Language Houses

1. Sign your University Residence Halls contract and submit your advance payment in My UW Housing
2. Select the International Learning Community as your top choice when you submit your hall preferences in My UW Housing
3. Prioritize learning communities over residence halls when you submit your hall preferences in My UW Housing
4. Submit your language house application/registration form to the University Housing Assignment Office.
5. You will be notified via an email to your @wisc.edu account indicating if you have been approved to participate in a language house.
6. Receive your room assignment

Note: like other learning communities, the general International Learning Community (ILC) is open to everyone. To participate in one of the ILC language houses, students must fill out an application.

Applications

Before completing a language house application or registration form, save a blank copy to your computer. Then complete the application and resave it before sending it. If you complete the application before saving a copy, you may lose your work. Once you have filled out the form, please submit the completed application via email to assignMe@housing.wisc.edu with the subject line reading “Re: Language Program Applications”.

Academic Year 2022-23

• Arabic (Baytunaa)
• Chinese (Zhongwen Tiandi)
• German (Stockwerk Deutsch)
• Japanese (Nihongo Hausu)
• Korean (K-House)
• Nordic Languages (Norden)
• Russian (Russkii Dom)
• Spanish (Residencia de Estudiantes)

For questions regarding language programs, please contact the department or language coordinator. Contact information is available at the end of the language program application. For questions regarding the application procedure, please contact:

Slichter Hall — Assignment Office
625 Babcock Drive
Madison, WI 53706-1213
assignMe@housing.wisc.edu
608-262-2522

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Baytunaa: Arabic House

3rd Floor | Adams Residence Hall
Co-Sponsor: African Cultural Studies
Faculty Director: Mustafa Mustafa

Live the Arabic language experience with a native speaker and learn about Arabs and their cultures in the Arabic House. The Arabic House is a great opportunity to learn and improve your Arabic skills and is a door to meet and interact with the Arabic community in Madison — plus, you’ll live with students who share similar interests in the Arabic language and culture.

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Nihongo Hausu: Japanese House

4th Floor | Adams Residence Hall
Co-Sponsor: Department of Asian Languages & Cultures
Faculty Director: Charo D’Etcheverry

The Japanese-language floor is an enthusiastic group who speak Japanese together, cook Japanese food, watch Japanese movies, and experiment with “living in Japanese” here in Madison. Living in Nihongo Hausu is a great way to get better at spoken Japanese and is an opportunity to live with people who share an interest in Japan.

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Residencia de Estudiantes: Spanish House

4th Floor | Adams Residence Hall
Co-Sponsor: Department of Spanish & Portuguese
Faculty Director: David Hildner

If you are interested in improving your Spanish listening, comprehension, and conversation, this is the place for you. We offer you the opportunity to improve your Spanish skills in a safe and fun environment where you will live and interact with people that want to learn Spanish. Activities include cooking nights, cultural nights, movie nights, and more.

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Русский дом (Russkii Dom): Russian House

3rd Floor | Adams Residence Hall
Co-Sponsors: Department of Slavic Languages & Literature, Russian Flagship Program
Faculty Director: Karen Evans-Romaine

Русский дом (Ruskii Dom) is a language floor in the ILC for students with an interest in Russian language and culture. Residents gather at meals, cook Russian food, go to Russian music concerts, visit local Russian food stores, watch Russian films, and chat in the hallways about daily life. Students of all levels of Russian are welcome.

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Norden House: Nordic House

3rd Floor | Adams Residence Hall
Co-Sponsor: Department of Scandinavian Studies
Faculty Director: Scott Mellor

Norden House is a residential language immersion program for UW-Madison students studying Norwegian, Danish, or Swedish. Fluency in Scandinavian languages is not required. Norden House also involves a one credit seminar allowing students to explore different facets of Scandinavian society. Throughout the year, Norden residents take trips to some of the many rich northern European heritage sites located throughout Wisconsin and neighboring states, exposing students to the folk traditions of Scandinavia.

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Stockwerk Deutsch: German House

3rd Floor | Adams Residence Hall
Co-Sponsor: Department of German
Faculty Director: Julie Larson-Guenette

Stockwerk Deutsch, the oldest language house in the ILC, is a community of students who have an interest in the German language and its many cultures. Residents are referred to as “Stockies.” They cook and eat meals and travel to interesting German sites. Students of all levels of German are welcome to apply to become Stockies themselves. Herzlich Willkommen!

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中文天地 (Zhongwen Tiandi): Chinese House

4th Floor | Adams Residence Hall
Co-Sponsor: Department of East Asian Languages & Literature
Faculty Director: Rania Huntington

Tiandi (literally “Chinese heaven-and-earth”) is a community of students devoted to learning Chinese language and culture and sharing them with the UW-Madison campus, the state of Wisconsin, and beyond. With the support of a Graduate Language Program Coordinator, Chinese language learners of all levels, including native speakers, will share in meals, cultural activities, film screenings, and casual conversation. 欢迎光临中文天地!

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사랑채 (K-House): Korean House

3rd Floor | Adams Residence Hall
Co-Sponsor: Department of Asian Languages & Cultures
Faculty Director: Byung-jin Lim

K-House provides opportunities to enhance students’ cross-cultural understanding and Korean language proficiency. A graduate language program coordinator works with students in K-House and coordinates Korean-language social activities and provides language tutoring. Residents also enroll in a one-credit course on Korean culture taught by a faculty member in the Department of Asian Languages & Cultures and participate in ILC-wide events such as roundtable dinners, lectures, and other international programming.

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Native speakers of languages or those with advanced language proficiency (typically graduate students) assist with related programming under the guidance of a faculty director. Residents who sign up for language houses can expand their speaking, listening, and writing skills by participating in informal weekly dinners in the target language as well as by taking advantage of special tutoring hours and group outings to ILC and campus-wide events.

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