A fun, challenging experience to improve your Arabic! Past Review
By A student (Near and Middle Eastern Studies., Barnard College) - abroad from 01/17/2012 to 05/12/2012 with
CIEE: Amman - Arabic Language
It was very worthwhile. I greatly improved my language skills, and I learned a lot about the culture I was studying.
Personal Information
| If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: | University of Jordan |
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The academics were challenging because of the language immersion aspect of the program, but they were not impossible. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Administration was ok, but sometimes had to push to get things done in a timely way. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Housing was in homestays, which was mostly great, but somewhat restricting. It was really good for language acquisition however. |
| * Food: |
The food in Jordan is delicious. On outings/trips with the program, food was fantastic. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The program had a lot of ways to integrate us with the culture (language requirement, homestay, peer tutors), but ultimately a lot of time was spent with other American students. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Their health and medical care policies were very clearly laid out and explained. Luckily, I did not have to use them. |
| * Safety: |
As a woman I felt somewhat unsafe in Jordan, but the program was helpful in discussing strategies to deal with threats and offering me help, such as liaising with police when I thought someone was stalking me) |
| 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) |
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| * 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? | $40 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Alcohol is very expensive, so if choosing to drink, do so at happy hours. Eat at places regular, not rich, Jordanians eat at because they will be very cheap. |
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 |
It was a language immersion program and we had to sign a language commitment pledge. |
| 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? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | 3rd year Arabic, semester 1 |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | 10+ |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Talk to as many people in the foreign language as possible and look up dialect tips and practice those. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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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? |
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? | Be ready to cover your arms and legs the whole time in Jordan, and there maybe snow/rain storms, esp in February. |
