School of Modern Languages Professor Vicki Galloway and students would have been in Mexico City this week beginning the six week, 9 credit Mexico Language for Business and Technologies (LBAT) Spanish study program. Instead, they are here on campus. "Due to the implications of the H1N1 flu virus and the CDC Travel Health Warning against undertaking non-essential travel to Mexico," Georgia Tech canceled the program's travel to Mexico City.

The other Spanish LBAT option "" 6 credit hour / four weeks of study in Madrid June 28 "" July 29 - will go forward as will the programs in China, France, Germany, Japan, and Russia.

The School of Modern Languages' intensive summer LBAT programs offer immersion in a country where the language is spoken, greatly accelerating progress in language acquisition and cross-cultural understanding. Sessions consist of four to ten weeks of study abroad in which classroom lessons in business, culture, history, economy, and technology are combined with field work, cultural events, excursions, and visits to area businesses - all conducted in the target language. Students are exposed to an "applied" language perspective developing the ability to communicate effectively in daily living situations and specific professional settings, learning about basic aspects of business culture, technology, and society and issues of local economies and global interdependence. The Mexico LBAT is unique in offering homestay and a community-service component.

LBAT programs are 3000 level classes which provide 6-18 semester credit hours and a certificate in the language for Business and Technology. The credit hours can apply toward a Minor in the language, or toward the International Affairs and Modern Languages or Global Economics and Modern Languages majors, or toward partial fulfillment of the International Plan study-abroad requirement.

Visit the School of Modern Languages to learn more about the LBAT program.