GREENVILLE, S.C. (August 8, 2016) – Bob Jones University’s Division of Modern Language and Literature, in conjunction with Student Life and Discipleship, is introducing Language Halls in both the men and women’s residence halls for the upcoming academic year.
The purpose of this voluntary program is to add the possibility of daily immersion to the experience of language students at BJU. BJU’s Student Life and Discipleship will place groups of students in residence hall discipleship groups according to the language they are studying. Group leaders and strategically placed native speakers will help maintain a no-English zone in the discipleship groups. Though students should have a certain level of ability in their language, they do not have to be language majors or minors – or currently enrolled in a language course – in order to participate.
For this first year of the program, more than 40 students have signed up to live in Chinese-, French-, and Spanish-only discipleship groups in the women’s residence halls, and in a Spanish-only discipleship group on the men’s side of campus. Students will sign a language commitment in a ceremony on August 29, committing to maintain the language integrity of the group in order to fully benefit from the experience.
“If done right, immersion is an excellent method for improving language proficiency,” says Dr. Jeremy Patterson, chair of the Division of Modern Language and Literature at BJU. “Adding this option for our students both increases the value of a BJU education, which already offers courses in four modern languages as well as community and study abroad opportunities, and also contributes to making BJU a leader in Christian higher education.”
