Singapore : Izzy Hartel (Our Global Classroom)
Our Global Classroom
While studying abroad in Singapore, I have challenged myself to learn one of the country’s four national languages, Chinese. I feared that I would get lost in a sea of students in a lecture hall not unlike the ones at UW-Madison; however, it quickly became apparent that the National University of Singapore greatly values intimate classroom settings that encourage discussion and group practice. In my Chinese 1 class, there were no more than twenty students in my class period, but my professor announced that this number was higher than usual and encouraged students to switch to “smaller” classes to enhance their learning. To know that my twenty-person class was considered abnormally large, was a significant shock to me, but I would not change it for anything. Having a smaller class size helped form bonds among my classmates and I, which led to a more comfortable learning environment where we all encouraged each other to gain experience speaking in front of the class. I am truly going to miss the smaller class setting and the connections I was able to form with fellow students and faculty alike.
Additionally, I was able to take my learning beyond the walls of a traditional classroom. While studying in Singapore, I was able to appease my travel bug and explore neighboring countries such as Malaysia and Vietnam while also meeting individuals of vastly different backgrounds. Both the proximal countries of Malaysia and Vietnam host cultural landmarks celebrating Chinese practices and heritage, where I was able to apply my Chinese 1 lessons. Similarly, we had to prepare a video presentation demonstrating what we have learned by interviewing and maintaining conversation with a resident of China. This was particularly valuable as I was able to practice my conversational Chinese and meet new people at the same time.
Izzy Hartel
Major: Neurobiology
Hometown: Mukwonago, Wisconsin