Brno, July 17 (CTK) – A total of 139 students from almost 40 countries of the world have arrived in Brno to attend four-week intensive courses of Czech language and literature as well as excursions and dance lessons within the 50th Summer School of Slavonic Studies, which started today.
The event to last until August 12 is organised by the Department of Czech for Foreigners of the Faculty of Arts of Masaryk University in Brno.
Foreigners attend the courses for various reasons, Eva Rusinova, director of the Slavonic Studies School, said.
She said students of the language and literature at foreign universities arrive mainly because of Czech literature which is “well known abroad, particularly Karel Capek, Milan Kundera or Bohumil Hrabal.”
Another reason is Czech music. Japanese students love Antonin Dvorak and Leos Janacek, Rusinova said.
A big group are Czech compatriots who have lived abroad for several generations and want their children to know the language of the country in which they have their roots, she said.
Other participants in the summer school are people who work in the country, including lawyers, translators and EU interpreters, Rusinova said.
A bigger part of students attend the summer school once only, but 15 percent arrive repeatedly.
The students are divided into ten courses depending on the level of their knowledge of Czech.
The courses also include excursions to interesting nature destinations, the UNESCO-listed Villa Tugendhat and the town of Telc, and also the Dalesice brewery and a wine cellar in Boretice, all Moravia.
The students can be granted a scholarship from the Culture Ministry or the Department of Czech for Foreigners of Masaryk University.
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