Students visit the ballroom at the Museo Cerralbo in Madrid with ROMS lecturer Alisa Linarejos Jimenez

Summer in Madrid program transforms students

July 19th, 2017

Students and Romance Studies faculty spoke with Arts & Sciences writer Kathy Hovis about the transformative experience offered by Summer in Madrid Program. In six weeks, shortly after the end of the spring semester, Cornell students complete eight credits of classwork and take field trips to cultural, historic, and architecturally-significant sites around the city. Constant immersion in Spanish helps the students make measurable progress in their language skills.

Cecelia Lawless, the program director and Romance Studies senior lecturer, says of Summer in Madrid: “The real objective of the program is not the learning of the verb form or the learning of the Arabic influences, it’s about the confidence. After six weeks here, the students realize ‘Wow, I can do this. I can speak Spanish.’ They are finding out who they are and gaining confidence that they can do the things they want to do.”

Read the full A&S article about the Summer in Madrid Program here. For more information about the program, contact Cecelia Lawless or attend an information session during the fall/spring semesters.