Force yourself to use the language if you're serious about learning it. Past Review
By A student (International Relations, The University of Texas at Austin) - abroad from 03/01/2015 to 06/13/2015 with
CIEE: Shanghai - Business, Language, and Culture
Although I gained internship experience while on the program, the experience in itself was not what I had expected it to be. I worked for a startup whose mission was very compelling to me, but because my boss was not very receptive of what I wanted to gain out of the internship, I was left doing busy work most of the time. I feel like I did not gain any new skills as a result of this. However, the language experience, although it had its shortcomings outside of class, was worthwhile in terms of the fact that I was in China. Being surrounded by the language and being forced to use it to get the basic skills the survival was a crucial experience. I believe my listening and speaking skills vastly improved from where they were when I first arrived in the country. However, I feel like I could have gotten a better experience by taking a more intensive course.
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 |
CIEE Shanghai staff were very receptive of any questions or problems students had. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
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| * Food: |
Most, if not all the menus located in dining halls are in Chinese--half of the restaurants do not have pictures, so it was intimidating to order food. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Even with being paired with Chinese roommates, there felt like there was an international bubble, where most Chinese was left in the classroom. There wasn't much encouragement to mingle with Chinese students (from China). I wish there was more opportunity for that. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
The overcrowding was an issue. In the subway stations, it was somewhat dangerous because there was a lot of pushing and shoving during rush hours (which seemed anytime between 12PM - 7PM). The streets were also always crowded with cars and mopeds that didn't take much regard to pedestrians. There seems to be very little traffic laws in China, so riding in a taxi also felt like a roller coaster ride in terms of safety. However, walking down the streets in Shanghai were safe besides that. I didn't worry about pickpockets. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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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) |
Food in China is very cheap. A student could get 3 meals a day for about $10-$15 USD. Compared to the normal US prices, where a single meal is about $10 on average, Chinese food prices were very manageable. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $30 |
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 |
I personally feel that I should have taken the intensive version of the course. Although we sign a language pledge, it was not enforced enough outside of Chinese class. Other classes that were taught in English did not encourage the use of Chinese at all. |
| 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? | 4th semester Chinese |
| 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? | Surround yourself by Chinese students to force yourself to have to use the language. Otherwise, the exceptions that you make while hanging out with all your international friends outside of class make your skills deteriorate. If you're serious about learning and using the language in the future, do an immersion program or take the intense/advanced classes instead. |
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? |
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? | The pollution and overcrowdedness in China is a problem. Everyone should have a general idea of it before arriving in the country, but the extent of it can only be realized once actually living there. Also, only food is cheaper compared to the US. Shopping wise, it's either the same price or more expensive. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Academic or LinguistYou went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you! |
