Experiential Learning

Four walls can’t contain an entire education. That’s why, at Richmond, most students extend their educations by participating in experiential learning opportunities. They’re the chance to take what you’ve learned in the classroom and apply it to the real world, either via research, an internship, service or studying abroad.

Internships

A meeting will be scheduled at the beginning of every semester for those students who might be interested in becoming assistants for the LAC program.  Interested students must submit a proposal that summarizes how they would integrate assignments in a target language into an upcoming English-language course slated for the following semester. The course must be one that the student has already taken or plans to take that semester.

The proposal should be as detailed as possible, including but not limited to the specific course and professor teaching it, the type and number of planned assignments in the target language, the availability of materials and the rationale behind introducing a LAC component.  It is expected that the student will meet with the faculty member who is teaching the course to ensure that the LAC sessions will enhance understanding of the subject matter and foster intercultural understanding.  The LAC coordinator will also contact the faculty member to explain the program and ensure that everyone is prepared to provide support to students who incorporate a LAC component into the primary class.

If selected, LAC assistants will have until the beginning of the following semester to gather all the materials that they have proposed to use, such as: preliminary questions, questions/conundrums they would like to discuss in class in conjunction with the materials, games, realia, videos, pre/post viewing activities, handouts and vocabulary lists.

Students participating in the LAC program as LAC assistants may take LAC 388: Internship to gain internship credit.  

Study Abroad

For students who are planning to study abroad or who are considering the possibility, LAC is a great way to improve your language skills before heading off to a non-English-speaking country. Some sections will have participants who have recently studied abroad, in which case, you'll be able to learn more about what to expect when you leave Richmond. And for students who are returning from study-abroad, LAC is one way to keep practicing the language you spoke while away.

For information on studying abroad, visit the Office of International Education.