Telugu is a language spoken by close to 1,000,000,00 people in India of whom about 60% live in the peninsular India in the two states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. According to the 2012-2016 American Community Survey by US Census Bureau, data released from the last five years estimates that 3,021,695 people over the age of five speak Telugu at home in the United States of America. Telugus have a history of over 2500 years and literature for over 1300 years. Known as the ‘Italian of The East’, it has a vast variety of literature including prose, poetry, epics, mythology, classical literature, medieval literature and modern literature.

The student learning objectives of the Telugu Certificate and Diploma courses of the Aria University closely align with the Foreign Language Standards developed by the American Council of Foreign Languages  (ACTFL). The 5 language learning goals (Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons and Communities) as outlined by ACTFL are at the core of the program’s teaching philosophy. At each level of language acquisition and cultural proficiency training all 5 language-learning goals are integrated into the Telugu courses.