Language Study Abroad in either Korea or Japan any Spanish-Speaking Country
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Anonymous
| Does anyone have any first-hand experience with any programs for studying language abroad over the summer? There are so many options for college-aged kids (my kid is a freshman) and I'm trying to see if anyone who has personal experience can recommend their DC's program. Thanks. |
Anonymous
| So the languages you’re interested in are Korean, Japanese, or Spanish? |
Anonymous
| I would first look at Middlebury's summer language school options. Full immersion and rigorous - also stressful TBH - but one really learns the language well. |
Anonymous
Just an observation about some of these language immersion experiences. More specifically about the colleges that are basically teaching just the target language (and not necessarily teaching a college class such as history or literature in that language). I can't say it's the same for all languages or countries (and it's been a few years) but I know a few schools where it's mostly a lot of rich kids basically enjoying a full time spring break experience with little supervision overseas. That's not necessarily a bad thing and any overseas experience and exposure is a great thing. Plus high school and college kids will do high school and college things—it's to be expected. But just remember that the dollar stretches a little further in most countries, alcohol is more accessible, and some people abuse their liberties and interactions with the locals by playing the "I'm American" card. |
Anonymous
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You can check out:
https://www.aifsabroad.com/ If your child is already in college, they need to touch base with the Global Studies office or whatever it's called at their university to find out what programs they work with. |
Anonymous
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Every college has their own programs, OP, and arrangements with universities abroad. You’re going to need to research your kid’s college study abroad offerings, then come back and ask more specific questions about particular towns and universities in the target countries.
Unless there’s a major-specific aspect to the program, if it’s just for “culture” and “language”, then it’s going to be all fun and games. Your kid will essentially take a vacation and need to behave themselves in a foreign country. The highest caliber programs are ones in which language proficiency is a given, and the foreign university actually has reputation in the major your kid has chosen. The kids then further their education at that uni for a while, to get a different take on whatever it is. This is particularly popular for majors like political science and international affairs. |
Anonymous
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As shared, do your diligence on Japan language school programs.
Some are very much ‘home stay and hang out.’ Like a friend’s child who spent his summer speaking more Chinese (native) and hitting clubs with his classmates than anything else. Private tutors on iTalki can be reasonably priced. |
Anonymous
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Our niece from Oregon did this wonderful program for Spanish!
https://learnspanish123.com/learn-spanish-in-venezuela/ |
Anonymous
| Korean at George Mason, both at Fairfax and at GMU’s Korean campus in Songdu. https://mcl.gmu.edu/ |