Mayan Language Institute 2025: Week 1 - A day in the MLI with Ngoc Diep

The 2025 Mayan Language Institute (MLI) just started! Students will spend the next six weeks in Guatemala learning K'iche' or Kaqchikel in an immersive experience.

Ngoc Diep (Alice), a Vietnamese international student pursuing a dual degree in Linguistics and Philosophy, will be the Stone Center's summer correspondent. She’ll take us along as she learns Kaqchikel and shares her experiences in Guatemala throughout the program.

Watch the first video in the series, where Alice shows us a day in the life of a MLI student!

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The Mayan Language Institute is a 6-week program to train students in either Kaqchikel or K’iche’ Maya, two of the most widely-spoken Mayan languages in Iximulew (Guatemala) today. Thanks to collaboration between U.S. American faculty and Maya teachers, participants can study at the beginning, intermediate, or advanced levels of either language. The program’s highly individualized classes combine language immersion activities, lectures, one-on-one conversations, guest speakers and cultural excursions. The intensive nature of these classes, along with students’ daily immersion in Maya communities, enables them to enhance their language skills rapidly while interacting with the Indigenous Peoples who sustain them. 

You can learn more about our Summer in Latin America programs here.