Program: CIEE Summer Language & Culture in Alcala, Summer
Lucy’s Majors: Communication Sciences and Disorders, Spanish
How will your experience benefit you in the future? How might it affect your future career or studies?
I want to be a bilingual SLP and this experience has improved my Spanish abilities and confidence greatly. I feel I am way closer to achieving fluency and the skills necessary for being a Spanish provider in a medical care setting. Simply by speaking every day and practicing your target language, you gain the necessary confidence that you can speak and that you do know the language. This will be imperative to providing therapy/services to Spanish-speaking individuals in my future job.
Simply by speaking every day and practicing your target language, you gain the necessary confidence that you can speak and that you do know the language.
What is your advice for someone considering your program?
My advice is for all future students to live with a host family. This is an irreplaceable experience because you get to practice your language skills every day. Living with a host family improved my Spanish so much more than just coursework did. My biggest piece of advice is to get out of your comfort zone and live with a family. Not only can you practice your language skills, but also you get to experience authentic food and traditional customs/traditions/daily life you otherwise wouldn’t see living by yourself in a dorm.
What is a custom, food or tradition from your host country that you are taking forward?
I will be taking an abanico now everywhere I go! This is a Spanish hand fan, perfect for hot Wisconsin summers! You see almost every Spanish woman holding one in Spain, but I’ll be bringing this tradition back for sure.