About
To be successful in today’s world, cultural readiness is essential. The FSU Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics Language Houses offer unique opportunities to their residents. Through a customized language immersion environment, living in the Language Houses helps students become more fluent with the foreign language they are studying and enhances their linguistic and cultural competence. Residents live in Ragans Hall — an apartment-style residence hall on campus — with a native or superior speaker language assistant to help them practice their language and learn more about the cultures associated with the language. This unique experience is administered by the department and is supported by the College of Arts and Sciences in cooperation with University Housing. The Language Houses provide an exceptional opportunity for students studying foreign languages who want extracurricular exposure to the language while living on campus. By residing in a Language House, students can enjoy the benefits of language study-abroad programs while staying on campus.
Goals
- Help students gain fluency in speaking and listening comprehension outside of the classroom setting.
- Increase cultural understanding of the regions where the languages are spoken.
- Create community and enduring friendships among the residents.
- Cultivate global citizens who possess a good grasp of the language and culture they are studying and can communicate with the international community.
Expectations
Residents are:
- Expected to commit for the entire academic year — fall and spring.
- Expected to use the target language at all Language House activities and events and to attend the weekly activities conducted in the target language.
- Expected to participate actively during language-based activities and to attend and engage in the organized language and cultural events. They will receive a schedule at the beginning of each semester.
- Required to enroll in FOL 4901, a 1-credit course (S/U). The language-specific faculty instructor will assign an appropriate grade to each resident at the end of the semester. At minimum, to receive a Satisfactory grade, residents need to attend 70% of the language and cultural events unless absences are approved by the language-specific instructor and the overall director in advance.
- Strongly encouraged to participate in events organized by the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics and the respective language programs.
- Expected to remain in good academic standing — minimum grade of C — in all the language courses they are enrolled in each semester to continue living in the Language House.
Deadline
Interested students should submit an application by Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026 for the 2027-2028 academic year.
Contact Us
For more information, please contact Reinier Leushuis at rleushuis@fsu.edu.
Residents will experience immersion in the Arabic language led by a native speaker. They will apply the language skills they have learned in the classroom to everyday use. They will also learn about Arab peoples and their cultures through conversation, food and film. By experiencing Arab culture here in Tallahassee, the Arabic Language House provides a doorway to meeting and interacting with students who share similar interests in the Arabic language and culture.
Residents will experience an immersive French-language environment led by a native speaker. Through a variety of engaging activities, residents will have opportunities to participate in spontaneous conversations and structured events designed to build their speaking confidence, enhance fluency, and deepen their understanding of the customs, traditions, and cultures of Francophone countries, including France and Morocco.
Residents will experience an immersive German language-learning environment, led by a native speaker, allowing them to actively practice their growing language skills. Residents will also learn about German culture and society through conversation, food, cinema and TV, and other targeted activities, depending on resident interests. Living German culture is a great way to improve spoken German with peers, and an opportunity to live with people interested in all things German.
Residents will experience an immersive Italian language-learning environment, led by a native speaker, allowing them to actively practice their growing language skills. Residents will also learn about Italian cultural customs through conversation, food, cinema and TV, and even sports — depending on resident interests. By “living la dolce vita all’italiana” here in Tallahassee, residents will experience a Little Italy, improve their Italian while living with those interested in all things Italian.
Residents will experience immersion in the Japanese language led by a native speaker. This will allow them to practice and improve the language skills they have learned in the classroom. They will also learn about Japanese people and their cultures through conversation, food and film. This experiment in living the Japanese culture in Tallahassee is a great way for students to improve their spoken Japanese and an opportunity to live with people who are interested in the history, culture and society of Japan.