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Sponsored by the Alabama World Languages Education Foundation (AWLEF) 

Co-sponsored by

A.W.L.A.

A.A.T.F. Alabama

A.A.T.F

Alabama Humanities Alliance


About WILD

WHO:  The Alabama World Languages Education Foundation (AWLEF) established by Alabama Association of Foreign Language Teachers (now AWLA) seeks to enhance the opportunities for foreign language teachers and students to improve their spoken language skills and fully realizes that travel abroad is not accessible to most teachers and students on a regular basis.


Therefore, AWLEF is continuing the work of AWLA to provide opportunities to its teachers and students to practice and improve their skills in residential, immersion experiences led by fluent scholars. 


The planning committee consists of university and high school scholars.  The students will be chaperoned and instructed by volunteer teachers/scholars. 


It is open to students of French, Spanish, and German. The students are selected based on their level of study, grades in their language courses, and an essay explaining what they hope to gain from the experience and how learning a second language can help them in their career choices. 

WHEN:  November 10-13, 2023, The program begins on Friday with a check-in 5-6pm and ends on Sunday, after the parents program (around noon).

WHAT:  The  Weekend is for students of Spanish, French, and German who have completed at least one full course of the target language and who are at least in the 10tgrade in the fall of 2023. The activities planned will include daily living experiences as well as cultural and academic learning experiences. The purpose of the project is to put the students in a setting where they will use the language they are acquiring in a non­threatening, relaxed atmosphere whose goal is communication. Therefore, activities will include physical activities, film discussion, games, music, art, history, etc. Throughout the weekend, second language acquisition will take place either directly from lectures and reading/writing experiences or indirectly through daily living experiences and games.

WHERE: This program will take place at the 4-H Center in Columbiana, AL.  

HOW MUCH: The cost to students is only $175* . A need-based scholarship is available to students who qualify.  

MORE INFORMATION? For further information, contact the program directors at alabamaimmersion@gmail.com, or contact Sandrine @ 205-799-7078 (leave a voicemail).


W.I.L.D.

Weekend Immersed in Language Development November 11-13, 2023

 Held at the 

4H Center, Columbiana AL


Project Directors  
Dr. Krista ChamblessAWLEF, Executive Director, Co-Director W.I.L.D.

Dr. Sandrine Hope

AWLEF, Co-Director W.I.L.D.




DEADLINE TO APPLY EXTENDED: October 11, 2023

All registration documents are to be completed online for the W.I.L.D. 2023 program. The following steps are required in order to successfully register for W.I.L.D. 2023:

1) Complete the online application form, and pay the non-refundable application fee ($25). The online application form can be accessed here, and the payment can be processed here*. NO OTHER DOCUMENTS NEED SUBMITTING AT THIS TIME.

2) Be sure you have completed the online application form and made the non-refundable application fee payment * above by October 3th or your application will not be considered.

4) Once the application is received it will be reviewed by the W.I.L.D. directors. You will be notified whether or not you are accepted via email by October 25th.

5) The final step, after you apply, make sure to check emails for all the information, including notification that you have been accepted, . 

* For payment, go to: https://www.paypal.me/AWLEF and type the amount ($25 for registration) in the spot where the $0.00 is located. You can pay with a debit card, credit card, or a PayPal account through that link.

If you have any issues with PayPal or do not feel comfortable paying through PayPal, please send an email to alabamaimmersion@gmail.com with the student’s name in the subject line and one of the directors will contact you.

Note: You will receive an automated email after completing the online application, this is not a letter of acceptance.

If you have any questions at any point during the process, please email alabamaimmersion@gmail.com and one of the directors will respond.

Please make note that students are not allowed a cell phone or any other technology during the weekend. (Directors can be reached if a need arises).

Cancellation Policy: Any cancellation by the student after payment, will not be refunded no matter the reason.

DEADLINE TO APPLY: October 11, 2023

* The application fee will go toward the cost of the weekend.

Any one with any resources for grants is welcome to reach out to the directors at alabamaimmersion@gmail.com


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