One of my dream class to teach before I retire, hopefully, will be a class where I explore and share my experience with my students about studying abroad, while learning strategies to learn a foreign language. I would like to find a group of colleagues or students who will be willing to conduct an inventory, study the culture of the country for two weeks, and then travel to this country for 2 more weeks, and come back to the classroom to analyze what we all have learned. I believe this class could be called something like: Maximizing Learning Abroad. The 3 credits can then be applied to different fields like Humanities, Geography, History, Languages, etc. The experiences and knowledge, a person obtains while being abroad are countless. Among the most important are:
a. Immersing yourself in the culture and language
b. Have a better understanding and appreciation for the nation’s people and history
c. Sharpen your language skills
d. Get better career opportunities
e. Find new interests
f. Make livelong friends
g. Explore, discover and adapt
h. Sharpen problem solving techniques
This will be my dream class!