectures, news broadcasts, films, papers and projects.

The application must include:

1. a letter of recommendation from a language teacher
2. a letter of recommendation from someone in the community
3. a high school transcript
4. a short composition in the target language (100 to 400 words) entitled, “Why I Want to Participate in the College Credit Program.”

After receipt of all application materials, a telephone interview will be conducted with the applicant and then an acceptance decision will be made.