University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)

Everybody speaks English, so if you go to the US, the language will be more or less familiar. In the first weeks I had difficulties understanding some American students (who actulally don't speak real English), but after a while I even started to think in English. The crucial thing for me was housing: If you live together with students from other countries (like in a dorm), your language skills will definitely improve much more!

not being afraid to talk in a different language, both in class and in social life, is the most important thing. instructors understand all kinds of accent. Local students are rather surprised about the courage and skills of international students who communicate without any timidy. by participating in class the instructor will recognize you as a foreigner but at the same time respect and appreciate your language skills.

it took about 3 days to get used to the language and to understand Americans who spoke pretty fluently - but at the end of the term, I had no problems at all. It is a great opportunity to go abroad to speak just the foreign language!!

I enjoyed it a lot to speak English all day long. It's very interesting because you can learn new words and phrases everyday. Also, you learn much more within a few months than at you home university where you spend much more time.

No problem, but i did encounter some new terms in my biology and psychology classes - but those where mostly technical terms - the business classes where no problem since i'm familar with the english terms from my home university

There is no need to be worried about the language skills. You can meet many students whose language skills are not sufficient. Nevertheless, the university personnel and the American population does not care about the language. Everybody is very very friendly and helpful.