Student Ambassadors

Abdul Aziz

Hometown: Australia
Program: 8-week Immersion
Level: 2
Current: Public Service Employee

Why did you choose to study at the Middlebury Language Schools?

I head heard many amazing things about the school and considered it as a school where I would be able to improve my Arabic language skills and meet students from other parts of the world. 

What surprised you about your experience at the Middlebury Language Schools?

I knew it was an intensive program with a language pledge, but I didn’t know the language pledge would be taken very seriously and that the students would get used to follow it so quickly. Also, all of our teachers and more senior students were so nice and they were all encouraging us to try to speak despite us making so many silly mistakes in the beginning. I was also quite surprised by the amount of homework and extracurricular activities. There were many cultural events planned for evenings and the weekends. 

Please describe how your language skills improved due to your studies at Middlebury.  How are you currently using or planning to use the language you studied in your daily life (job, personal, etc.)?

My main goal by enrolling to the summer immersion program was to improve my speaking and listening skills. This program helped me break the ice and converse more. In the beginning I was probably only able to say a few sentences about myself and the weather but left the program with the ability to carry on conversations about a variety of topics. While I still have a long way to master Arabic, I am certainly feeling more confident now that I can do that. 

Describe a typical day at Middlebury.

My day would start with morning prayers and then doing my homework and preparing for the class. Before breakfast, I was walking around the campus for a few minutes to enjoy the wonderful weather and the view in Bennington. After breakfast, i would prepare to the first three hours of training in MSA. The classes were fast paced and the teachers were simply wonderful. My classmates were a bunch of really nice people, mostly a lot younger than me, and very kind and caring. We were a good group as everyone was really committed to learning the language. There was a bit of positive competition going on which was really motivating all of us. 

After lunch, I was attending an hour of Shami class and then we had clubs such as cooking, theatre, Quran recitation, Tajweed, and arts and calligraphy. 

Evenings were quite busy with a lot of students staying in the library/cafeteria and also the teachers would have 2.5 hours of office hours which were quite popular amongst the students. 

With all of the above activities, we were still enjoying a variety of sports such as volleyball and soccer, and also many of us got really interested in watching the stars and get some amazing photos of sunset in Bennington. 

What is one of your favorite memories from your summer at the Arabic School?

During the first few days of the program, many of us were struggling to keep the language pledge and we had to stick to the familiar topic such as weather and complaining about the high volume of homework. My favorite sentences during that time were, ‘I am tired’, ‘The humidity is quite high’ and, ‘There was a bat in our building and I couldn’t sleep much’. 

What advice would you give someone wanting to attend the Arabic School? 

Come prepared for a summer of fun and learning. The program is set up in a way that you would learn the language in an environment which is friendly and you will not be intimidated by anyone or anything, and you will soon realise that everybody is helping each other through this amazing journey. Stick to the language pledge and don’t be shy. Speak the language, do your homework, participate in the classroom activities, and attend the office hours with your instructor as much as needed. You will be surprised by how much you learn during the 8 weeks. 

What are you up to now? 

I love languages. I am trying to improve my Arabic and maintain the other languages that I have been blessed to learn. 

Leila Barghouty

Hometown: Brooklyn, New York
Program: 8-week Immersion
Level: 2
Current: Freelance journalist and researcher at Stanford University

What surprised you about your experience at the Middlebury Language Schools?

I was most surprised at how the instruction was beneficial to work, study, and language skills even outside of the specific program I was in. I didn’t expect the skills and strategies we learned to be so universally applicable, but I left Middlebury not only a better Arabic speaker, but a better language learner.

Why did you choose to study at the Middlebury Language Schools?

I chose Middlebury because of its reputation for intensity and immersion, and because of the programs specific dedication to making rigorous language learning accessible to more people. 

Please describe how your language skills improved due to your studies at Middlebury.  How are you currently using or planning to use the language you studied in your daily life (job, personal, etc.)?

Having come from an Arabic-speaking family, my knowledge of the language was limited to a specific dialect and an impractical vocabulary that limited my ability to communicate with those outside my own community. Middlebury’s rigorous instruction in Modern Standard Arabic brought me to a place where I am comfortable conversing with Arabic-speakers from across the Middle East, and where I can understand more media and news coverage. It’s allowed me to be a better and more effective journalist, and to interject when my parents think I can’t understand their conversations. 

Is there something that you would like to let a student know about your experience? 

I think it’s important to remember that Middlebury’s program is, first and foremost, academic. It requires a great deal of scholarship, discipline and conventional study. It won’t feel the same as being dropped into a foreign country with nothing but Google translate. That’s a good thing — embrace the teaching style knowing that it’s during the co-curricular programs and your personal relationships that you’ll get the chance to play around with slang, dialect, and the art of speaking. This is a balance you won’t find in other programs, and is essential to learning and retaining a language. 

Describe a typical day at Middlebury.

My days at Middlebury started with idyllic morning walks through campus and the surrounding landscape, a stark contrast from my usual chaotic NYC commute. My teachers recommended listening to the news in Arabic, which became an essential morning ritual. It was extremely rewarding to see how quickly I went from understanding a small portion of the fast-spoken morning news, to being able to decipher almost all of it. Class ran from around 9 a.m. to early afternoon, and was a daily source of both exhaustion and joy. My favorite part of every day was our conversation sessions — a reprieve from hours of intense study and a chance to put what we had learned to action. Some of my best memories from the program are evening meals with faculty, whose willingness to endure the drudgery of our painfully simple conversations with joy and enthusiasm was nothing short of saintly. 

What other language learning opportunities have you had?  How would you compare this experience to Middlebury?

Though I had family lessons and informal instruction in Levantine Arabic prior to the program, none were as rigorous, fast-paced, or effective as Middlebury’s. The combination of pace and instruction style is what truly sets the program apart. Middlebury gives students the opportunity to make language learning a full-time job, a truly once-in-a-lifetime privilege.  

Haley Hawkins

Hometown: Charleston, SC
Program: 8-week immersion  
Level: 2
Current: Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS)

Why did you choose to study at our Arabic School?

I chose Middlebury because I knew that I had a long way to go in the language, and I wanted the ability to focus solely on Arabic without any distractions. Arabic is a difficult language— especially at the beginning— and full immersion truly is the best way to go about it.  I also had never been to the Northeast and always dreamed of spending a summer in Vermont. 

What surprised you about your experience at the Arabic School?

I was surprised by how challenging it was, especially in the beginning. I’m not a stranger to difficult coursework, as I had just obtained my Bachelors degree a month before attending the program. However, when I suddenly lost my ability to communicate clearly with the people around me, I was forced to jump headfirst into the language, and it was hard at first. It only took a couple weeks for me to settle in and get used to communicating in Arabic. Now, going back to English-based instruction of Arabic, I miss the constant practice and daily experiences in Arabic. 

Please describe how your language skills improved due to your studies at Middlebury.

When I arrived at Middlebury, I was quickly humbled by how little I had scraped the surface of understanding the language. I noticed significant improvement in just the first couple weeks, and by the end of the program, I was confidently speaking on a variety of topics using past, present, and future tense. I was also able to read much faster and my listening comprehension skills had grown exponentially. All of that gave me a new confidence that reshaped how I felt about the language and how I used it. This has emboldened me to seek out more opportunities to speak Arabic, as I am no longer afraid of making mistakes or being too elementary to carry a conversation. 

Describe your typical day at the Arabic School.

I would grab breakfast before class at 9, and we had three hours of instruction with a couple of short breaks. We’d grab lunch from the dining hall before heading back for dialect class, culture workshop, or club hour. After dinner there were often events like Arabic Nights, theatre performances, art workshops, or dance recitals. In between events, there was plenty of homework and studying to be done to prepare for the next class. I frequently visited my professors office hours, which were held 5 nights a week. On weekends, friends and I would go into town to explore antique stores, to the nearby lake for a swim, or drive out to Albany. 

What advice would you give someone wanting to attend the Arabic School?

Prepare for your ego to take a hit— only to gain confidence and skill every day that you learn. As challenging as it is to throw yourself into a new environment in another language, there is no other experience so exciting and rewarding. No, it’s not easy— but nothing in life that’s worth it is ever easy. 

What’s next for you?

After completing Middlebury, I drove straight from Vermont down to Washington, DC, where I started graduate school at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). I am focusing on the Middle East and North Africa, and, of course, continuing to take Arabic classes. 

Nandini Jani

Hometown: Fair Lawn, New Jersey
Program: 8-week Immersion
Current: Seton Hall University, Diplomacy and International Relations

What surprised you about your experience at the Middlebury Language Schools?

Middlebury Language Schools’ most impressive feature is the value the administration places on every individual. Middlebury did a fantastic job of meeting the needs, concerns, and requests of all students when it came to supporting their individual learning styles.

Why did you choose to study at the Middlebury Language Schools?

I chose to study at Middlebury Language Schools because their intensive immersion program is known to increase language retention and brings together a community of scholars looking to understand the world through language.

Please describe how your language skills improved due to your studies at Middlebury.

My language skills improved due to my studies at Middlebury because I was exposed to films, extra-curricular activities, and other language students who supplemented classroom learning. The immersive opportunities provided by the college exposed me to different forms of Arabic language and culture that I was previously unfamiliar with.

Lina Tragni

Hometown: Pleasanton, California
Program: 8-week Immersion
Level: 1
Current: LSU PhD Student in Media and Public Affairs

Why did you choose to study at the Middlebury Language Schools?

Middlebury’s reputation speaks for itself. Being a domestic program with a global reach made the program the best option for me to study a fourth language. A bonus was getting to spend the summer in Vermont, a place I’ve never been, with like-minded people eager to study and learn together. 

What surprised you about your experience at the Middlebury Language Schools?

What surprised me most about Middlebury was its fast-paced nature. Going into the program, I expected to be challenged, but I could have never imagined how challenging it would be. They taught us the whole Arabic alphabet in four days!!

Please describe how your language skills improved due to your studies at Middlebury.  How are you currently using or planning to use the language you studied in your daily life (job, personal, etc.)?

Starting the Arabic Immersion program, I had absolutely no language skills. I didn’t even know how to say hello!! By the end of the program, I was engaging in meaningful conversations with other students and faculty members in Arabic. I applied to the program to grow as a person and prepare myself for travels in the MENA region. I am excited to travel abroad now and engage in conversations with locals. 

What is one of your favorite memories from your summer at the Arabic School?

One of my favorite memories from Arabic School was the hours I spent in the kitchen during cooking club. Collaborating and learning while chopping onions or baking pita bread demonstrated how learning a language is nothing without learning the culture that is intertwined within it. 

What advice would you give someone wanting to attend the Arabic School? 

My biggest piece of advice would be to keep an open mind. You may be placed in a level that you feel is below your current level,but embrace the opportunity to prove yourself. This program is not for the faint of heart - it is challenging, exhausting, and packed to the brim with learning. In the end, though, you’ll be fond of the time you spent there.

Yujing Zhang

Hometown: Guangzhou, China
Program: 8-week Immersion
Level: 3
Current: New York University, Global Liberal Studies & French

What surprised you about your experience at the Middlebury Language Schools?

Joining the Middlebury Arabic program was like entering into a fascinating universe, where every living and nonliving being around me — friends, professors, food, and even the smell of air — took on Arabic characteristics. I met people from all walks of life, and we bonded because of our shared passion for learning and perfecting our Arabic. I will forever cherish the relationships I have cultivated at Middlebury.

Why did you choose to study at the Middlebury Language Schools?

I am pursuing a minor in Middle Eastern & Islamic Studies at NYU, and I had always heard that Middlebury offers the best language programs in the world. One of my previous Arabic professors taught at the Middlebury Immersion program, and she strongly recommended it to me. Thus I decided to give it a try!

Please describe how your language skills improved due to your studies at Middlebury.  How are you currently using or planning to use the language you studied in your daily life (job, personal, etc.)?

I joined the Middlebury program after finishing Intermediate Arabic at my university. At the beginning of the summer, I had a hard time understanding the weekly lecture series where prominent academicians presented. Then I gradually picked up more words and began to understand more as time progressed, and eventually I understood almost the entire lecture during the last event. 

Although currently still an undergraduate student, I am taking a graduate-level course with Masters and PhD students. I would not have been able to reach this level so quickly without the intensive training at Middlebury.

Describe a typical day at Middlebury.

I would wake up in the morning, study for a bit, grab a quick breakfast then go to class. During lunch I would sit with my classmates and professors, and discuss class topics and life outside of Middlebury. In the afternoon I have my Jordanian/Palestinian dialect class, where we learn how to carry out small talks, visit the doctor, purchase a meal, and sing songs in colloquial Arabic. After class, I would work on homework with my classmates in the library. In the evening I would go to office hours to ask questions, or participate in the Arabic lecture, or enjoy one of the movie screenings. Then I would go to sleep, and dream in Arabic!