Through community-oriented language programs at different venues, EAFIT responds to the diverse needs of the academic, business and government spheres. Effective strategies and educational activities help participants achieve high levels of language proficiency.
Language Center
With a methodology based on constant interaction between the teacher and student, in which grammar instruction is complemented by speaking and listening practice, adults, adolescents and children have the chance both to learn other languages and familiarize themselves with the cultures and lifestyles of other countries.
The Language Center’s scheduled courses are offered at its four venues (El Poblado, Llanogrande, Estadio and Los Balsos) and feature trained teaching staff, didactic material and language labs that facilitate acquisition of English, French, German, Japanese, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish for foreigners and Mandarin (Confucius Institute).
More info Language Center web site
Sislenguas
EAFIT achieves closer ties and closer coordination with elementary and middle schools through its Language Learning System for Schools (Sislenguas), which aids in the acquisition and competent use of foreign languages – mainly English – by students and teaching staff, facilitating their insertion into the cultural, social, scientific and professional currents of a globalized world.
Through an agreement with the Antioquia government, close to 200 teachers at schools in Rionegro, Sonson, Abejorral and Marinilla are receiving language instruction and 4,587 students are benefiting from this program, which seeks to generate communicative competence. The program fulfills that mission through ongoing research and evolution of its pedagogical practices.
In addition, another 3,000 students at four Medellín schools participate in Sislenguas. The academic results obtained by the Diego Echavarría Musical Institute, an institution where EAFIT offers its Sislenguas service, speak to the success of this initiative. In the Icfes 2010 exams, that institution obtained the nation’s highest score in English (99.1) and third place in the ranking of best calendar A schools in Colombia, in large part because of the score obtained in that language.
More info Sislenguas web site
Foreign language program for executives
The Foreign Language Program for Executives is a language learning initiative that employs a methodology based on business case studies, projects and problems that are relevant to the students’ professional lives.
This methodology is designed for small groups in an environment in which conversing and sharing experiences is one of its distinguishing characteristics.
The courses, which are intended for executives, directors and academics from public or private organizations, are taught at one of the houses located in the southernmost part of the university’s main campus.
More info Foreing language program for executives web site