"Looking Back on my Experience in Jordan" by Cullen Allard

Unfortunately, my semester abroad ended earlier than expected, because of the pandemic. There were many things I wish I had done and I hope to return one day. My friends and I like the idea of returning for a reunion in the future. Whether or not that happens remains to be seen, but it is nice to feel like I met people who I genuinely care about and could see myself returning with. Overall the experience was great for my Arabic. At any given moment I had the ability to practice my Arabic with people. It took some bravery at first but quickly became easy for me to try and converse with people. Our teachers were all extremely patient and kind to us. They spoke a lot of Arabic in my 201 class (which equates roughly to the beginning of Al-Kitaab part 2) but they made sure to always check with us and respond to our individual needs. This type of immersion and care has greatly improved my comprehension skills. I highly recommend that students take the Jordanian Arabic class, because it will help you the most when it comes to listening comprehension outside the classroom. I still believe Fusha is important and it really would be unwise to take just the Jordanian Arabic class, because there is a lot that is still transferable from Fusha to Jordanian Arabic. I witnessed the difficulties that students had when they refused to take Modern Standard Arabic in addition to the Jordanian Arabic class. Besides you will get more time with your fantastic teachers! They’re all so kind and my one regret is that my classmates and I didn’t spend more time with them outside of class. I would’ve loved to get coffee and khanefah with them another time. Hopefully in the future we will return and be able to do this with them.