Study Abroad Programs in Dushanbe, Tajikistan

The American Council ERLP program that I participated in was an excellent program. The program offered me one on one instruction from Persian teachers. This personalized instruction allowed me to maintain my own pace of learning and allowed me to advance better than I had previously. The program personnel in both Tajikistan and Washington D.C. were top of the line and extremely helpful with any problems that arose. When I was forced to return to the United States due to the Covid-19 pandemic the program personnel worked with me to establish an online learning schedule so that I could finish my semester. The host family that I had were very generous and kind and provided me with everything I needed. The only drawback I found in the program was that I did not get a strong immersion into the language due to the fact that most people in the nation spoke Russian. Overall the American Council ERLP program was a well put together and successful program that I would definitely recommend to others.

I studied Uzbek with ERLP in Fall 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the program took place virtually. I was on the part-time track, which meant that I studied the language for 6 hours per week. Each week, 2 additional hours were dedicated to conversation lessons and virtual cultural activities. The classes are very individualized -- I was the only student in my class. This one-on-one instruction greatly improved my Uzbek in just a short time period. I came in with zero knowledge of the language and placed at the intermediate-mid level by the end of the program. I would highly recommend this program to anyone interested in learning Central Asian languages such as Uzbek and Tajiki.