Founded in 1991 as a boutique program for ASU graduate students studying Macedonian and Tatar, the CLI has evolved into one of the largest and most effective LCTL summer training facilities in the U.S., teaching 10 languages at up to 5 levels to over 170 students each summer.

The signature of the CLI are its tuition-free hybrid courses where classes are conducted in two segments, a 7-week course on the ASU campus and an optional 4-week study abroad program in the host country. The two segments share a single curriculum and in most cases the same instructors.

CLI instruction is proficiency-oriented and practical, with an emphasis on cultural immersion and in situ training. Curricula are designed to prepare students to interact confidently and appropriately overseas, while simultaneously improving their grammatical accuracy and formal mastery of the language.

CLI is particularly proud of its career mentoring program, which combines one-on-one fellowship and job-search mentoring with visits from government and private job recruiters and workshops on grant- and job-hunting strategies. Over the past 10 years, roughly 1 CLI participant in 7 has gone on to receive Fulbright, Boren, or other funding for study abroad.

In both Arizona and overseas, intensive language classes are combined with cultural activities and skill-building programming. Students overseas live in host families wherever possible. In locations where host families are not practical, students live in apartments or in long-term hotels.

Where possible, overseas programs include a volunteer service project, conducted in the target language, with a local charitable, volunteer, or development organization. The service project provides students—even students at low levels of proficiency—an opportunity to apply their language skills in a hands-on setting. Returning students regularly cite their service experience as a highlight of their time abroad. Examples of recent service projects include: serving as camp counselors in a school for gifted children, subtitling movies, and volunteering at a half-way house for developmentally disabled adults. These activities are arranged and supervised by CLI overseas staff.

ASU's generous waiver of tuition for all CLI courses makes CLI a very cost-effective way to learn languages.

Use the links at left to explore CLI. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

We look forward to welcoming you to CLI.