Program Reviews

Studying abroad in Prague was the best decision I have ever made! Originally, I wanted to study abroad in Paris because I am a French major, but changed my mind last minute because I wanted to go somewhere more unique. The culture in Prague is so different, it is hard for me to articulate even now. CET pushed me to do things I never would have on my own. For example, traveling for ten days on the traveling seminar with a large group of people who I had only recently met was one of the most fun and memorable things I have ever done, even though it sounded intimidating at first. I made friends with people I never would have had I gone through a bigger study abroad program, and am still in touch with them now. The love and support I felt from the staff and teachers was also a huge bonus, and not something that students who went elsewhere experienced. CET Prague was the best semester of my life!

The academic rigor of this intensive language program was very high, and there was a lot of interesting and useful content covered in each of our four classes that was supplemented by nightly homework that solidified what we learned each day. All of the teachers were very helpful and approachable whenever I had any questions. And the weekends punctuated each busy week with fun, planned excursions around Harbin, and independently-planned excursions surrounding the region were also encouraged by the staff. All in all, I learned a lot about China and its language this summer.

CET Prague was an outstanding program! Living just outside the center of town enabled us to get to know many different areas of Prague and have a neighborhood that truly felt like home. The public transportation is incredibly easy to use and CET provides you with a pass for the semester, allowing easy access to all of the things the city has to offer. Paddle boating down the Charles, picnicking in Jiriho z Podebrad, and traveling to Poland, Austria, and Budapest on the Traveling Seminar are some of my finest memories from the semester. I would encourage everyone to do CET Prague who loves to learn by experiencing the place where there are living.

My two months that I spent in China changed my life. After studying Mandarin Chinese for around five years in high school and college total, I decided that I wanted to actually study abroad in China and put my Chinese language skills to the test in an environment where there is little to no English. Although there was no language pledge in this specific program, I did my best to speak Chinese with those around me. I was enrolled in a Chinese language class, an elective course pertaining to Chinese history, an internship course, and an actual internship.

All of the CET staff truly cared about the students, especially the director of the program, Zuo Cui. She is an amazing woman who I hope to see again in the future. Whenever I had any issue at all, I would go to her and she would help me to resolve it. My Chinese language teacher was fantastic as well. Although she did not speak much English, I was able to understanding much of what she was saying in Chinese and practice my Chinese as well. Class sizes were small, actually ranging from 1-9 students depending on what level Chinese you have placed in. This is great because it allowed for much active participation and direct teacher and student communication.

Apart from classes, most of us participated in excursions on weekends. CET did an excellent job organizing the trips and I learned so much from each trip. One trip we took was a weekend trip to Qingdao, the beer and seafood capital of China. I absolutely loved the atmosphere in Qingdao. In addition, some of us also went to Shanghai the following weekend without any faculty or staff. It was amazing to see different Chinese cities and notice the difference as you go from city to city. I learned so much from travel within China.

My internship was great. Although I, along with a couple other students, did not have an internship placement until about two to three weeks into the program due to scheduling conflicts and lack of communication between some of us and the internship class teacher, this did not rain on all of our parades. I met some amazing people at my internship and I was able to work in a traditional Chinese courtyard home which is an experience that I will never forget.

The housing at Capital Normal University was absolutely awesome. Every two days, housing workers would come in and take out our trash for us and mop the floors. Every week, they would come and replace our bed sheets. You also get paired with a Chinese roommate. I loved my Chinese roommate so much. He was able to teach me so much Chinese and help me out with my Chinese homework whenever I had questions. CET really does an amazing job when pairing you up with your roommates. There were no problems between anyone in our group and the Chinese roommates. Overall, I wholeheartedly recommend this program to anyone who has any interest in Chinese and China.

The program is structured very well. Class work is intense and the language pledge is exhausting. But everyone's Chinese improved significantly. The dorms are VERY nice (almost like hotels) and the staff are all very devoted to the students. The only complaints would be that work was thrown at us at random occasions unexpectedly. Teachers would expect us to complete work in a short amount of time which did not seem fair, and said work was not on the syllabus. Otherwise, the weekend trips were great fun and the director of the program didn't baby us, but at the same time gave us enough support and help about anything and everything.

All in all, I enjoyed my time in Taiwan. The CET staff on the ground, Andrew and Chunling were extremely welcoming and took care of all their students' needs by providing snacks throughout the week and opening up their office for students to come in and chat.

The price is indeed steep and could have been lower if CET didn't provide for cultural immersion experiences, an opening and closing banquet, and a trip to Hualien. In the end, it is a cost for the small perks that we received.

As for the education, CET partners with ICLP-- one of the world's premier Chinese language learning institutions. Normal ICLP students take 4 hours of class but because of the nature of CET's program, CET students take 3 hours of intensive class. One is one-on-one and the other two are small classroom sized (up to 4 students). The classes are flipped-style, meaning that students must prepare their lessons before class and then during class, they are expected to recite them and use the grammar structures that they just learned to converse with their classmates and teachers.

Even though, the program takes place in Taiwan. You are by no means forced to learn traditional Chinese-- ICLP still offers its courses in simplified. But you might absorb some traditional because of the environment.

This added on top of an internship as well as an internship course (which was a bit unnecessary in my opinion) caused me to be overwhelmed at times, especially in the beginning but I gradually caught onto the rhythm of things and learned to manage my time. Let alone making friends with other Taiwanese locales, I did not have the time or energy to make friends with ICLP students. I mainly hung out with my Borderless housemates, who were welcoming and friendly. My experience with Borderless seemed like an exception--as some students were placed very far from NTU or their internships and did not talk with their roommates. Next semester, I believe housing will be different.

CET Taiwan is, however, a one-of-a-kind experience. You won't have a similar opportunity to hold an internship in Taiwan while learning Chinese at the same time.

That said, Taiwan is a beautiful country! Go visit!

My summer in Jordan was absolutely incredible. Yes, it was one of the hardest things I have ever done, but it was SO worth it. Jordan was nothing that I expected. It was beautiful, chaotic, fun, difficult, and intense. Obviously this is not a study abroad to Europe while taking a course in English so you do not get to party or travel to other countries 24/7. This is an intensive immersion program and you come out speaking Arabic better than you would have ever dreamed of. I literally feel like I barely knew Arabic before coming on this trip (after having taken it for 2 YEARS!). After my courses I felt like a new Arabic speaker. I really believe that if I had lived in Jordan for a whole year or the summer plus a semester, I would be fluent. You will also get to see and experience some amazing things/places and meet so many amazing people. If you are able, do it. Do not let the new country, the language, or the unknown scare you. DO IT!

Jordan is a beautiful country with extremely hospitable people. During my time there, I was able to see events and places ranging from a family birthday party, Petra, Wadi Rum, the Dead Sea, and the Roman Ampitheatre. To be able to understand the cultural and historical context made understanding the language easier. My favorite memory is staying the night in Wadi Rum but really not sleeping at all because everyone is looking at the stars. It's a surreal experience because you are totally disconnected from the outside world - no phones, no light pollution. CET Jordan impacted my life in such a way that I returned to the States with a new understanding and appreciation for the things we have in America and also for the way other cultures function and operate. To totally immerse yourself in another person's culture is, in my opinion, the sign of respect. One of the hardest things during my time in Jordan was the language pledge. It is incredibly difficult at times and truly, truly pushes you out of your comfort zone. However, because I upheld the language pledge, my Arabic language skills have improved tremendously. CET pushes students out of their comfort zones while simultaneously providing them with an extremely wonderful support system for when things get tough. Every single CET professor is kind and encouraging but also driven to ensure that students learn something new every day. The teaching assistants in the classroom are there for extra support, to help explain something again or go over a worksheet with someone individually if needed. Their goal, just as much as the students, is for the students to learn. Students are paired with a language partner that you meet with weekly, and through them you get to see firsthand what it is like to live in Jordan. In addition to a language partner, students also have a Jordanian roommate. Through them, you are able to speak within your home with a native speaker and get a glimpse of what it is like to live with someone from a different culture. Not only is CET extremely academically driven, it is extremely culturaly driven as well.

If you choose to undertake this program, prepare to have your life changed forever. My two months of language study in Kunming shattered my preconceived notions about Chinese life and culture, and gave me an opportunity to truly assimilate into local life (as much as a foreigner could, at least!). By the end of the program, I was actually reluctant to return home! The language instruction is indeed rigorous, but all means doable, and within a few weeks of arrival, speaking Chinese became more natural than speaking English for me. I found the campus of Yunnan University and the surrounding area to be an incredibly warm and welcoming environment for international travelers and students. To top it off, the rich ethnic diversity, history, culture, and comfortable climate of Kunming, in my opinion, made it the ideal city in China to study. I will forever consider Yunnan in general, and Kunming in particular, to be a second home to me thanks to this experience.

Don't get me wrong, I love America, but CET may have forced me to give China a first-place rank. I started my time in China with the CET Spring Beijing Intensive Term and then I opted to continue into CET Summer Beijing Intensive. CET is incredible because firstly, my Chinese level catapulted from absolutely 0 speaking ability to being able to whole full-blown and fluid conversations with locals. In addition, I will be taking an Advanced Modern Chinese course when I start at university this fall. Secondly, through my 6 glorious months based in Beijing, I was able not only to explore a world-famous city, but also to branch out into China: Xi'an, Tianjin, Shanghai, to name a few. CET and its language pledge (which I would not change for the world) gave me the foundation of language skill confidence to be able to reach far beyond my comfort zone and venture into other Chinese cities. I am so grateful to CET for gifting me with advanced Chinese language skill and a plethora of new cultural experiences. I often question why I came home...