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American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS would like to announce the opening of the application for the 2016-2017 Russian Overseas Flagship Program. The application deadline is January 14, 2016.

The Russian Overseas Flagship Program was established in 2004 to address the critical need for U.S. professionals able to speak, read, understand, and write in Russian at the highest levels of functional proficiency. The program is open to advanced-level learners of Russian who are committed to attaining "professional" or "distinguished-level" language proficiency (ILR 3, 3+, 4/ACTFL "Superior" or “Distinguished” levels) through an intensive nine-month language training program tailored to their professional interests and academic specialization.

The Russian Overseas Flagship Program prepares U.S. students to be able to communicate in Russian at the highest levels of functional proficiency. The program is located at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The academic program is structured around an integrated curriculum featuring classes in contemporary mass media, language and culture, expository writing, and advanced oral communication. Students are offered twenty hours per week of intensive language training and tutoring as well as content courses in any major at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, professional internships with local companies and organizations, and guided excursions. Optional Kazakh language and culture classes are available to interested students. A U.S. resident director and several local administrative staff provide 24/7 onsite logistical support to students. Participants receive academic credit through Bryn Mawr College. All participants live with Russian-speaking host families, where they can become fully immersed in Kazakh daily life.

Applicants are encouraged to apply for Boren Awards (www.borenawards.org), which may be used to support participation on the Russian Overseas Flagship Program.

At-large applicants (i.e., those who are not enrolled in the Russian Domestic Flagship programs) must satisfy the following requirements:
-  Have a Bachelor's, or higher, degree before the beginning of the program in August 2016,
-  Demonstrate ILR Level 2 or higher Russian in oral proficiency and at least two other skills (reading, listening, writing), with the fourth skill no less than ILR 1+, and
-  Have at least six weeks of prior experience studying Russian in Russia or a Russian-speaking country.

Interested at-large applicants should contact Flagship Program Assistant Derek Groom (dgroom@americancouncils.org) by December 18, 2015, to request an online application account. Completed online applications, including all supporting documents, such as transcripts and letters of reference, must be submitted by 2 p.m. Eastern time, January 14, 2016.

To read more about the program, please go to http://flagship.americancouncils.org/russian/

Groom, D. [SEELANGS] RUSSIAN OVERSEAS FLAGSHIP PROGRAM APPLICATION 2016-2017 IS OPEN. SEELANGS listserv (SEELANGS@LISTSERV.UA.EDU, 9 Nov 2015).