The Czechs can brilliantly play with their language and these skills gave birth not only to famous Czech comic books and films, but the entire Czech culture makes good profit of them. It is worth understanding the point of these artworks. The reason for learning Czech is often purely practical – foreigners who wish to settle down in the country for good must pass a Czech examination in order to obtain a permanent residence permit. The offer of language courses specialized in Czech lessons is extremely wide. You can choose not only from various “levels” based on the target level of your knowledge, but you do not have to be afraid of “geographical” limitations either – there is perhaps no town in the Czech Republic where you can not enroll for a course.
In the first part of Czech for Foreigners, we would like to introduce the Summer Schools of Slavonic Studies to you:
The Summer School of Slavonic Studies (the SSSS) consists of study courses provided by several public higher education institutions in the Czech Republic. The courses are held every year during summer months (July, August, September). Their length ranges from 2 to 4 weeks depending on the content chosen by the individual institutions organising the SSSS. These include
Charles University in Prague,
Masaryk University in Brno,
University of West Bohemia in Plzeň,
University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice,
Palacký University in Olomouc and the
Institute for Language and Preparatory Studies in Poděbrady (an educational centre that is part of Charles University in Prague).
The courses are designed for foreign students, experts (teachers, translators, interpreters) and academics in the field of Bohemistic and Slavic studies. Due to their broad coverage they are also open for all individuals who are interested in the Czech language, literature, history and culture. As part of its educational sections the SSSS offers Czech language courses at various levels, seminars focusing on Czech literature, culture and history, free-time activities including theatre, music and dance performances, excursions, trips etc.
Participants in the Summer School of Slavonic Studies may be either self-payers who cover all costs associated with the courses themselves, or scholarship holders for whom the course fee, accommodation, meals and access to cultural events held as part of the SSSS are paid by the
Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the CR (the MoEYS). The number of SSSS scholarships for individual countries is determined on the basis of international agreements concluded by the MoEYS and partner countries. Candidates from the following countries may apply for a SSSS scholarship in 2010:
Argentina, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, China, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Croatia, India, Ireland, Italy, Israel, Japan, Canada, the Republic of Korea, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Columbia, Lithuania, Latvia, Luxembourg, Hungary, Macedonia, Malta, Mexico, Mongolia, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Austria, Romania, Russia, Greece, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Montenegro, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and Vietnam.
The MoEYS provides information about SSSS scholarship schemes via
Diplomatic Missions of the Czech Republic. The scholarships are only awarded to those candidates that have been nominated by the competent bodies of the partner countries under the relevant agreements.
SSSS application forms for self-payers may be found at the websites of the following institutions:
Should you need any further information about SSSS courses, do not hesitate to contact the
individual organisers of the Summer School of Slavonic Studies, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the CR or the foreign diplomatic missions of the Czech Republic.