Rafaela Prifti/
The Albanian program has had a generally modest enrollment in over two decades since its start at the Tempe campus Arizona State University in 2003. Doctor James Edmonds, Director of Critical Language Institute (CLI) at Melikian Center and Professor Linda Meniku of Tirana University, who instructs the immersive summer course, are hoping to increase interest and bring in more students this year. In the current global landscape, it would seem that Albanian might be the “underdog” compared with the interest in some other East European languages. Yet, Alexis Zoto, Associate Professor at the University of Southern California, and a 2020 alumna of Albanian program at CLI, believes that recent archeological discoveries such as the settlement of Europe’s oldest lakeside village in Albania and the cultural heritage preservation in a growing Albanian diaspora are big pointers in favor of learning an Indo-European language that is the only surviving representative of the Albanoid branch in the Paleo-Balkan group. Certainly, two linguistic experts who had the vision to launch more Balkan Languages at CLI appreciated its significance. Renowned Professors Danko Sipka and Lee B. Croft both have been in leadership positions at the Critical Language Institute prior to moving on to other academic pursuits.
Thanks to Arizona State University (ASU) institutional support, the Melikian Center has carried its proud legacy through the language programs. Prior to joining CLI, Dr. James Edmond was resident director in Bali, Indonesia as well as program coordinator positions. His regional focus is Indonesia, Southeast Asia. Besides English, he speaks Indonesian, Japanese, Arabic, and is passionate about Albania, its language and history. Doctor Jamie Edmonds is Director of Critical Language Institute (CLI), Associate Director at Melikian Center: Russian, Euroasian East European Studies at Arizona State University, and a Clinical Assistant Professor of Religious Studies. Informally, he goes by Dr. J. In a Zoom interview in February, we spoke about the unique features of the program, what the draw has been for the students in previous years, the scholarships that are available to the applicants, funding by different agencies and the prospects of joining the program in the summer of 2024.
Among the variety of applicants who have come through the program “from all across the spectrum from high schoolers to traditional undergraduates to community college students,” Dr. Edmonds recalled “a PhD candidate working in linguistics who did the dissertation on Albanian and even a member of our advisory Board. On the other hand, we have members of the Albanian community in United States, who have come from various backgrounds to reconnect with their roots, their culture.”
When it comes to the difficulty of learning it, which is a consideration for potential applicants, Dr. J has full confidence in the abilities of Professor Meniku, a highly qualified professional, who is also the author of the program’s textbooks.
“The unique feature of the program is that it is tuition free, apart for fees associated with covering the administration costs of the class,” says Dr. Edmonds. It is not an online program, although the instructions were given online during the pandemic. For the CLI Director, the community setting enhances the value of the program. “It is a really unique opportunity to engage with a bunch of language nerds, or people with different interests in a shared space of community while learning a language in an intense environment.” How intense? At the beginner’s level, there is a seven-week-instructions on campus then four weeks in Tirana. You can do either one of those options the first year. “If you do seven weeks, you get eight language credits. If you go abroad, you get eleven credits, as well as cultural excursions for an additional fee.”
Dr. Edmonds truly appreciates the distinction of the CLI program from a university setting or a traditional classroom, if you will. “You are not taught language in a vacuum. You’re not taught through route memorization. You’re taught to read and understand the language from deep within its cultural historic pass.”
It gets even better. There are specific scholarships that are available to students who want to learn Albanian. This is how it works: You apply for a grant through the Melikian Center awards program and follow the steps. If at any point you may have questions or want to enquire more, you can contact the office or speak directly to an administrator.
“The time for building a pipeline of talented Albanian speakers is now,” says Dr. Edmonds, who believes that it’s not naïve to prepare now for the uncertainties of the future. “I can tell you that learning a language in an intensive environment focusing on context will absolutely make you an outstanding candidate. Whether you want go in some kind of government service, whether you want to serve your community, want to do academic work, or you don’t plan to actually use the language, but rather teach your brain in a different way, you might consider taking Albanian,” adding that “we do need more speakers of it.”
There is a brilliant piece on the ASU website written in 2017 to mark the 15th year of the Albanian language program. It relates interesting facts and stories of students who took the class to communicate with their Albanians grandparents, or their in-laws in Albania, or set up grants to help others learn it as in the example of a member of the US coast guard who was deployed at camp Bondsteel in Kosova.
Whether they are in the US or abroad, the alumni of the Albanian course of CLI are firm believers of the value of the program, as is the case of Professor Alexis Zoto https://gazetadielli.com/alexis-zoto-honors-the-albanian…/ who shared her story last year.
Dr. Edmonds and Professor Meniku look forward and welcome the new stories of the summer applicants of 2024 Albanian program at CLI, Melikian Center. To find out more about the unique features of a program with a proud legacy, and start your own discovery of Albanian, the Director of CLI invites anyone to go to https://melikian.asu.edu/cli or reach out directly to cli@asu.edu
Extended talk with Dr. Edmonds will be available online
Photo Courtesy: Professor Linda Meniku, Class of 2017, Tempe Campus, Albanian Language Program, CLI, Melikian Center, ASU