Morgana Barbknecht (left) visits the Budapest Opera House with friends while on one of her Studey Abroad experiences.
Before enrolling at the University of Mississippi two summers ago, Morgana Barbknecht was already proficient in English and had studied Spanish. The senior political science major has added Russian to that list and studied at universities in four eastern European countries, thanks to a new modern languages program.
The Language Initiative is jointly offered through UM’s Department of Modern Languages and the Study Abroad Office. Students in the program build their fluency in one of several languages through on-campus study and intensive language study in an international location. The program typically begins the summer before a student’s freshman year at Ole Miss.
“I’m still unsure as to why I selected Russian. I think (it’s) because I had a Russian clarinet teacher all through grade school,” said Barbknecht, who initially studied at International University in Moscow. Since then, the Dallas native has also studied languages in other eastern European countries, including Charles University in Prague, Aarhus University in Denmark and Corvinus University in Budapest, Hungary.
“It’s opened a lot of doors and completely shaped the direction of my future career,” the 20-year-old said.
Of the four study abroad experiences she has completed, Prague was the most memorable, Barbknecht said.
“I lived with a host family in the suburbs of Prague, which helped me to integrate into the society much better,” she said. “Also, the classes I took in the Czech Republic were the first I had taken which had truly focused on only the central/eastern European region, and I found them fascinating. The professors were wonderful and knowledgeable as well.”
The program also assigned Czech students from Charles University to be friends with Barbknecht and other international students and to show them around, which she said was very helpful. “While I didn’t become very close to my assigned friend, she helped me to meet other Czech students,” Barbknecht said.
Studying abroad helped Barbknecht learn natural speech patterns and provided instant feedback in her chosen foreign languages.
“With a prior knowledge of Russian, it was fairly easy to learn Czech (another Slavic language), which made daily life easier,” she said.
Barbknecht is already seeing how her minor in Russian will benefit her in the future.
“I was recently accepted to the University of Edinburgh (Scotland) master’s program in European Union law and politics and will be specializing in Eastern Europe and new member states,” she said. “A career in this field will be greatly benefited by Russian language knowledge.”
“Morgana is an amazing student,” said Blair McElroy, UM Study Abroad adviser. “While I’m thrilled that the Language Initiative may have inspired her travel bug, she chose Central and Eastern Europe in which to study abroad for specific academic reasons. I think she is a student of whom the University of Mississippi should be very proud.”
No previous language experience is required to apply for the Language Initiative, and students with no prior language experience are preferred, as they will embark on the language learning experience together. The program is structured so they can complete a minor in the language of their choice in two years.
The basic program format begins with an on-campus intensive language immersion the summer before a student begins his or her freshman year. The classes, taught by a UM instructor, carry six credit hours. Students complete intermediate-level courses during their freshman fall and spring semesters.
“Students then participate in the approved four-week Study Abroad program earning five to six credit hours,” McElroy said. “Housing, meals, excursions and other accommodations vary among Study Abroad programs, countries and sites.”
During the fall and spring semesters of their sophomore year, participants complete the remaining upper-level credits to earn a minor in their chosen language. If available, interested students may continue on in their language study to earn a major. Scholarship recipients in the program commit to completing a minor at UM by their sophomore year.
Over the three years that the Study Abroad Center has run the program, 21 scholarship recipients have studied in the Russian Language Initiative. An upcoming group of seven students (three of whom are scholarship recipients) will go abroad this summer.
For more information about the UM Language Initiative, visit http://www.outreach.olemiss.edu/study_abroad/freshmen/index.html or contact Blair McElroy at blair@olemiss.edu or 662-915-1508. Applications must be postmarked by March 1 and submitted to Study Abroad Office, P.O. Box 187, 359 Martindale Student Services Center, University, MS 38677.