Travel is for Learning French

June, the beginning of summer, means time off of school for my students and the opportunity for travel. Mark Twain once said, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime”

I teach languages, so travel is often necessary for my students to really have practical applications for their learning. One of my Shepherd University students approached me last spring about such a learning experience. I had mentioned in class that I have a very dear friend in France who is active in the management of the Cannes Film Festival. Bryan is a communications major and approached me about an internship at Cannes.

In all honesty, I didn’t know if there was an internship program, so I contacted my friend, Richard. Sure enough, the festival hires many, and Richard encouraged me to have Bryan apply. Together, Bryan and I worked on his cover letter and resume. It was all in French, so it was a very practical application of his classroom learning.

In March, we learned that Bryan had been accepted as an intern. Not only had he been accepted, but he was the first American student that the French had ever hired for an internship! Bryan left for France in early May and for what we both agreed would be a once in a lifetime learning opportunity.

I was able to visit with Bryan in Cannes during the second week of the festival. When I arrived, I was greeted by a well-dressed, well-versed young man who just happened to be my student. Bryan gave me a grand tour of the festival facilities sharing with me all that he had learned about the film industry…and our entire discussion was in French! He had flourished in the festival setting, and his French had progressed dramatically.

At lunch, Bryan shared with me his cultural observations. The French did lots of things differently, and Bryan was able to see the good and the bad in how things were done in France. He shared with me stories of people he had met during his adventures there, while he struggled with the language, and had learned to trust his own judgment and to know that he could get himself through the strange situations he had managed to find himself in.

This year, Bryan left his little corner of earth and his world perspective had indeed changed and grown. Travel had changed him.

Be sure to find some time to travel this summer!

Travel can be life changing

June, the beginning of summer, means time off of school for my students and the opportunity for travel. Mark Twain once said “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”

Every two years, I travel with a group of my students to Europe. In 2007, I accompanied a group of 42 students and parents. One of my students, Scott, was taken by the France and the French. He used the language he had learned in the classroom and absorbed other language and culture like a sponge. It was such fun for me to watch Scott as he experienced all things French. The trip was his first exposure to Europe, and he was loving it!

In the fall of that year, Scott was off to college and by the spring semester, he let me know that he had decided to declare French as a major at college. Scott was excelling in his French classes and was eager to learn as much as he could. He shared stories with me about literature classes and art classes. The next obvious step for him was to consider a study abroad program. During his sophomore year at college, Scott began to look at his options.

Because our summer trip had been predominantly to the Normandy region of France, Scott decided that he would really like to study at a university in that region. His advisor ultimately found him a university in the city of Caen. Scott would be spending the fall semester of his junior year in Caen.

As he prepared for his adventure in France, I knew that Scott would take advantage of any opportunity that came his way during his semester abroad. He opted for a home stay instead of taking up residency in one of the university’s housing facilities. Scott was afraid that if he stayed in university housing that he might spend more time speaking English than speaking French.

Throughout the course of his stay, I received messages from Scott telling me about new things that he had tried and places that he had visited. He shared stories of people he met from all over the world. And his French language was improving by leaps and bounds.

I was able to visit with Scott during the Christmas holidays after his return from France. While we ate, I observed a young man who had changed. His world view had expanded and the French culture had become part of him. He had left his little corner of the earth for a while and returned a changed person who now understood that throughout the world we’re all different, but we’re all the same.

Take some time to travel this summer, leave your corner of the earth and come home changed!

Travel Is About Learning

Welcome, June! It’s the beginning of summer and that means time off of school for my students. That also means that there is time for travel. Mark Twain once said, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”

I like to encourage my students to travel. It opens their eyes and broadens their perspectives. Each year, I travel to New York City with my French Club students. We take the bus into the city bright and early on a Saturday morning. I plan some sort of excursion; a visit to a museum, a trip to Ground Zero. I believe that travel should be a learning experience.

But it’s the free-time events that offer the greatest learning experiences for my students. Typically we arrive in the city around 11:30 and my guided itinerary goes until about 2pm. It’s then that I totally lose my mind and offer them free time. Rules are they must be in groups of three or more and with a cell phone. On the bus ride to New York, I gather a list of who will be with whom and the number of a cell phone that will be with each group.

I instruct them about the numbered and lettered grid that is midtown Manhattan, and in Times Square, I set them free. Rules are no farther north than 52nd Street, no farther south than 40th Street. The eastern border is 5th Avenue and the border to the west is 8th Avenue. Then I sit and wait.

Sometimes there aren’t any calls at all. Sometimes I get a call that the group is lost. I tell them to walk to the next street corner and tell me what the road signs say. A short walk to the next intersection gives me a good idea of the direction in which they are headed, and I can guide them to the designated bus pick up.

During free time, they shop and eat. They watch the people and experience a city much larger than Thurmont! And they grow. My students learn that life outside their home town is different and exciting. Sometimes they will take souvenirs to family members, sometimes they’ll buy post cards. But they always take stories home. Stories about what they did and what they saw. They leave their little corner of the earth and return changed. Just like Mark Twain said.

Be sure to take some time this summer to travel and see how you will grow!


This blog post appeared as my June 3, 2012, column "The Empty Nest" in the Frederick News Post.