France Study Abroad Past Review
By A student (French Language and Literature., Brigham Young University) - abroad from 04/24/2012 to 06/09/2012 with
Brigham Young University: Paris - Paris Study Abroad
A better appreciation of the Culture and History
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
While the host family I stayed with was nice, they indicated we were the last group they were planning on having and I thus often felt as if I were more of an inconvenience. |
| * Food: |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Very little existed as options to assist in becoming integrated with the local culture, aside from individual initiative to find, plan and execute activities. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
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| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
The program provided enough money for food and transportation, anything else needed to come out of the money I had saved prior to the program. |
| * Was housing included in your program cost? | Yes |
| * Was food included in your program cost? | Yes |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $20 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Don't eat near the tourist sites, even if they're convenient. Walk out a few blocks from the beaten path and find a less traveled place to eat. If possible find a supermarket where you can buy items to make your own meals. You'll end up paying about half as much for food. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
At the beginning the only encouragement occurred in the classroom and on all other group activities/trips everyone stopped speaking the language. By the end, however, the trend had improved with some encouragement from the professors. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Intermediate |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | FREN 453R |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | If you're an outgoing person try speaking to the people you encounter everyday, at the store, in line waiting to get somewhere, etc. If you're more shy around strangers then find a few people in the program, get to know them and spend your time in conversation with them practicing the language. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? | 0 |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | I wish that I had spent more time getting to know my "roommate" before the program began. If I had, I might have had more opportunities to practice the language and would have done more activities. |
