(May 27, 2022)
I will be traveling to Tours, France to partake in the intensive (21-hour) french language course at the Institut de Touraine. I have traveled to France one time prior to this SLA experience, for an immersion experience in Vichy, France (in December 2021- thanks to funding from the Nanovic Institute). Classroom learning has its positives, but an immersion experience is the best environment for me to learn a language. While our classes at Notre Dame have a combined approach to learning French (e.g. oral, written, reading, and listening comprehension), there is something special and unique about stepping foot in a country and learning by doing. Rather than focusing on basic grammar and vocabulary, I expect to jump right into conversational French. In my past experience, this was extremely difficult but also very rewarding. It allows you to navigate around a city, engage with the people around you, and experience the culture.
I expect to utilize French language skills and intercultural competencies to learn more about French culture. I am a “foodie” so I would love to learn more about food in the Loire Valley of France. Additionally, I hope to take some short day trips to learn more about the culture and history of the Loire Valley. By taking these small trips, I hope to learn how to effectively get around the region, speaking seulement francais. My goal is that by the end of this trip I can more confidently converse with native French speakers. Specifically, I hope that they can understand what I have to say, and vice versa. Being able to engage in everyday conversations at restaurants, cafes, and activities at the Institut de Touraine are my top priorities. There are many opportunities at the Institut de Touraine to speak French with fellow students, but also on a more relaxed level with Professors, during breaks, and during planned activities. In the classroom, and at the mediatheque, I can fine-tune my grammatical skills, oral, and written comprehension. But the best way to improve my spoken skills will be when I am thrown into settings where I must speak french.
Additionally, since I am in the Masters of Global Affairs program at the Keough School (focused on Peace and Conflict Studies with the Kroc Institute), I also hope to learn more about international relations and diplomacy by reading “Le Monde diplomatique” en francais (which is available at the Institut de Touraine mediatheque) . I think that this will challenge me to start thinking about the news from a French/European perspective. It will be helpful for me to be able to read and understand French news in the future, as much of international diplomatic relations take place in French (e.g. in Brussels or Geneva with the UN Headquarters and European Union Headquarters). I plan to get to a point during my time here where I can engage in conversation about these topics, in French. These competencies will also help me better engage with people from French-speaking countries around the world.
I am looking forward to this immersion experience, and am grateful for the support of the Center for the Study of Languages and Culture, the Keough School of Global Affairs, and the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies.
– Emma Jackson, Master Student in Global Affairs and International Peace Studies
very nice Blogpost