Students have already started arriving in Prague. This year, 170 students from 37 countries have been enrolled. Most students will come from Germany and France, others come from Latin America, Japan, Korea and the USA amongst others. Not only do the students come from different parts of the world, they also differ in background and professions. There will be academics, scholarship holders, journalists, translators, tutors or those who simply want to learn Czech because they have become interested in Czech music.
The course consists of the Czech language and Czech culture and will run for four weeks. Students will be divided into four levels. Beginners and lower-intermediate students can opt for a course in English, German, French, Russian or Spanish. Intermediate and advanced students will be offered seminars on Czech life and literature and specialized conversation seminars.
Topics for lectures are taken from such spheres as linguistics, literature, Czech history, history of art, etc. Thus students will learn e.g. about Jan Hus, Bohuslav Martinů or about the Estates Theatre which is celebrating its 120th anniversary. Lecturers will not only come from Charles University but also from other scientific institutions.
Weekends will be dedicated to trips to the country. Destinations will often be related to an important Czech personality. Students will thus visit e.g. Hrabal’s Kersko, Čapek’s Strž or Dvořák’s Vysoká.
The four-week course covers the syllabus of one university semester of Czech language studies. Some students come repeatedly, the record is said to be held by a Finnish student, who will come this year for the 9th time. Due to the current economic crisis, the school has prepared discounts for students who come repeatedly. People who pay for the summer course themselves have to pay 1230 euro, i.e. around 31 400 CZK.
The opening ceremony of the Summer School of Slavonic Studies will be held on the 1st of August in Karolinum.