As one of the only federally funded intensive Arabic programs in the United States, the Arabic Language Flagship Program at UM allows academically dedicated students to develop their language proficiency and cultural knowledge with immersive study abroad programs throughout students’ undergraduate experience.
Each summer, UM’s Arabic Flagship Program grants rising sophomore students the opportunity to study at the Modern Arabic Language International Center. Located just outside of the University of Jordan in Amman, the MALIC is a private language center that specializes in educating non-native Arabic speakers.
Lily Schauwecker and Jana Abuirshaid, originating from Starkville and Southaven, Miss respectively, are part of this year’s seven-member cohort of Arabic Flagship students studying in Amman.
Abuirshaid, a sophomore biochemistry and Arabic major at UM, appreciated her family’s culture and language while visiting family members living near Amman.
“Arabic has always been a major part of my life. In order to gain a better understanding of the language my ancestors spoke, I wanted to learn more about it,” Abuirshaid said. “I did not know much Arabic growing up in America, so I thought this would be a good way to learn it.”
Schauwecker, a sophomore Arabic and International Studies major at UM, revealed that one of her favorite parts of studying in Jordan this summer is applying her Arabic knowledge she has culminated over the past year in a real-world setting.
The Mississippi natives and their cohort began studying Arabic last June through the flagship’s pre-freshman program in which students complete a full year of Arabic coursework in only two months. Less than a year later, their hard work and dedication in the study of the Arabic language and culture culminated in the adventure of a lifetime.
From navigating the transportation systems around the city to speaking to the institution’s faculty exclusively in Jordanian dialect, Schauwecker and Abuirshaid described the combination of intensive classroom instruction and real world experience practicing Arabic on a daily basis as an engaging and transformative learning process unlike any other.
“Taking the dialect class has helped me learn so many practical skills because every test we take is a speaking test, so it’s just much more applicable,” Schauwecker said. “Also, getting around in Jordan and talking to people and all of our teachers allows us to have more natural conversations.”
While students spend their week taking private classes together at MALIC in Modern Standard Arabic, Media Arabic and Jordanian dialect, students spend the weekends applying their linguistic skills around the city of Amman and some of Jordan’s famous landmarks, including the Dead Sea and Petra.
“My favorite experience so far has been the Dead Sea trip,” Abuirshaid said. “It was a lot of fun especially when my friends and I would float in the Dead Sea and put mud on ourselves. We also watched a live singer and a belly dancer on that trip.”
The Arabic Flagship Program provides students with a $3,000 scholarship for its study abroad programs, and donors and university alumni provide additional financial support.. Both Abuirshaid and Schauwecker shared that the costs of their trip this summer were limited to personal and travel expenses.
“Jordan is an amazing country. The people here are extremely friendly and always willing to help anyone at any time,” Abuirshaid said. “You could go to a stranger about anything and they will try and help you with anything.”
Although they are only halfway finished with their two-month trip abroad this summer, the UM students revealed that they have learned much from Jordanian culture.
“Society is a lot less independent in Jordan. They’re more reliant on each other. It’s more about the community rather than yourself, and I see that everywhere here,” Schauwecker said. “People are more appreciative of the small things and so inclined to connect with one another.”
Schauwecker shared that members of the cohort have not only sharpened their knowledge of the Arabic language and Jordanian culture but also have developed personally by learning from each other.
“The beauty of the Arabic Flagship program is that we all know each other really well. Everyone has different tips, tricks, talents and quirks,” Schauwecker said. “We knew each other before, but we’re closer now, and we’ll keep growing as a group as we spend more time together.”
