M.A.N.G.A.: Michigan's Accelerated NihonGo for Americans

# M.A.N.G.A.: Michigan's Accelerated NihonGo for Americans M.A.N.G.A. is the Japanese language and culture track run by Michigan State University's Gifted and Talented Education office in partnership with MSU's Office of University Outreach and Engagement. It is a genuine multi-year course rather than a camp: students in grades 6-9 attend one class per week at an MSU program location and compress four years of high school Japanese content into three years of study. Semesters 1-4 cover a year of high school Japanese each, and semesters 5-6 correspond to an AP Japanese course. ## What You'll Do - Attend one 2.5-hour class per week at your assigned MSU program location during the academic year - Work through six semesters of accelerated Japanese language and culture instruction - Complete substantial homework - MSU states the acceleration requires an average of 2-3 hours per day of homework and classwork - Attend optional lab sessions for extra practice - Finish prepared for the AP Japanese Language and Culture exam or the JLPT ## Who Should Apply MSU lists "Application Grades 6-9" for M.A.N.G.A. It is designed for academically able middle schoolers who want a real high-school-and-beyond language sequence years earlier than their school offers one, and who can sustain the daily workload. Need-based scholarships are available. ## Outcomes Students can enter high school already several years into Japanese, positioned for AP Japanese or JLPT certification well before graduation. The program also gives middle schoolers a sustained affiliation with a Big Ten university's outreach programming and a cohort of similarly accelerated peers across Michigan.