The Global Village - Language House Application
The Global Village
The academic and cultural mission of the Global Village is to immerse students in a living environment that fosters increased language study and cultural awareness and sensitivity. The Global Village comprises eight Language Houses—Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish—run by the Department of Modern Languages & Literatures. Each Language House hosts an International Fellow from the target country/region who facilitate conversation hours, movie nights, cooking classes, celebrations of traditional festivals, and many other activities. These events are open to residents of the Global Village but also to any W&M student interested in increasing their knowledge about other languages and cultures around the globe.
The Resident's Role
Your role as a resident of a Language House is crucial to the success of the Global Village mission. When you engage fully in the program, you are not only practicing the language in real-world context but also gaining deeper insights into the cultural nuances that shape communication. This level of involvement accelerates language acquisition. As a resident, you are encouraged to use the target language in daily interactions in a more realistic context and relaxed setting. Additionally, your active participation strengthens the sense of community within the house, motivating other residents to learn from each other, collaborate, and push their linguistic boundaries, and equally important, have fun! Ultimately, the more residents and students immerse themselves in the experience, the more rewarding and transformative the Global Village becomes, creating lasting linguistic and cultural competencies and meaningful connections.
The Global Village Location
Starting the 2025-26 academic year, the Global Village location will be at the Pine Hall in the West 1 Housing & Dining Development. All rooms are gender-inclusive and ADA accessible. All eight Language Houses will be grouped on the same floor, sharing common areas. In this immersive environment, residents and students can explore and experience cultural diversity firsthand.
Before filling out the Language House application, please read The Global Village - LH Resident Participation Agreement that you will be asked to return signed if you received an invitation to live in The Global Village.
To complete the application process, you must:
- Be a Sophomore, Junior, or Senior (AY 2025-2026) and have the equivalent of a 102-103 level background in the target language.
- Provide a written statement of intent (built within the application) explaining why you wish to live in a language house.
- Sign and submit the Language House Application by Friday, January 31, 2025, before 9:00 a.m.
- Sign the W&M 2025-2026 Housing Contract by Tuesday, February 11, 2025, before 5:00 p.m.
Note:
This application will take about 20-30 minutes to complete. Once you start the application, you have one week to submit it, after one week, the system will delete incomplete applications and won't allow you to try to submit a second application.
2025-2026 The Global Village - LH Application Timeline
| Mon. December 2, 2024 | The Global Village - LH Application. Password: mll. Application deadline: Friday, January 31, 2025 by 9:00 a.m. |
| Tue. January 21, 2025 | Sign the 2025-2026 W&M Housing Contract as part of The Global Village application. Deadline Thursday, February 11, 2025 by 5:00 p.m. |
| Fri. January 24, 2025 | Open House hosted by the International Fellows. 5:30-6:30 PM. Location TBD. |
| Fri. January 31, 2025 | Deadline for submitting The Global Village - Language House Application by 9:00 a.m. |
| Fri. January 31, 2025 | Sign-up email for interview time slots sent to all applicants before the end of business day. |
| Feb. 3, 4, and 5, 2025 | Applicants interviews conducted by Language House Advisor and International Fellow. Applicants who have a signed W&M Housing Contract by their interview appointment will be given preference. |
| Fri. February 7, 2025 | Acceptance e-mails sent out to selected applicants by end of business day. |
| Mon. February 10, 2025 | Deadline for students to confirm or decline their acceptance to live in the Language House by 9:00 a.m. |
| Mon. February 10, 2025 | Alternates will be contacted with a deadline of 24 hours to accept or decline their invitation to live in the selected Language House. Waitlisted applicants must have a signed W&M Housing Contract to be eligible for this space. |
| TBD | International Fellows will host a "Meet and Greet" for accepted residents with the purpose of selecting a roommate and preselect a room. |
| Th. February 13, 2025 | Accepted participants will receive and email from Residence Life with instructions on room assignment. |
| Mon. February 17, 2025 | Residence Life will email residents to confirm rooms assignment information. |
*Dates may be subject to change. Please visit this page regularly to have the latest information.
Note: The Language House Application has closed for the 2024-25 academic year. However, if you would like to be considered in case of an opening in the language house of your interest for Spring 2025, please fill out the 2024-2025 Waitlist Language House Application. The application password is "late".
After you submit your application, email [[bmtyle, Modern Languages Department]] to schedule a 10-minute interview with the Language House Advisor and the International Fellow. Available spaces will be offered in the order in which the application was received.
