15 Summer Language Programs for High School Students
Summer programs can be an excellent option for high school students because they offer hands-on learning, real-world skill building, and industry exposure without the high cost of committing to a long-term course or college class.
What do language programs have to offer at the high school level? How are they different from my school curriculum?
For students curious about languages — whether linguistics, cultural studies, translation, or international relations — these programs provide immersive learning that goes far beyond what they typically experience in a classroom.
They also help you understand how language skills apply in global careers, from diplomacy to tech to education. With so many opportunities available, we’ve carefully evaluated offerings from leading colleges and organizations to curate a list of the top 15 summer language programs for high school students. These programs range from intensive immersion experiences to flexible online courses, ensuring that students with different interests and budgets can find a great fit.
P.S. If you're looking for more summer options,14 Summer Internships for Rising High School Juniors has a solid national list worth browsing. And15 Social Impact Internships for High School Students is a good read if you want to combine language skills with community-facing work.
15 Summer Language Programs for High School Students
1. Concordia Language Villages
Location: Minnesota, USA
Cost: $2,400–$5000+ (varies by language and session length); scholarships available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions (varies by program)
Dates: 1 – 4 week sessions with summer options
Eligibility: Ages 7–18
Concordia Language Villages in Minnesota offers a structured immersion setting where you can practice a new language while learning about the cultures connected to it. The program includes options in more than 15 languages, such as Spanish, French, and Mandarin, and each village is organized to reflect aspects of daily life in the regions where those languages are spoken. You become part of a cohort of roughly 100 high school students, creating a community that is small enough for individual attention but large enough for varied group activities.
During your time in the village, you build practical communication skills through lessons, conversations, and everyday tasks conducted in the target language. Activities — like cooking, music, or sports — are designed to help you use what you’re learning in a natural, low-pressure way. You also take part in projects and events that encourage you to share what you’ve learned, allowing you to connect language study with cultural understanding.
2. Ladder Internship Program
Location: Virtual
Cost: Full financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Application Deadline: Deadlines vary depending on the cohort
Dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year
Eligibility: Open to high school students, undergraduates, and gap year students
Ladder Internships is a selective internship program for high school students. Through the program, you are matched with a start-up and work remotely on an internship project. The start-ups span a range of fields, including technology, AI and machine learning, health tech, marketing, journalism, and consulting. Many participating companies are early-stage and have secured significant funding. During the internship, you work directly with a manager, contribute to real projects, and present your results to the company. The program typically runs for eight weeks.
3. University of Virginia Summer Language Institute
Location: University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA and online
Cost: $5,808 for the full program without credits. More infohere
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Application Deadline: March 27
Dates: June 15 – August 7
Eligibility: High school students, rising juniors and seniors
This intensive summer language program for high school students offers rapid language acquisition in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Latin, Russian, and Spanish. The 8-week course covers up to two years of college-level study, while the 4-week option covers one year. You will attend classes five days a week, focusing on speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
The program is designed for students preparing for study abroad, international careers, or graduate research. You will receive a certificate of proficiency and get an opportunity to interact with native speakers and participate in cultural activities.
4. STARTALK Language Programs
Location: Various U.S. universities and organizations (e.g., University of Buffalo, NY; University of Maryland, MD; University of Cincinnati, OH)
Cost: Free or low-cost (varies by program)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Application Deadline: Rolling (varies by program)
Dates: June – August (tentatively)
Eligibility: High school students (grades 9–12)
STARTALK offers free or low-cost summer programs in critical languages such as Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Persian, Russian, Turkish, and Urdu. Programs are hosted by universities and non-profit organizations across the U.S. and focus on immersive language learning, cultural activities, and real-world application.
You will participate in interactive classes, cultural excursions, and community engagement. The program is open to students of all proficiency levels and is designed to prepare you for advanced language study or careers in international fields.
5. Indiana University Summer Language Workshop
Location: Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
Cost: In-state tuition rates apply for all students, including out-of-state; scholarships available, including Title 8 and FLAS scholarships; no stipend specified
Acceptance rate/cohort size: ≅ 320
Application Deadline: May 7 (Deadline for BCS, Czech, and Polish courses) and May 21 (Final Deadline); January 30 (General Admissions Deadline)
Dates: Early June to late July
Eligibility: Open to high school students and lifelong learners; competitive admissions with language-specific tracks
In this summer language program for high school students, you participate in an intensive, immersive language learning program at Indiana University focused on rapid proficiency gains in up to 30 world languages. The workshop offers three program formats: in-person immersion where you live on campus for two months deeply engaging with your chosen language and culture, intensive online courses for flexible remote study, and overseas study abroad programs for cultural immersion in the language’s home country.
You dedicate your summer to focused daily instruction, aiming to reach advanced proficiency levels as measured by national standards such as ACTFL. Scholarships and fellowships support many students, including specific awards for high school participants, women, and students of particular languages or regions. The program emphasizes cultural competency alongside language skills, preparing you for future academic, professional, or diplomatic opportunities. You have access to program handbooks, virtual office hours, and dedicated staff for support and guidance throughout.
6. Middlebury Language Schools
Location: Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT
Cost: Tuition varies by language and program length; no stipend mentioned
Acceptance rate/cohort size: ≅ 1400 for immersion programs
Application Deadline: Varies by language program
Dates: June to August; exact dates posted per language program
Eligibility: Primarily for college students and adults; some programs may admit advanced high school students or recent high school graduates; check individual program policies for specifics
The Middlebury language schools offer full-immersion summer sessions for 4 to 6 weeksin 12+ languages, including Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. The immersion method requires you to speak only the target language throughout the program, both in and out of class.
Instruction combines classroom study, conversation groups, cultural activities, and language tables where only the target language is permitted. While the schools mainly serve college students, high school students who demonstrate advanced language ability may apply to some programs by special permission. The environment is academically demanding and culturally enriching, providing a summer of deep language focus and community engagement with native speakers and other learners.
7. Ohio State University Summer Linguistic Institute for Youth Scholars (SLIYS)
Location: Ohio State University Department of Linguistics, Columbus, OH
Cost: $550 tuition fee per session; no stipend mentioned
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions begin February 1
Dates: SLIYS 1 (required): June 8 – 12 or July 6 – 10; SLIYS 2 (optional): June 22 – 26 or July 20 – 24 (open to students who completed SLIYS 1)
Eligibility: High school students interested in linguistics; SLIYS 2 requires completion of SLIYS 1
SLIYS introduces you to linguistics, the scientific study of human language, through an interactive and engaging online summer program. In daily live sessions, you learn foundational topics including phonetics, morphology, syntax, and language documentation in SLIYS 1. In SLIYS 2, you cover more advanced linguistics topics, building on the foundations from the first session.
You engage in both fieldwork — meeting daily with a native speaker of an unfamiliar language and using linguistic knowledge to uncover its structure — and experimental components involving discussions with researchers on language experiments. These experiences give you the chance to study language like a working linguist.
8. Wisconsin Intensive Summer Language Institutes (WISLI)
Location: University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI (online for high school students)
Cost: Tuition and fees vary by program
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Application Deadline: March 1
Dates: June 15 – August 7
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors, undergraduates, graduate students, and lifelong learners (high school students attend online only)
WISLI offers proficiency-driven intensive language courses in over 30 languages, with a focus on rare and less commonly taught languages. You engage in rigorous online instruction designed to rapidly develop listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. Languages offered for 2026 include Arabic, Bengali, Burmese, Dari, Filipino, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hindi, Hmong, Indonesian, Javanese, Kazakh, Khmer, Lao, Marathi, Nepali, Pashto, Persian, Portuguese, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sinhala, Tajik, Tamil, Thai, Tibetan, Turkish, Urdu, Uyghur, Uzbek, Vietnamese, and Yoruba.
You participate in virtual classes featuring interactive lessons, small-group work, and cultural immersion activities to increase your language fluency and cultural competence. WISLI is known for high-quality instruction and a supportive learning community. Student testimonials praise the program’s impact on language proficiency as well as confidence and academic motivation.
9. University of Chicago Pre-College Summer Language Institute
Location: Online
Cost: $8,225
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Application Deadline: Priority January 22; Regular March 5; Extended April 15 (tentatively)
Dates: Not specified
Eligibility: Current high school students in grades 11 or 12
You take part in an online summer language course that allows you to complete the equivalent of a full year of college-level language study in six to eight weeks. The program is open to high school students with prior experience as well as those beginning a new language, and you study alongside current UChicago students.
Courses emphasize balanced development in speaking, listening, reading, and writing in languages such as Ancient Greek, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish. Both beginning and intermediate options focus on building practical proficiency across all four language skills through intensive instruction.
10. Penn State Language Institute — High School Students Track
Location: Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
Cost: Penn State tuition and fees; no stipend indicated
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Application Deadline: Varies; usually early spring
Dates: Varies by program
Eligibility: High school students 15 or older
This program allows you to enroll in summer language courses offered by Penn State’s Language Institute either for college credit or as an auditor without credit. Language Institute courses are taught in small groups, allowing for personal attention. Cultural immersion sessions supplement instruction by presenting informal, real-life contexts to practice language skills.You can earn college credit (typically 4 credits per course) if you choose, or participate without credit toward a degree. The institute’s courses are designed to help you transition to college-level language study.
11. Beloit College Summer Language Program
Location: Virtual
Cost: Approximately $2,200 for 3.5 weeks; $4,400 for 7 weeks (tuition and housing included)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Application Deadline: Unspecified
Dates: June 15 – July 31
Eligibility: High school and college students with appropriate language background
This program offers intensive summer immersion courses in languages such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Russian. You can complete up to two semesters of college language credit in as little as 3.5 weeks of study. The curriculum emphasizes accelerated acquisition of speaking, reading, writing, and listening skills through a combination of classroom instruction and language immersion activities.
Housing and cultural programming are integrated into the residential experience to enhance language learning and engagement. The program also provides a virtual immersive option for some languages to accommodate students who cannot attend on campus.
12. University of Maryland Summer Language Institutes (SLLC)
Location: University of Maryland, College Park, MD (Hybrid — in-person and online)
Cost: Tuition for 10 in-state undergraduate credits is $4,370; summer campus services fee $219; program fees $1,708.30
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Application Deadline: Early bird deadline March 20; priority deadline April 17; final application deadline May 15 for domestic students
Dates: Session 1 in-person June 8 – July 8; Session 2 online July 13 – August 7
Eligibility: Rising high school seniors, incoming freshmen, undergraduates, graduate students, military, working professionals; participants should be seriously committed to intensive language study and academically prepared
These institutes offer language and culture programs in Arabic, Korean, and Persian at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. Students spend around 20 contact hours per week with class sizes kept small and have access to language partners for supplementary practice and tutoring. Programs focus on building practical communication skills, listening comprehension through media and current events, and offer proximity to Washington, DC for cultural and professional enrichment events.
While participation in both sessions is not required, Session 2 content builds on Session 1, and placement tests determine best course level fit. High school seniors must apply for concurrent enrollment to participate. Accepted students earn 10 undergraduate credits (6 for Session 1, 4 for Session 2), transcribed by the University of Maryland with transfer potential. The institute follows the University’s grading policies, with no pass/fail or audit options.
13. South Asia Summer Language Institute (SASLI) — University of Wisconsin-Madison
Location: University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI (online)
Cost: Approximately $5,000 for the 8-week program; scholarships available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Application Deadline: March 1
Dates: June 15 – August 7
Eligibility: Open to high school juniors and seniors, undergraduate and graduate students, and adult learners
SASLI offers proficiency-based online intensive language courses in thirteen South Asian languages: Bangla, Dari, Gujarati, Hindi, Marathi, Nepali, Pashto, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sinhala, Tamil, Tibetan, and Urdu. SASLI offers high-quality, proficiency-driven online courses in 13 South Asian languages. The program is designed as an accelerated 8-week experience equivalent to one full academic year of language study, focusing on building speaking, reading, listening, and writing skills through rigorous instruction and structured co-curricular activities.
Student feedback highlights personalized instructor attention, supportive peer groups, and a collaborative learning environment promoting both academic growth and cultural understanding. Classes are small and designed to develop real-world language confidence via active learning and cultural exposure. Scholarships are competitively available to support students financially.
14. University of Mississippi Summer Language Institute
Location: University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS
Cost: Detailed cost breakdown available on the officialCosts page; program offers scholarships; approximately $3,000+, including tuition and fees
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Application Deadline: March 15 (tentatively)
Dates: June 26 – July 25 (tentatively)
Eligibility: High-achieving high school students nationwide, competitive admission
This summer language program for high school students offers intensive, one-month summer language and culture instruction for high school students in Arabic or Chinese. The Arabic program provides 6 college credits for beginners and emphasizes language proficiency and cultural competency with immersive instruction and extracurricular activities geared toward real-world applications.
The Chinese institute focuses on conversational and written Chinese skills, as well as cultural explorations of themes such as life in China, the Silk Road, and traditions. Placement in Chinese courses depends on language ability, ranging from beginner to intermediate. The program includes faculty and tutor support and prepares students for scholarships and selective academic programs. Admission is competitive and requires teacher recommendations, a personal essay, and, for Chinese applicants, a language sample beyond beginner level.
15. South Asia Summer Language Program — University of Texas at Austin
Location: University of Texas at Austin, Online via UT Extended Campus
Cost: $2,500 per course or $5,000 for the full summer; fee reductions and FLAS fellowships available for eligible students
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Application Deadline: May 2 (tentatively)
Dates: Summer first term June 5 – July 11; second term July 14 – August 18 (tentatively)
Eligibility: High school students eligible to enroll for credit; must meet Texas Success Initiative (TSI) testing requirements or exemptions
This program offers online courses in South Asian languages, including Kannada, Malayalam, and Telugu, administered by the South Asia Institute and taught by University of Texas faculty. Courses are divided into 2 sequential summer sessions; students must take classes in order or complete an evaluation to skip a level.
The curriculum delivers between 5 to 10 hours of academic credit, depending on course level and completion of sessions. You are expected to commit at least 3 hours daily to class participation and homework. Course content and schedules are determined by the instructor during sessions. High school students may receive dual credit and must comply with Texas TSI guidelines.
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