JUNIOR DIPLOMAT
What's behind the name ?
Despite the relative young age of our participants (13 to 18 years old), we wish for them to understand the importance of their presence in a foreign country and how to project the best possible image of their own country while abroad. Here are some of the guidelines we provide our students before travelling abroad:
- 1/ Your comments about the country you are visiting should always be positive. Save any negative comments until you return home.
- 2/ Promote a positive image of your own country
- 3/ Do not compare the two countries.
- 4/ Demonstrate your interest and curiosity by asking questions
- 5/ Be quick to come up with a compliment
- 6/ Be vocal in displaying your appreciation and thankfulness
- 7/ When communication is difficult, smile your way out of any situation
- 8/ Avoid political conversations. If you are dragged into voicing your opinion, feign ignorance and ask questions instead.
- 9/ Have a clear goal to experience significant progress in the other language
- 10/ The establishment of friendship should be a priority. Where there is friendship linguistic interaction will be maximized.
Why is it good to host?
Looking for a good reason to host a foreign student in the summer? Here are a couple of suggestions:
- 1/ It is great for parents to see how their kids generously share their space with a visiting student
- 2/ It is great for kids to see that their parents have the generosity to open their home to a visitor from another country.
- 3/ It encourages families to slow down and do things together as a family.
- 4/ It usually promotes an opportunity for a return visit and sometimes for a lifelong friendship.
Why is it good to travel abroad and experience life as a guest to a host family?
- 1/ There is no better way to get an understanding of how people live their lives and relate to one another.
- 2/ Nothing will set up anyone on such an accelerated path to fluency but an immersion in the natural environment of the foreign language.
- 3/ Our summer program is non-academic and some of our students who experience the most progress are those who perform poorly in an academic context. They are the same who finally discover some much needed ease when back in the class.
- 4/ The first few days of a three week program are the most tedious and challenging. Once students have tackled such an obstacle they are ready to face other obstacles in life with renewed strength and confidence.
- 5/ Colleges have much respect for students who decided to sign up for such an independent expatriation.
Why would anyone seek fluency in a foreign language?
- 1/ There is barely an exercice that provides such personal satisfaction and pride but the ability to speak a foreign language.
- 2/ It greatly improves the quality of international travel.
- 3/ It greatly improves professional opportunities in a career.
- 4/ The first foreign language studied is the ticket to become a true world citizen.
- 5/ Studying a foreign language provides a unique intellectual exercice that activates parts of the brain which would not be stimulated otherwise.
Why would anyone seek to study French?
- 1/ It is so intertwined with English that it provides an extraordinary insight and understanding of English literature.
- 2/ With 60% of cognates (vocabulary shared by both languages), the chances of becoming fluent in any foreign language are greatly enhanced with taking French.
- 3/ French is the language of arts, literature, classical dancing, diplomacy, and much more.
- 4/ France is by far the most visited country in the world. It is also the number one destination for Americans. At the very least, let’s learn the basics because sooner or later according to statistics, we will find ourselves strolling the streets of Paris.