2014 Spring Middlebury Schools Abroad Evaluation

Transcription

1 2014 Spring Middlebury Schools Abroad Evaluation Home Institution Middlebury 6 3 Other Institution 4 2 If other than Middlebury, please indicate your home institution: 88 Wellesley College 9 Wellesley College 2 Major INTERNATIONAL AND GLOBAL STUDIES 19 International & Global Studies (East Asian studies/political Science) 37 Japanese Studies 88 French and Japanese double major 9 Japanese Language and Culture, Linguistics Level: Undergraduate 10 Graduate At which university did you primarily conduct your studies? I did not take any university courses abroad AFRICA Université Catholique d'afrique Centrale CHINA Capital Normal University Yunnan University Zhejiang University of Technology FRANCE Universite Bordeaux 3 Montaigne Sciences Po Bordeaux Université de Poitiers Université de Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne Université de Paris 3 Sorbonne Nouvelle Université de Paris 7 Diderot Institut Catholique Ecole Normale de Musique Ecole Supérieure d'architecture Sciences Po Paris GERMANY Freie Universitat

2 Johannes Gutenberg Universitat ITALY Accademia di Belle Arti Universita degli Studi di Ferrara Universita degli Studi di Firenze Universita degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza" JAPAN International Christian University 10 LATIN AMERICA ARGENTINA Universidad Argentina de la Empresa Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciencias Sociales Universidad de Buenos Aires, Filosofia y Letras Universidad Torcuato de Tella Universidad Nacional de Cordoba BRAZIL Pontificia Universidade Catolica de Minas Gerais Universidade Federal Fluminense Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina CHILE Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso Universidad Adolfo Inbañez Universidad Austral de Chile Universidad de Chile Universidad de Concepcion Universidad de la Frontera Universidad de la Serena Universidad de Playa Ancha Universidad de Valparaiso URUGUAY Universidad Catolica de Uruguay Universidad de la Republica Universidad ORT THE MIDDLE EAST ISRAEL Ben Gurion University JORDAN University of Jordan RUSSIA Higher School of Economics Irkutsk State University The Russian State University for the Humanities Shukin Theater Institute

3 Yaroslavl Pedagogical University SPAIN Universidad de Cordoba Universidad Carlos III de Madrid Universidad de la Rioja What was the period of your study abroad? 2013 Fall Semester 2014 Spring Semester Academic Year Spring then Fall Semester Would you be interested in volunteering your time to help with pre departure orientations and/or other study abroad meetings or promotional activities on campus? Yes 6 3 No 4 2 EVALUATION OF ACADEMICS Did your coursework abroad integrate effectively with your academic goals? Yes 8 4 No Not applicable 2 1 Did you study abroad to fulfill major and/or minor requirements? Yes 10 No Were you able to take classes to fulfill major and/or minor requirements? Yes 10 No Were you able to take classes in areas of other academic interest (unrelated to your major/minor)? Yes 6 3 No 4 2

4 Please comment on your overall academic experience (course level, quality, assessment, etc.). IN TERMS OF TAKING COURSES, THE POLICY DID NOT ALLOW MUCH FLEXIBILITY. WE WERE LIMITED TO TAKING COURSES TAUGHT IN THE LANGUAGE OF FOCUS AND THOSE COURSES DID NOT FIT IN TO OUR MAJOR REQUIREMENTS EXCEPT FOR THE LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY. 19 I thought the language classes were great. I felt my language skills improved thanks to these classes. The major related classes were good and I learned a bit too. But they were a bit too easy sometimes. I would say it's because academic expectations are different at this host university. Nevertheless, it was a good experience to have this perspective compared to the Middlebury academic environment. 37 The overall academic quality of the school with the exception of one course with an adjunct professor was fine, though dealing with the fairly low academic motivation of the other students at the host university was somewhat challenging. 88 Courses abroad are always very different than courses at home. At ICU, I found the courses to be intense, well organized and worthwhile (especially Japanese language courses, which is mostly what I took.) So long as you put in the work, you will get a lot out of your course. 9 The course level was appropriate, quality meeting expectation, and assessment was fair. EVALUATION OF LANGUAGE ACQUISITION On a scale of 1 6 with 1 being the lowest and 6 being the highest, please rate how much you believe you have improved in the following areas: Listening 8 (4) 2 Reading Speaking Writing Please comment on the progress you made in your target language. What do you think were the major contributing factors to this progress? GENERALLY, I WAS ABLE TO GET USED TO UNDERSTANDING THE LANGUAGE AND TO SPEAKING IT IN A BETTER WAY. HOWEVER, THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT (THE HOST UNIVERSITY) WAS NOT SO HELPFUL IN TERMS OF IMPROVING OUR LANGUAGE SKILLS. THE HOST UNIVERSITY IS AN INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY ALSO KNOWN FOR ITS ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROGRAM AND A GREAT NUMBER OF THE STUDENTS ATTENDING THAT SCHOOL HAVE AN INTERNATIONAL BACKGROUND AND A KEEN INTEREST IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE. THEREFORE, AS A STUDY ABROAD ATTENDEES, WE HAD MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO SPEAK IN ENGLISH RATHER THAN IN JAPANESE BECAUSE OUR INTERACTIONS WITH THE REGULAR STUDENTS WAS BASED ON THIE FACT THAT WE WERE CONSIDERED NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS. AS A RESULT, OUR EXPOSURE TO THE JAPANESE LANGUAGE AND TO THE JAPANESE CULTURE WAS NOT AS SATISFACTORY AS MY EXPECTATIONS. 19 Some of the major contributing factors were the Middlebury classes and field trips. Also, being in Japan in general helped me immerse in the language and improve a lot. I would improving my speaking skills was the hardest because host university has a lot of English speakers (or Japanese students who are very aggressive in wanting to speak English), so I often had to get off campus if I wanted to find opportunities to practice Japanese. 37 Oral communication was, of course, enhanced by everyday interaction (in dorms, classes, and my workplace) conducted in the target language, and by interpretation classes that I took. Written communication / reading ability was enhanced primarily through my experience in the workplace translating documents and synthesizing target language material into nativelanguage text. 88 Lots and lots of time spent in class, using the Japanese language. The internship in the spring also helped somewhat, as well as the accompanying Japanese research paper. 9 Being exposed to all aspects of the language consistently helped majorly improve my ability to function in the language. EVALUATION OF CULTURAL INTEGRATION

5 What was your housing situation during your study abroad? Homestay Dormitory/Student Residence/Foyer 10 Apartment Other (please describe) 0 Do you feel that your housing situation helped you integrate into the host culture, and/or provided you a context for gaining insight into the host culture? Not at all Somewhat unhelpful Neither helpful nor unhelpful Somewhat helpful Very helpful 8 (4) 2 Please check any extracurricular activities in which you participated (check all that apply): Internship 10 Sport (club, team, etc.) Music (band, choir, ensemble, etc.) 2 1 Conversation partner 4 2 Independent project Housing with host country nationals Extracurricular class (dance, cooking, etc.) 4 2 Volunteer work 6 3 None Other Please describe the extra curricular activities or internship in which you participated, and make any additional comments about these activities that you think would be helpful to Middlebury staff or future students. I PARTICIPATED IN A DANCE GROUP THAT HAS ROUGHLY MEMBERS AND MY EXPERIENCE WAS EXTRAORDINARY! TAKING PART IN THIS GROUP WAS MY MAIN SOURCE OF FRIENDS. IN ADDITION, I HAVE LEARNED A LOT ABOUT TEAM WORK AND HOW JAPANESE GROUPS (SAKURU) CAN BE STRICTLY BASED ON FULL COMMITMENT AND CARING FOR TEAM MATES! 19 I think extra cirricular activities or internships can help a student immerse in the culture better. But it depends on the group of people in those activities or internships. I left some extracirricular activities because some of them just wanted foreign students only for English practice instead of actually wanting to be friends. Luckily I found some groups where people were actually interested in being friends instead of using me as English practice. 37 Internship: I spent a fair amount of time (winter term: 1 day/week, spring term: 3 days/week, summer: full time) working at a Japanese literary agency, where I was responsible for various projects related to the international promotion of the agency's clients. Responsibilities included translation of works and summaries, creation of English language summaries from Japanese source texts, and the typesetting of translated comics and novels. Culb activities ("Music"): I entered a nagauta club, and learned to play the shamisen and, to some extent, sing tradtional Japanese narrative epics/ballads. This was, overall, an excellent experience in that it a) allowed me to develop language skills that I would otherwise have no occasion to exercise (outside of research into classical literature), and b) allowed me to interact with students from both my host university and partner schools. 88 I did a very little of each. Spring semester I did an hundred hour internship. In the fall, I participated briefly in the organic farming club on campus. During the winter, I volunteered at a day care center for the elderly. ICU also has a language exchange program that I participated in for a brief period of time. 9 I had an internship/did volunteer work at a local elementary school teaching Japanese students English and at a local book cafe where I integrated with the community by speaking the language and reading small books in English to children.

6 On a scale of 1 6, with 1 being the lowest and 6 being the highest, please rate how much you believe your understanding of the culture(s) of your host country has improved (2) 4 (2) 2 EVALUATION OF SCHOOLS ABROAD ON CAMPUS STAFF AND STAFF ABROAD Please indicate your level of agreement or disagreement with the following statements: Middlebury's Schools Abroad staff in Vermont provided me with adequate information prior to my departure. Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly Agree 2 8 (4) Once abroad, the staff at the Middlebury School Abroad I attended provided me with an appropriate orientation. Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly Agree 6 4 (2) Would you recommend this program to future participants? Yes 10 No Why or why not? 37 For one, it's the only program we have in Japan, so, for students who want to learn Japanese, this is the choice. Overall, though, the host school is fair, the setting is nice, and the level of academic stimulation, though not quite up to Middlebury standards, isn't too low. 88 Because it's a very good program that offers you a great many of opportunities to integrate into the host culture. (It's really up to you to take advantage of it though.) 9 It was a great experience for not only academic but personal growth within a different culture and language. 3

7 What advice would you give to future participants about the program? I THINK STUDENTS SHOULD MAKE THEIR OWN EFFORT TO GO OUT AND MEET PEOPLE OR CREATE THEIR OWN METHODS OF LEARNING ABOUT THE CULTURE. THE HOST UNIVERSITY DOES NOT REALLY PROVIDE ANY OPPORTUNITIES TO LEARN ABOUT JAPANESE CULTURE AS THE SCHOOL ITSELF HAS SOMEWHAT INTERNATIONAL BACKGROUND. THEREFORE, STUDENTS HAVE TO BE WISE ABOUT HOW THEY SPEND THEIR STUDY ABROAD AT THAT SPECIFIC SCHOOL AND HOW THEY SHOULD STRENGTHEN THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LOCALS IN ORDER TO LEARN ABOUT THE CULTURE BEYOND THE SCHOOL CAMPUS. IN ADDITION, JOINING CLUBS AND MEETING WITH STUDENTS THAT GO TO OTHER SCHOOLS MIGHT ALSO BE A BETTER WAY TO GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE CULTURE IN GENERAL. FURTHERMORE, GO OUT! GO OUT! GO OUT AND GET LOST! GETTING LOST WILL INTRODUCE YOU TO STRANGERS! YOU COULD LEARN MORE GREAT THINGS FROM ONE STRANGER THAN YOU COULD LEARN FROM MORE OF YOUR FRIENDS! 19 I would recommend this program to future participants mainly because it is one opportunity to go to Japan and immerse in the culture. I would say however that future participants should get off campus as much as possible. One of my biggest frustrations about the host university (ICU) is that it is a very English heavy campus, and most Japanese students just use us foreign students only as English practice and are not genuinely interested in being friends. Other than that, I liked being in Tokyo because it gave me an opportunity to get to know Japan beyond classes and textbooks. 37 Be very insistent with those around you that you will only be speaking Japanese, because if you don't, it's easy to not speak ANY Japanese, as all students at ICU are required to take English courses. On a separate note, join a club, preferably one that involves a high degree of targetlanguage use (i.e., not a sports club, or an English conversation club, or an "international exchange" club, etc.). The club I joined was very much in line with my linguistic and cultural acquisition goals, so something like that might be a good choice; other good alternatives might be a reading group, or a political debate club, or some sort of activist group (environmental, political, etc.). 88 Take advantage of your opportunities! Don't be complacent and only hang out with other international students. Despite anyone's bed intentions, this happens very, very easily. 9 Give yourself time to adjust to the new culture. Do not expect to automatically thrive in a new country overnight. Even if you have been abroad before, it takes time to acclimate to a new academic culture. Are there additional and/or explanatory comments you would like to make? 37 Not particularly. 88 ICU has vegetarian friendly options in their dining hall. 9 No. 3 Statistics based on 3 respondents;