Middlebury Language Schools

"BUYER BEWARE and run very, very far from the Abenaki Language school especially. They like to run their program under the auspices of being "Indigenous" or "Abenaki" and break many Language school rules. The language school itself dismisses any legitimate concerns by calling them "miscommunication issues" I CANNOT recommend this program to ANYONE and IF you DO decide to attend, PLEASE be careful about sharing personal information because it WILL be used against you and the staff/teachers will gossip about you under the guise of staff meetings and "helping" the student and I go so far as to stand by their being abusive and manipulative. Based on others' experiences, as well as my own, If they decide they do not like you, or you are a threat to them in any way, they WILL and DO find a way to gaslight you, ostracize you or kick you out and believe me, it IS THEIR fault, NOT yours! CANNOT recommend."

"They offer minimal help w/ low-income students when applying for aid. If you change school they will take your aid away and go by the "later" date of change instead of your initial date of application even though you still need aid!"

"I had one AMAZING teacher, Esther Carmel Hakim, really one of my favorite teachers I have ever had. I learned things I will keep with me for the rest of my life. However I also had a class with, Rina Kreitman who bullied me. I couldn't believe that I had somehow made it though 34 years of learning with severe dyslexia with the support of my mothers help and protection without being made fun of or bullied and then found myself being bullied at Middlebury college as a grown adult. I just listened to a hidden brain episode and was reminded how horrible the experience was. Rina berated me in front of the entire class for not understanding certain parts of a story I was presenting, to the point where my classmates after class came up to me to make sure I was OK. She picked me out and made fun of my clothes and ganged up on me with other students. She accused me of cheating on tests she was administering for Esther, after I had asked for special permission to me able to use my notes. I ended up leaving the school early. I was not there for a grade, simply to learn as I married an Israeli and have two step children who only speak Hebrew. I found the emphasis on grades from the other students disconnected with the love of learning. I simply hope she is not given more teaching opportunities."

"Our daughter did the program in Beijing. It was a great experience for a high school student, but the main weakness was there was no emphasis on teaching tones. As a consequence they had a lot of trouble making themselves understood in restaurants. My understanding is that the Vermont school is quite different, the Beijing program is not directly run by the school."