Monday, October 14, 2013
I have a question about student foreign exchanging?
I have a question about student foreign exchanging?
Okay so I'm looking up all these foreign exchanging sites and most of the requirements listed are at least two years of high school (so pretty much just 15 or older) and that you need to have at least a year experience in the language. Well I have two students in my school one is a foreign exchange student and the other foreign exchanged her junior year in Brazil. So the foreign exchange student here only came to the U.S. from Brazil knowing the basics of English, "How are you", "My name is", "Where is the bathroom". And the other girl who went to Brazil only went there knowing four words in Portuguese. So does it all just depend on what abroad program you use? Or if you already had experience in a similar language, like spanish would they overlook the fact that you haven't really study the specific language required for your destination?
Studying Abroad - 3 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Hi there. For the program I went abroad with, Rotary Club, I didn't have to know the language. However, I went to a country with a rarely spoken language in the US. It didn't matter though, by the 3rd and 4th month you will be proficient in the language of whatever country you go to as long as you insist on speaking it and enjoy the process of learning. If I were you I would only try Rotary club, sometimes AFS. Rotary does not make you know the language, that is kind of silly. Also Rotary needs students to apply and are very nice people. That is Rotary International. Every town has one in the US and it is just as popular abroad. All you pay for is the plane ticket. btw, search for other questions like this for more info. There are a few recently resolved. Bon Voyage!!
2 :
It depends on the program and the destination country. Some places, like France or Spain, are more likely to have a language requirement of a year or two, but this doesn't mean ALL of France does -- for example, I am with Rotary. Some parts of France require Rotary kids to know some French before leaving, but my friend went to France and she'd never studied it, so it really depends. Other places, like Thailand or Brazil or Finland, often won't have a language requirements, because let's face it -- how many high schools offer classes in Thai, Portuguese, or Finnish? They MIGHT if they happen to have a teacher who knows those, but it's certainly not very common, so if countries with unusual languages had such requirements, hardly anyone would be eligible. But lots of kids study languages like French and Spanish, so those countries can choose to be a little pickier if they want. My Rotary district had no language requirements for any of the countries offered, and we had the usual ones like France, Belgium, German, Brazil, Mexico, Norway, Sweden, Argentina, Peru, Japan, etc.
3 :
It doesn't so much depend upon the program you use, but the destination. For example, if you are going to France or the French speaking portions of Switzerland or Belgium, you need two years of high school French. However, if you are going to Sweden or Germany (or many other choices) you don't need language experience. Often, the language requirements for Americans going overseas are less than for others going to America. Other countries recognize the lack of language training in the U.S. However, the requirements coming into the US are more stringent -- generally a 40 on the SLEP is required, although some of those scores are "fudged" a bit. The organization you choose will give you the information on the destinations. Also, while I might point out Rotary is a great program, the difficulty of getting in depends upon where you live. You might also consider YFU or AFS.
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