A study abroad program is a time to learn more about the subject you are studying, a time to learn about a new culture. This summer, I had the chance to travel to Quebec, Canada and participate in a full immersion program in learning the French language. Sadly, my time in the study abroad program in Canada failed to meet up to these expectations, and if anyone is planning to do any immersion program for a foreign language in a foreign country, they need to be a master of the language in which the immersion program is offering.
In Anthropology 101, I learned how our brains develop language at a young age. The learning of any language for us needs to begin at an early age. If we begin to learn language past the formative years, it becomes extremely difficult. As Americans, our school system is flawed by not having us learn a foreign language until college, or high school if we are lucky. Because of how our school system is set up, it is extremely difficult for one to become bilingual, much less trilingual. This alone puts students at a disadvantage in study abroad programs.
Early on in my first semester of French, I heard about an immersion program and immediately became interested. What better way to learn French than to be fully immersed in the language? I met all the requirements, talked to people that did similar programs in Spain and signed up.
As I and the rest of the people in our group left, we were excited for the experience. Once we arrived, we were able to settle in, and those in charge of the program told us what to expect. We had a countdown to when we would no longer be able to speak English.
The first week was amazing even though it was difficult to talk to anyone beyond a basic conversation. We were told of weekend excursions that would take place. I was looking forward to the adventures that awaited.
The problem with the program was that I was still a beginner with the French language. Our weekend excursions consisted of tour guides walking us through historical sites in Canada. However, these tours were completely in French. This caused a problem for us who were still beginners at French and even some who had taken multiple courses of French. All of us on the trip wanted to know the historical aspects of what we were looking at when on a tour. However, we did not know enough French to understand the tour guide and were not allowed to ask in English. On one occasion, we saw a statue of Gandhi. We wondered why it was there. The tour guides answered in French, and we ended up just being able to nod, point and act like we knew what he was saying. Part of the purpose of a study abroad program is not only learning the language, but also to learn about a culture different from our own. The immersion program failed us in that respect.
Along with losing the cultural aspect, one of the major problems was miscommunication. I and nearly a full bus load of people almost got left at one of the excursions because we thought the guide said one thing but in reality said the opposite. It should have been a simple fix. We had a phone and could call to explain the situation, but it wasn’t a medical emergency, so we had to speak in French. In dangerous situations such as this, English should be used, especially because not only were we still learning French, but so were many of the Canadians.
Though I felt like it was a negative experience due to the loss of the cultural aspect and miscommunications, I know some people in our group loved it. Even though I wish it could have been better, I will say it did have a positive impact in my life. Not only did I find that I could accomplish a daunting task that seemed impossible and pass a class in a harsh learning environment, I became friends with people I would have never met outside of the study abroad program and am extremely grateful for those friends I now have and see on campus.