{"id":201,"date":"2016-07-02T18:25:45","date_gmt":"2016-07-02T18:25:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/schoolsabroadhandbooks.middcreate.net\/jordan\/?page_id=201"},"modified":"2026-01-30T22:36:52","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T22:36:52","slug":"the-language-pledge","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/schoolsabroadhandbooks.middcreate.net\/jordan\/195-2\/the-language-pledge\/","title":{"rendered":"The Language Pledge"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Among the many things that Middlebury College expects during study abroad is for students to develop a degree of independence and to take responsibility for themselves.&nbsp; Here is a copy of the pledge you signed when you enrolled in the program:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>To take fullest advantage of my time abroad, I will maintain the spirit of the Middlebury Language Pledge to speak only the language that I am studying. I understand that no English is to be used in the School\u2019s offices, except in emergency consultations with the Director and his or her staff. I recognize that the Language Pledge plays a major role in the success of the academic, social, and personal dimensions of my time abroad, both as a symbol of commitment and as an essential part of the language learning process, as proven by the successes of the summer Language Schools. I understand that speaking the target language with other students on the program as well as with locals will help me focus my energies on the acquisition of the language and internalize the patterns of communication and the cultural perspectives associated with the language.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Violation of the Language Pledge deprives me and my fellow students of a valuable opportunity. By signing this, I agree to abide by the Middlebury College Language Pledge.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Remember that you are making a pledge to yourself AND to your fellow students. What \u201cthe spirit\u201d of Middlebury Language Pledge\u2122 looks like in your daily lives will be discussed upon arrival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Calls to family and friends overseas are permitted, but students should realize that frequent contact with anyone back home removes them from the experience they signed up for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Visits of family members from abroad can give students opportunities to serve as a tour guide, and allow them to highlight their knowledge of Jordanian culture and language. Students should let the staff know about such visits. English is, of course, allowed with visiting guests, but may not be spoken with family when within earshot of anyone related to the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There will be regular meetings of students and program administrators in which the Language Pledge\u2122 may be suspended.&nbsp; Speaking English at this time, of course, is not a violation of the Pledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You should always reach out to the program administration if you have any concerns about the Pledge! We encourage all students to follow the Language Pledge to help create a positive learning environment for everyone. Students will be asked to come up with their own policy for Language Pledge violations during Orientation. In cases of severe and consistent violations, the staff may take necessary steps to enforce the Pledge, including written warnings and termination from the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Getting Ready for the Pledge<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The School in Jordan aims to create conditions in which you can successfully maintain the pledge at all times. At the end of the day, though, it is you, the student, who will have taken the pledge and will need to find ways and means to follow through with it. To stay motivated, be determined.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You might find keeping the pledge difficult in the beginning. As you begin to lose your inhibitions, you will become less afraid of making mistakes, grammatical or otherwise.\u00a0 When you lose this fear, you open yourself up to authentic conversation practice, in which you learn as you go.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Be prepared for challenges. You will not always be able to communicate as eloquently in Arabic as you do in your first language. Instead, you can look forward to becoming a more attentive listener and discovering new personality traits.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>When you sign the Language Pledge\u2122, you make a pledge to each other and to yourself. In signing the pledge, you take on responsibility for your own success as well as the success of your peers in the program.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Among the many things that Middlebury College expects during study abroad is for students to develop a degree of independence and to take responsibility for themselves.&nbsp; Here is a copy of the pledge you signed when you enrolled in the program: To take fullest advantage of my time abroad, I will maintain the spirit of the Middlebury Language Pledge to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":196,"parent":195,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-fullwidth.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-201","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/schoolsabroadhandbooks.middcreate.net\/jordan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/schoolsabroadhandbooks.middcreate.net\/jordan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/schoolsabroadhandbooks.middcreate.net\/jordan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schoolsabroadhandbooks.middcreate.net\/jordan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schoolsabroadhandbooks.middcreate.net\/jordan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=201"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/schoolsabroadhandbooks.middcreate.net\/jordan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/201\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":587,"href":"https:\/\/schoolsabroadhandbooks.middcreate.net\/jordan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/201\/revisions\/587"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schoolsabroadhandbooks.middcreate.net\/jordan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/195"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schoolsabroadhandbooks.middcreate.net\/jordan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/schoolsabroadhandbooks.middcreate.net\/jordan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}