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!