So, I’ve seen Dartmouth touting that it has the most comprehensive study abroad programs. I was wondering if it also has really well-established language programs (specifically Middle Eastern) to go along with them. I never see any discussions about NELC with Dartmouth thrown in. Alumni/current IR students’ input would be appreciated
@Surfbort Dartmouth is offering a LSA+ in Arabic that is held in Rabat, Morocco, an exchange programme with Hebrew University in Jerusalem that is Hebrew/English and a FS held in Fez, Morocco that is English based. Of the three currently offered it sounds as if the LSA+ is what you would most be interested in.
Well, I read about all of that. I guess the info I was driving towards was if current students/alumni feel more prepared or proficient compared to students from other schools on study abroad trips.
I doubt that they can make that comparison.
When my S did the FSA in Paris, they had some contact with other students through Reid Hall, I believe, but their classes were taught by the D professor who accompanied them and two French academics. I don’t think they had classes with non-D students. All classes were taught in French, and they had to sign a pledge to speak only French while there. The accommodations were with French families, so they weren’t living in foreign student dorms, either.
To address @Consolation post, it really depends on the program. I did an LSA and while we didn’t take classes with non-Dartmouth students, we were at a local university, so we did interact with local students. Furthermore, we were encouraged to only speak the local language (or our grade would suffer). In my experience, host parents are normally hosting other students (outside of Dartmouth) too, so that is a way to meet other people. In my case, a local student was subletting a room in the house I was staying at because it was closer to the university than her normal home. So that is another way you could meet people. The Guarini Institute (everyone just calls it the off-campus programs office though) handles all of the study abroad program logistics.
One of my close friends participated in the Arabic FSP and he enjoyed it, although it was a huge cultural shock for him at first. He stayed over in the Middle East for an extra term working as a translator through the state department. He had never taken arabic before coming to Dartmouth, so that should speak to the caliber of the language programs here.