CIEE believes that students learn most effectively abroad when they pursue specific learning goals, when they are able to reflect on their own learning, and when they can develop the skills to interact effectively and appropriately in a culture different from their own. We also understand that students are much more likely to learn in these ways when CIEE resident staff proactively support and encourage their learning. Visit the Seminar on Living and Learning web page to learn more.
Recent research results reinforce our own experience with students abroad: when left to their own
devices, too many do not learn as effectively as we believe they should.
To that end, CIEE has developed a pilot course, the Seminar on Living and Learning Abroad. This learner-
centered and interactive course provides ongoing orientation through intercultural theory, activities,
discussion, and analytic reflection and writing.
Topics include: values and culture; educational culture, stereotypes and generalizations; intercultural
communication; global and self-awareness; empathy; perspective-shifting; and articulating their newfound
knowledge and skills. Discussions center on how students are engaging with the local culture on a daily
basis. Written assignments offer opportunities to apply the concepts they have learned, and to analyze
their own responses to and interactions in the host culture.
CIEE provides extensive preparation to instructors of this course, most of whom are Resident Directors at
our Study Centers. Training includes courses on intercultural studies, workshops on learner-centered
pedagogy, and other opportunities for professional development. CIEE also provides an online curriculum,
on-site and telephone-based coaching, and a process for gathering and analyzing feedback.
CIEE anticipates that all Study Centers will be involved in the Seminar on Living and Learning pilot by the end of the
2010-2011 school year. The following CIEE Study Centers currently offer the Seminar on Living and Learning Abroad:
- Alicante, Spain: all programs except summer
- Amsterdam, Netherlands: Social Sciences
- Beijing, China: Chinese Language and Cultural Studies
- Berlin, Germany: Language and Culture
- Budapest, Hungary: Central European Studies
- Buenos Aires , Argentina: Liberal Arts
- Cape Town, South Africa: Arts and Sciences
- Dakar, Senegal: Liberal Arts
- Ferrara, Italy: Liberal Arts and Lang and Culture
- Gabarone, Botswana: Arts and Sciences
- Istanbul, Turkey: Language and Culture
- Lima, Peru: Language and Culture
- Legon, Ghana: Arts and Sciences
- Madrid, Spain: Liberal Arts
- Paris, France: Cultural Studies and Contemporary French Studies
- Perth, Australia: Arts and Sciences and Sustainability and the Environment
- Prague, Czech Republic: Central European Studies
- Paris, France: Contemporary French Studies
- Rennes, France: Liberal Arts
- Santiago, Chile: Liberal Arts
- Santiago, Dominican Republic: Liberal Arts
- Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic : Liberal Arts
- Seoul, Korea: Arts and Sciences
- Seville, Spain: Advanced Liberal Arts, Int’l Business and Culture, Language and Culture, Liberal Arts, Teaching Development
- Shanghai, China: China in Global Context and Business, Language, and Culture
- St. Petersburg, Russia: Russian Area Studies
- Stellenbosch, South Africa: Arts and Sciences
- Taipei, Taiwan: Intensive Chinese Language and Culture
- Valparaiso, Chile: Liberal Arts
Students who successfully complete the Seminar on Living and Learning Abroad receive the CIEE Certificate of Achievement in Intercultural Education.
For more information, please contact Mick Vande Berg at mvandeberg@ciee.org