Program Reviews

There are a lot of reasons that my semester with CET in Taipei was an awesome experience. CET does a really good job of encouraging you to immerse as much as possible in the local community (like the language partner program, local roommates cultural reimbursements, travel reimbursements, organized programs, etc) while also providing a lot of support and planning for you (housing, orientation, metro pass, programs, etc). While being in a language study program does mean you spend a lot of your time in class with other study abroad students and not locals, having local roommates and built in language partner program was a really unique chance to make connections and friendships with local students, and definitely helps to balance out the bubble of only hanging out with other Americans that can be an easy routine to fall into. In terms of location, Taipei is such a great city to live in and there are endless things to do for whatever you love; amazing hiking and nature, BIKING!!, history and museums, night life and night markets, sports culture, etc, all easily reachable by the safe and accessible public transit systems. The food I ate during my semester abroad is by far the best food I've ever eaten, and also the cheapest.
The academic culture of this program and Taiwan in general should definitely be considered before coming. There is a heavy focus on academics and you will be spending a lot of time in class and studying outside of class. While it is an adjustment to make, I think it is overall a good opportunity to learn how to prioritize time management, because you will have to put in effort to make time for all of the things you want to do/explore.
Looking back, my favorite things about Taipei became the routines I created for myself. The riverside bike path that runs all around the city is extremely lively all afternoon and night, and realizing that going on nighttime runs was something that was safe to do in Taiwan was a game changer for me: this little routine became one of my favorite things to do after my busy days of class and interning, and is one of the places I'll miss the most. Finding a nearby food alley in the neighborhood my apartment was in also became a part of the daily routine, and becoming friendly with the owners of my go-to breakfast street cart or braised pork restaurant really contributed to the sense of home in the corner of Taipei that I lived in.
Traveling all over Taiwan was undoubtably a huge highlight of this semester as well. The HSR and train systems make going virtually anywhere in Taiwan really easy as well as affordable. My favorite part of traveling in Taiwan is that Taiwan is not a major international tourist hub, and so traveling within the country was a really cool way to get a sense of the different local indigenous and regional culture. One of my favorite trips was over Mid-Autumn Festival, when my roommates and myself visited family of one of my roommates in Chang-hua (a small rural city). We were able to stay with her Taiwanese cousins and celebrate moon festival and barbecue with them.
These are just a few of my biggest takeaways from my semester abroad. I am so grateful for the three months I got to spend in Taipei, and know that it is a place I want to be a part of my life in the future.

Classes: I took Mandarin classes at National Taiwan University's CLD during the weekdays. The courses are pretty difficult, we went through units quickly and were tested very regularly, but the professors are understanding and are happy to work with students. The test taken to determine your level before the program begins is pretty holistic, and I felt comfortable at the level I was placed in.

Housing: Most housing was around 30 minutes away from NTU's campus. Some were further, which meant other students had a long commute. My apartment was in a very nice neighborhood and was a clean environment. Cleaners came bi-weekly to clean the apartment, but daily chores were done by myself and my roommates. We created a schedule to clean and take out trash and kept our living areas clean. If anything in the apartment broke or went wrong, such as AC units or getting locked out, CET was always on call to help us out.

Programming: CET admin planned a lot of events that were very engaging and well attended by students. We visited museums, attended theatre shows, did local tours, and even went to a Guardians baseball game. Sometimes, events seemed a little disorganized, but they were always fun to attend.

Internships: The summer program gives you the option to intern as well as take CLD classes. We had weekly meetings with the CET admin to check in about our roles and expectations at our different placement sites, and they were helpful. My internship was amazing, and I got really close with the other interns and my supervisor.

CET Jordan is not your normal study-abroad experience. Most would think of Instagram pictures next to the Eiffel Tower and eating Pasta in Italy when first imagining a typical American semester abroad; however, CET Jordan wipes that slate clean and flips it over on its head. Instead of capturing the sites of the country as a portal to access the culture, it gives you direct access to Jordan's culture through its language and its people.

Before even arriving at CET Jordan, the program's application will repeatedly ask you your intentions for going and challenging moments through which you persevered because it is not easy nor for the faint-of-hearted. Despite seeming intimidating at first, the entry form serves a purpose: ensuring the goals of the student coincide with CET's goal of teaching and building fluency in Arabic. With the goal to help you thrive and immerse yourself in the culture, the program has a language pledge to only speak Arabic, which painful and frustrating at first, will become the most enabling feature of your experience.

I remember the first days of feeling utterly paralyzed at even the most basic level of interaction with my classmates, yet within two weeks I found myself able to talk to a taxi driver about my family and about his. Near the end of my 4 months, I could even explain to my language partner and now friend about the importance of staying true to yourself. Of course, talking about these gains makes it easy to skip over the plentiful hours of self-doubt, frustration, and headaches, but that's why you have to remember your original goal of going in the first place. Whether it is learning Arabic, or using the language for some secondary means like connecting with family, the people who hold on to their intentions for going will be the most successful(I stole some of that from my teacher).

Connecting with Jordanian culture is another goal of the program. CET Jordan tries to offer a lot of Avenues for connecting with Jordanian society. It makes interviews and recording each conversation a core part of the class, especially in the first several weeks, meaning you need to talk to people to keep your grade. On top of that, you always have the availability of your Jordanian Neighbors who provide you the comfort of being at home as well as the patience needed for learning a language.

CET Jordan does really well with these two goals, reaching both linguistic and cultural fluency, as someone that really appreciates exploring and facing a country on my own, I felt tied down to the Program when I knew I could see more. Its intensive nature means it's difficult to travel on weekends because there are always assignments due. Also, without any choice in your housing, you are at the mercy of CET Jordan's location, located in a suburb 30 minutes away from downtown, making the CET program the center of your life in Jordan rather than the bustling streets of downtown Amman.

All in all, I'm grateful I went through the challenges of CET as I now speak Arabic and understand Arabic culture better than I ever thought I would.

CET Jordan exceeded my expectations in every aspect-- it offers a (very) supportive staff, rigorous academics, beautiful housing, and so many opportunities to explore Amman and the rest of the country. I came to CET Jordan with very little Arabic knowledge and no opportunities to take Arabic courses at my home university. CET's academic resources ensured that I left Jordan confident in my speaking abilities and gave me the resources I needed to continue self-studying Arabic at home. I can't say enough kind things about the teachers and staff at CET Jordan. If you're looking for rapid language acquisition, a supportive academic environment, and endless once-in-a-lifetime experiences, CET Jordan is the right program for you.

The CET Jordan experience was beyond my expectations; between the high-quality academics and beautiful city, the CET Jordan program was indubitably the best immersive experience for any student looking to learn Arabic. I studied in Jordan in the Fall of 2022 and loved it so much that I just returned from a trip to Amman to visit my language partner, former professors, and the city, which will always have a special place in my heart.

CET offers high-quality academics through a comfortable and high-level classroom experience. The professors are competent, patient, and always willing to help, providing a safe learning environment and personalizing the material to adhere best to student's needs. Through daily office hours, the professors get to know the students and create a study program that allows them to target their strengths and weaknesses and reach their personal goals for the semester. The language pledge - to only speak Arabic - encourages the students to stick to the intensive language program through the struggle and discovery of learning a new language inside and outside the classroom. The language partners and local neighbors allowed me to advance my language, discover the city, and further explore my personality in a new country. I am still in contact with the local neighbors and my language partner, who is now one of my closest friends.

CET provides cultural immersive experiences to travel around Jordan and get to know different aspects of the culture. The program offers a beautiful community between students, professors, and management. I cannot stress enough that everyone in the program is genuinely interested in the personal growth of each student, both academically and individually. Everyone, including management, always has their door open, ready to help, whether to practice Arabic, provide assistance with any situation, or just sit, chat, and have a good laugh.

My Phillips Summer abroad in Taiwan program was excellent. The program was cultural immersion so I had no Chinese prior to attending, and survival Chinese gave me just enough to make my way through Taiwan. The program allows for travel across Taiwan to places like Hualien and Toroko, up to Jiufen. The building we studied in at NTU was fantastic along with our professor Ken. Our program leader Greta was fantastic along with our culture buddies. Within our program housing was hit or miss with one group getting far superior living conditions. The program could be improved by spreading out more of the activities beyond the first week and allowing for more interaction between other CET programs in the country, but really the program was fantastic.

I participated in the CET Beijing program, which took place in Beijing and lasted for a duration of 2 months. The primary reason I selected this program was due to its emphasis on language immersion through a language pledge. The program's language pledge required participants to communicate exclusively in Chinese during their stay, which I saw as a fantastic opportunity to enhance my language skills.

One of the most compelling aspects of the CET Beijing program was the chance to interact with local students. This interaction not only allowed for language practice but also provided insights into the local culture and way of life that I wouldn't have gained through a traditional classroom setting.

Beijing presented a unique backdrop for my studies. As a student with certificates in Chinese and a strong interest in climate solutions, I found the combination of linguistic and cultural immersion, along with the potential to explore climate-related initiatives in China, to be an ideal fit for my academic and personal pursuits.

My experience with the CET Beijing program broadened my horizons, deepened my language proficiency, and enriched my understanding of Chinese culture.

Studying Abroad in Taiwan was a life-changing Experience. This was my first time studying Abroad, and I was unfamiliar with the application process. However, whenever I had any concerts, I could email or schedule a Zoom meeting with the CET Taiwan student services coordinator to clarify any questions.
I studied abroad with CET Taiwan in Fall 2022 and Spring 2023. During my time abroad in Taiwan, I improved my Chinese language skills and learned about Taiwanese history and culture. When abroad, making close friendships with the locals can be difficult. However, the CET language partner program and cultural activities facilitated my communication with Taiwanese and immersion into Taiwanese culture. While abroad, I joined as many CET cultural activities as possible so as not to miss my chance to create a new Taiwanese friend or learn something new about Taiwan. Although CET Taiwan does not have a language pledge, this did not stop me from wanting to use as much Chinese as possible. CET Taiwan staff encourage the language students to attend the club fair and join school clubs and organizations. I learned about the club fair with the CET Taiwan Newsletter and reminders on the group chat. I joined the girls' soccer club in the Fall semester, and it was an excellent time to meet new students and relax. Overall, I loved my time abroad in Taiwan, even though learning Chinese was not easy, and at times, homework was quite a lot. This experience pushed me to work hard and develop the techniques to communicate in Chinese. I always felt motivated to keep learning Chinese when I would meet with my Taiwanese friends, and they tell me 你的中文進步了！ My test grades were not what I hoped. However, my friends and I could see personal improvement. 大家加油！

My CET study abroad was my first time leaving the United States. While I was excited to travel for the first time and put my language skills to work, I was also really nervous about experiencing a new culture and being in such an unfamiliar environment. My mind raced with anxious thoughts like, 'Will I make friends?' and "I'm not sure if I will enjoy it there'. However, once I began taking more Japanese language classes and started to break out of my shell, I met so many unique, wonderful people, and made memories that I truly will never forget. My study abroad helped me develop the confidence in my Japanese to interact with locals in Osaka, learn more about Japanese culture, and go to so many iconic places throughout the Kansai Region! I'm truly grateful for the experience and everything that it has taught me.

My experience at CET Jordan’s summer intensive program exceeded my expectations. I studied with CET through their semester abroad program in the fall of 2022, so I had reasonable expectations for what returning to Jordan would look like for me. Still, I was beyond pleased with how the program helped me learn Arabic through the intensive classroom experience, field-based excursions throughout the country, personalized time with professors, and the driven cohort of students. Similarly, the program required us to sign a language pledge—to only speak in Arabic for the summer—which encouraged me to commit to the intensive language study beyond the classroom and enabled me to immerse myself in the local community and culture and connect more deeply with the language. I am thankful that the program patiently and graciously welcomed us into a new language and culture and supported us as we made mistakes and learned from them.

As for particular experiences that aided my language acquisition and cultural immersion, I benefitted from meeting with my assigned language partner (and now friend) weekly to do activities in Amman and eat traditional Jordanian dishes with her family. Similarly, I bonded with my Jordanian neighbors (from CET) who lived in the same apartment building over tea and games. CET’s structure supports a strong community among professors, neighbors, and the cohort itself. Also, it gives students the tools to foster individuality and personal development through language skills and connections with local establishments such as pottery, Turkish baths, and other fun activities!

I was also very impressed by the quality of instruction; the office hours requirement elucidates the strong commitment of the professors to the students, as we would meet with our professors every day for 30 minutes outside of class for personalized one-on-one instruction. The academic community of CET is genuinely committed to each student’s development and love for the language. I would recommend this program ten times over to anyone dedicated to learning Arabic or wanting to participate in this cultural exchange. My friends loved it too!