Past Review
By Victoria V (Math, The University of Texas at Austin) for
MICEFA: Paris - Study Abroad at University of Paris - Sorbonne
Very worthwhile, I feel I gained more overall confidence and now feel like I could succeed in any European country. It cemented my desires of pursuing a more international faceted job as well.
Personal Information
If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: | University of Paris IV - La Sorbonne |
How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Most of my classes were lecture based. The exception to this were my translation classes, which included more interaction as there is a wider range of "right" answers. The work load varied only slightly; the translation classes had an assignment for each class (one translation piece as well as vocabulary to be learned for the end of the semester) whereas the other classes demanded far less. In all the classes, there was just one or none mid-semester exams but all had a comprehensive final examination. In this respect I didn't find much of a difference with my home university where exams are also rather infrequent. But, the work load was noticeably less in France, at my host university, than at my home university where, due to the nature of my majors (mathematics and languages) there is an assignment due every week, if not every class. |
* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
MICEFA had good relations with all the host universities and were available for help. having been around for many years, they had experience in many areas and could offer advice or solutions for just about any issue. One negative was that the program largely kept separate its participants according to their geographical origins (New Yorkers knew only New Yorkers, Texans kept with Texans, etc). I understand that they aim to strike up French friendships among their participants but it would have been nice to create contacts with a few Americans as well, especially being from a state who sends less applicants than some others. Other than that, they had a good idea about each home university as well as all the host universities and knew how to smooth the transfer process and other such bureaucratic correspondences. |
* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The first month and a half I lived with a woman who rented out a room in her apartment. Due to some lifestyle differences I moved out and began living in apartments all over the city with a fellow Austinite. Personally, I lived in 10 of the 20 arrondisements and had a good experience in each one. <br /><br /> I arranged my first housing situation through MICEFA, then, once I moved out on my own, I used the internet to find my lodgings. I have lived in 10 of the 20 arrondissements in Paris and had a good experience in each. Each was safe, clean and close to one or another of Paris's famous landmarks. All apartments were furnished and I never had to buy any additional items to settle in. The first month with the host woman, I was treated with the utmost respect and kindness and only moved out to have a bit more freedom. |
* Food: |
Paris is a cosmopolitan city so one could find virtually anything. The one drawback was that in addition to the weakness of the American dollar to the Euro, food in paris was more expensive in general so you could pay a lot more for less quantity, especially if you shopped organic. If you would like to dine out, it's unlikely that you will end up in a bad place. A common option for students was to buy a sandwich from a boulangerie which is always affordable and filling. |
* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
There were a couple trips organized through MICEFA, a couple in which I participated. They were always fun and allowed us to sort of check back in with the others in the program whom we rarely saw and compare experiences. One memorable trip in particular was the trip to Versailles which was beautiful and fun because it was led not by the program leaders but by French students. |
* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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* Safety: |
Paris is not an un-safe city, but you have to be smart and take the usual precautions. As a girl, I do not recommend going out alone in the evenings nor returning alone if it can be helped, especially in some parts of the city. Overall though I don't recall being very frightened and hardly felt uncomfortable going out. I didn't have any experience with healthcare but from others who did know that the program helped if they could; they could always at least give advice. There were no prevalent health issues and I did not need any special vaccines. |
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
* 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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Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | No, I would simply recommend finding a part-time job in the host country or saving a lot before departure if you think you won't have enough. |
Language
* Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Advanced |
What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | FR 322e |
If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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Language acquisition improvement? |
I practiced in class when called upon, but this was not regular nor lengthy. The best practice was the Sorbonne-sponsored Italy trip I partook in which, aside from me and an existing friend from Austin, was comprised entirely of French students and teachers. They took an interest in us and had limited English skills so we got the most practice then. In addition to that, my closest friends from the program and I would take it upon ourselves to practice and would speak to each other in French. Also, my roommate and I would play as much French television as possible to be continuously exposed to the language. In social interactions, the degree of exposure varied greatly. Some people would hear the accent and immediately switch to English; you would have to consciously continue in French, sometimes they would switch back, sometimes you would have a bilingual conversation, each outside of their native tongue. Another thing that helped was living with a franciphone; the first month I lived with a woman who rented out a room in her place and in the evenings we would have conversations. |
Other Program Information
* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | An independent, curious and fun-seeking student. |
Individual Course Reviews
Course Name/Rating: |
The Literary History of Paris |
Course Department: | MICEFA |
Instructor: | Pierre Tomi |
Instruction Language: | French |
Comments: | The course was challenging in that there was a high amount of reading to keep up with, most of which was an excerpt from a classic French novel, therefore, at a high reading level. But, because the course coupled the literary with the history aspects of the country, it made use of the city of Paris by including three field trips to areas that were influential to the writers of the novels we studied. The teacher was a very knowledgeable man and regularly broadened the scope of our lesson, reaching into the present as well. Another aspect of our professor that everyone appreciated was that aside from his genuine interest in our scholarly progress, he cared enough about us to bring chocolates on exam days for the mental push. As for my participation, I probably participated as often in this class as I would have at my home institution. |
Credit Transfer Issues: | I have had no credit transfer issues to my knowledge. In any case, the more detailed the course description form is, the likelier a smoother transfer. |
Course Name/Rating: |
Bulgarian |
Course Department: | Slavic Language Department |
Instructor: | Jorjeta Tchalakova |
Instruction Language: | Bulgarian |
Comments: | The teacher was a native Bulgarian so she was definitely knowledgeable and well-prepared. She was genuinely interested in her students' progress and aimed to make the class not only educational but also interesting and interactive. It was not that challenging for me because I am of Bulgarian origin but I did learn a lot of new things. I participated a lot more at my host institution one because my section of the class was comprised of just me and one other student, leaving a lot of time for speaking, and two because this course is not offered at all at my home institution. |
Credit Transfer Issues: | I didn't request a particular corresponding class so I don't really have any expectations. |
Course Name/Rating: |
Sociolinguistics: The Jazz Lexicon |
Course Department: | English M4AN402A |
Instructor: | Jean Szlamowicz |
Instruction Language: | French |
Comments: | This course was one of my favorites. First, the teacher was bilingual so he had a foot in each linguistic realm. Secondly, he was extremely familiar with both aspects of this course because he not only studied the linguistics behind the matter comparatively, he was a jazz musician and knew the history and the jargon from a personal standpoint. He coupled the lessons with musical pieces, making them doubly interesting and applicable. Being the only American in the class, I was far more familiar with the jazz lexicon than the francophones so he often asked for my perspective of comments, this increasing my participation. I think had I taken this course at my home institution I would have participated slightly less because first it likely would have been a larger class and second it is less likely that I would have been the most knowledgeable on the subject. The class called for no field trips, instead of locales we were exposed to a different kind of movement through the music itself. It was less challenging for me than my francophone counterparts because none of the words we covered were new to me, just the additional meanings. Overall, I really enjoyed this course and would recommend it to others. |
Credit Transfer Issues: | No issues, it transferred as needed. |
Course Name/Rating: |
Version (Translation from English to French) |
Course Department: | English L4 ANV 204 |
Instructor: | Olive |
Instruction Language: | English and French |
Comments: | The teacher was bilingual and therefore knowledgeable and well-prepared. The pieces we covered were interesting and varied. There was a vocabulary aspect as well which I appreciated. One negative aspect of the course was that the teacher was less open to suggestion which narrowed the acceptable answers and made for a more formulaic approach to the task instead of a more personal and creative approach. As in the corresponding class (French into English) it, too, exposed me to more expressions. |
Credit Transfer Issues: | Not to my knowledge. |
Course Name/Rating: |
Advanced French Grammar |
Course Department: | MICEFA |
Instructor: | Ekaterina Nossenko |
Instruction Language: | French |
Comments: | I found this to be a very beneficial course because it dealt with some of the most important as well as most useful grammar points. All of the knowledge we acquired in this class could be immediately applied in our daily lives. The professor was really knowledgeable in this subject because she too had learned French as a foreign language and had learned every grammar point individually; she always knew the rule which accompanied her answer which will always be correct whereas a native speaker might rely on their intuition when unsure, which can sometimes cause error. This course called for no outside field trips, but the professor organized an outing to see a famous play which we all profited from. I feel like I participated as much as I would have at my home university. Overall, I was satisfied with this course. |
Credit Transfer Issues: | I had no real credit transfer issues with this course because I wasn't requesting anything other than general foreign credit, but I learned that in the future this course will no longer be accepted for anything but that, whereas in the past is was accepted for another, more specific course. |
Course Name/Rating: |
Theme (Translation from French to English) |
Course Department: | English L6 ANT 304 |
Instructor: | Anne-Marie Miller-Baise |
Instruction Language: | English and French |
Comments: | The professor was entirely bilingual (both languages were her native) therefore she made for a very valuable teacher. She was always prepared and varied the pieces we translated. She was also more open to suggestion than my other translation teacher who presented only his solution as acceptable. This class called for greater class participation. Also, as a native English speaker, the teacher appreciated my (and the other natives) ideas because they ensured modernity because the book could be outdated sometimes. Overall, I found it to be beneficial because it widened my vocabulary and I learned the French equivalent of many expressions. |
Credit Transfer Issues: | Not to my knowledge. |