Testimonial by Reilly Barry

Studying Persian for 3 weeks with Aspirantum in Yerevan was the best academic decision I have ever made. But more than that, I met an incredible community of people deeply interested in learning Armenian, Persian, and Russian. I think learning in this environment with such dedicated scholars as professors along with a group of students coming from all over the world made it the most dynamic learning experience. I found the teaching to be the most student-focused style of instruction I have encountered as well; the professors really are invested in what works best for you, the ways in which you learn best, and what you want to focus on. 

While getting extremely tailored instruction to your individual needs, so much material is covered in just 3 weeks to where, as someone starting Persian from the beginning level and getting familiar with the alphabet, I genuinely feel like I got an extremely solid grasp on the basics of Persian grammar, reading, writing and speaking. And it helps that the professors are not just able to teach the language, but have such a wide breadth of knowledge on a multitude of topics, history, etymology and other languages, so the class is always intellectually stimulating on many levels. 

I don’t think there is a better place to study Persian than Yerevan, Armenia. The trips that Aspirantum organizes are worthwhile, and you get to delve into Armenian culture and history. Yerevan is an incredible place with so much history and a very welcoming populace, you could never run out of things to do here. 

I have been a part of many study abroad language programs, and this has been by far the best I have gotten the pleasure of participating in. I feel I learned the most in Aspirantum’s course because it was so uniquely tailored to the needs of the students, and connected diverse cultures and history into the language instruction, as well as being located in a multicultural, multilingual, and welcoming environment.