High School Credit

To best take advantage of this interactive experience, you will need a reliable internet connection and a computer with access to a microphone, speakers and webcam; headphones are recommended but not required.

Just like in the overnight programs at the Language Villages, the Virtual Village experience aims to be as immersive as possible. Instruction will be in the language you are learning. We will share some helpful strategies for learning in a virtual immersion environment at the beginning of the session. In the event that there are significant technical or other unforeseen issues, English may be used sparingly to get us back on track.

Not at all! Parents/guardians do not need to have any previous experience with language learning and are not expected to provide language support at home. They do, however, need to provide encouragement and a good environment for learning, ensure regular attendance and purchase any necessary supplies prior to the first meeting day. A supply list will be provided in advance. Additionally, parents/guardians will need to sign a consent form for participation in the program and agree together to an appropriate code of conduct that we will have in place.

Our virtual high school credit program is built around real-time interaction with highly qualified instructors. Every day of instruction you will engage with your teachers and fellow students in small learning cohorts. You will have the opportunity to explore a wide variety of cultural activities and play games in the languages. In short, you will not just earn a full year of credit, but will also be fully immersed to expand your communicative and cultural competence. Other less expensive online options offer very little live contact, so no options for conversational development. Most other programs are online textbooks or lessons that teach grammar and vocabulary in a one-dimensional sense; Concordia Language Villages programs are interactive, with instructors and other participants, bringing the language and culture alive.

Fall-Spring, high school credit program sessions meet synchronously for two to three hours twice a week, with approximately two and a half hours of asynchronous work per week, in between class meetings. A typical day might contain two separate group sessions, supported independent work, interactive games, cultural immersion projects, a long-term portfolio project, research assignment and homework. You can earn one year's worth of high school credit, 180 hours, in this 24-week intensive course which is accredited by Cognia. This is the same “hour” requirement as our overnight programs at the Language Villages in northern Minnesota.

Approximately half of your time will be asynchronous—offline at your own pace. During this time, you will complete homework challenges, do self-directed research on interesting topics assigned by your teacher and engage in cultural portfolio projects. Depending on goals defined by you and your credit teachers, you may also be asked to create a work of art and show it, learn to sing a song and then perform it or cook a cultural recipe for your family and take a picture of them eating it.

Your teachers will be a mix of native speakers and highly proficient second language speakers. Credit teachers are experienced in teaching language and culture in the U.S. and/or internationally. Those students who have participated in our overnight programs may already know these credit teachers from past summers!

Approximately half of your time will be synchronous—virtually meeting with your teachers and fellow villagers. During this time, you will receive language instruction, interact with other credit villagers, play games, participate in cultural activities and form teams to compete and cooperate with other teams in digital challenges! For 24-week, academic-year credit program sessions, virtual activities occur in the late afternoon or early evening, Central Time. Please check the specific dates and times for the session in which you are interested—available on that Village's webpage. Your credit teachers will provide you with a detailed schedule of meeting times at the beginning of the session, but please make sure that you are available for synchronous programming between these hours.

If you miss your synchronous sessions, it becomes very difficult to complete the 180 hours needed for the full year credit to be recommended. If you miss up to 18 hours of the program (any combination of synchronous and asynchronous) for valid reasons (health issues, etc.), your instructor may allow you to make them up. If you miss more than that or do not complete your asynchronous assignments during the session, you will not be recommended to receive the credit.

Prior to the beginning of the session, you will be given a language background self-assessment to help teachers evaluate the appropriate placement level for your language experience. You will be grouped with other villagers of comparable ability, and teachers will check in with you regularly to ensure that you are feeling comfortable yet challenged to grow.

Please check in with your school administration to see if you school accepts high school credit from outside sources, like Concordia Language Villages. The Language Villages are accredited by Cognia and you can have your school review an example of the course catalog, curriculum framework and course syllabus.

Your high school credit teachers will be a mix of classroom teachers, native speakers and recent graduates with significant experience abroad. Many counselors are also former villagers. Each village has a core team of credit teachers and a credit facilitator. They work alongside the entire staff to create an exciting and enriching program that interacts with the two-week and other language program participants while they are in session. Your credit villager will interact with many of the staff, some who focus on other parts of the Language Village immersive experience such as at the bank, store, waterfront, arts and crafts area and sports. Your credit villager can be expected to be engaged in the language by staff trained to respond to learners in order to guide them in the learning process.

Scholarships are available for summer overnight programs. See our Scholarship page for more information.

Most of our villagers attend for the entire four-week credit session with the rare occasion of an early departure. If this is something that occurs, we work with you and the school to determine appropriate amount of credit earned at time of departure.