About one hundred students in all age groups from various countries are coming to Palacký University Olomouc to study Czech. They will cultivate their Czech language skills from July 20 to August 18 during the Summer School of Slavonic Studies (SSSS), organised by the UP Faculty of Arts.
The preparations for the 33rd year of the Summer School of Slavonic Studies are in full throttle, and according to Pavla Poláchová, the SSSS director; around one hundred students have confirmed their attendance. “The number is not final yet, because they can apply until June 30,” she explained.
Perhaps the oldest student this year will be a seventy-three-year-old lady from the U.S., while the youngest, a nineteen-year-old, is coming from China. The applicants include students from Europe, Japan, China, Vietnam, and also Azerbaijan, Taiwantypo3/#_msocom_1, Columbia, and Argentina. Germany is the country with the most students coming.
Whereas the previous years the took place in the UP Arts Centre, this year’s intense courses in Czech and afternoon lectures, seminars, and workshops will be held in the renovated premises of the Faculty of Arts.
“Students will have at their disposal classrooms with modern equipment, quiet study rooms, a relaxation zone connected to the gardens at the city ramparts walls, and the new university bistro. One of the novelties this year is the collaboration with student clubs which allowed us to offer a bike tour of Olomouc sights, theatre and movement workshops with the theatres Nabalkoně and Divadlo na cucky, and a workshop on Czech poetry,” said Poláchová.
The one hundred foreign students will be taught Czech by Faculty of Arts teachers as well as external teachers who are usually alumni of the faculty. “This year, we have Czech teachers who have been teaching Czech during the school year in London, Dijon, Bucharest, and Vienna; one Czech teacher will even arrive from Taiwan,” added Poláchová.
In addition to classes and an accompanying educational programme, SSSS participants will also attend the Faculty of Arts film club, a traditional folklore night with hammer dulcimer music, an abundance of leisure time sport activities, and weekend field trips to other Moravian towns.
“During the summer school, students will not only learn the language, but also Czech culture and lifestyle in general. Dozens of them are fond of regularly coming back, because although it involves studying, it is a for them a pleasant way of spending their summer in the Czech Republic, in a beautiful town where they both improve their Czech and make new friends,” said Poláchová. More information is available HERE.