France (10th, 11th, and 12th Grade) | Language Learning

Overview

Whether visiting the world-renowned galleries of the Louvre, the Musee d’Orsay, and the Centre Pompidou in Paris, gliding by téléferique over glacial peaks and fields of summer snow in the Alps, or experiencing day-to-day life with a French family, expect your language skills to improve as you get know the essence of France. In vibrant cosmopolitan cities and charming, off-the-beaten track rural towns and villages, spend time getting to know local culture and history. Visit monuments and museums, go horseback riding, swimming, hiking, biking, canyoning, and canoeing, and become a part of the community through your many interactions in French with local people.

Each day, the leaders create conversational French exercises designed to help you communicate more easily with the many French people you meet. Language lessons are fun, interactive, vocabulary-based, and relate directly to our experiences as a group. Other language learning activities include scavenger hunts, games, and informal interviews with local people. The goal is to improve your fluency in French by building vocabulary and speaking confidence.  The best way to do this is by talking with local people. A minimum of two years of French is required for this summer language program.

We begin in the Loire Valley, visiting the chateaux and adapting to the rhythm of life in France. Our next stop is a small farming village tucked into the remote coast of Brittany. Here we explore the area by bike and put our French to the test by spending an afternoon working with local people in cafés and other small businesses. Six days are set aside to enjoy Paris–the monuments, museums, markets, and cafés. We then board a train for Alsace, where we have the opportunity to fully immerse ourselves in French language and culture by spending a week with a local family. After saying goodbye to our French families, we head south to the university town of Aix-en-Provence and take day trips throughout the region. Then it’s on to St. Raphael for four days on the Riviera. Chamonix, high in the Alps, is our home for the last six days of the program.

Accommodations in France are varied, ranging from comfortable Old World-style hotels to a simple dormitory-style mountain chalet. Residences are often run by wonderful families or individuals who play a role in setting the tone for our experience and who facilitate interaction with local people. We start out each day with a French breakfast at our residence. For other meals, we generally eat in restaurants, or bring a picnic with us on excursions.

During the homestay week, you stay with a French family who has a child of a similar age. This is a unique opportunity to experience French life as it is really lived. The families are carefully selected by our local homestay representative a trusted long-time friend of Putney, who chooses them from among her friends and contacts in the community. The group gets together for excursions a number of times during the week, and both leaders stay in town for the duration of the homestay.

We travel primarily by train; the way most French people move around the country. Occasionally we use a chartered bus or local public transportation for excursions or short transfers to and from rail stations.

Highlights

• Discuss (in French!) famous works of art at the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, and the Centre Pompidou.
• Enjoy a crêpe or a pain au chocolat as you relax at a Parisian sidewalk café.
• Put your French to the test by spending a morning shadowing a local Breton baker, shop owner, or farmer.
• Celebrate Bastille Day with your homestay siblings and their friends.
• With the help of professional guides, try your hand at windsurfing, canyoning, or rock climbing.

What to Expect

You should come to the program excited about immersing yourself in French language and culture, open to new experiences, and willing to challenge yourself to step out of your comfort zone and make the most of your time in France. You are required to speak French and must sign a pledge that you will do so, not only with the many French people you meet, but also with the leaders and within the group. The program is active and the group spends much of its time outdoors. While you do not need to be athletic, you should come prepared to be physically active and open to trying new things.

At Putney we take pride in our reputation for careful, thorough planning and attention to detail.  The descriptions of our high school summer programs abroad are based on our experiences in previous summers and our plans for this summer.  It is inevitable that some things described here will not happen exactly as presented.  To get the most out of the Putney experience, participants need to be flexible in responding to unforeseen situations, and creative in taking advantage of unexpected opportunities.  We expect Putney participants to share responsibility for the success of their experience.

Fees

Tuition: $9,390

Putney organizes escorted international flights. Please consult us for fares.

Itinerary

Learn about last year’s program by reading the 2012 Language Learning France Blog.

Unit A Itinerary

*This program is for students who will have just completed grades 10-12, and who have taken at least two years of French.

This program begins and ends at Newark International Airport in Newark, New Jersey.

Departure • Join your group for five weeks of language immersion and adventure travel in France. Gather at Newark International Airport in Newark, New Jersey to meet your program leaders and depart as a group for France.

The Loire • Fly into Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Paris, and board a train bound for the Loire Valley. Begin with five days in Blois, an ancient city in château country along the Loire River. Language instruction begins on our first day in France, and continues throughout the program.

Brittany • From the Loire, travel by train to spend five days in a rural fishing and farming village tucked into the coast of remote Brittany. Here, we explore the area by bike and live among the friendly Breton people on a small family-run farm that also serves as an inn.

Paris • Six days are set aside to enjoy Paris–the monuments, museums, markets, and cafés; the Left Bank, Île de la Cité, and Montmartre. Visit Notre Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, and more.

Family Life in Alsace • We then board a train for Alsace, where we have the opportunity to fully immerse ourselves in French language and culture by spending a week with a local family. Both leaders remain in the same town as the students during the homestay, and the group gets together for excursions throughout the week.

Provence • Next, head south to Aix-en-Provence, where we spend four days exploring this university town, and taking day trips throughout the region. See Van Gogh’s home, Cezanne’s studio, and swim in the Gard River beneath the Pont du Gard, an ancient Roman aqueduct.

The Riviera • Continuing south to the Mediterranean coast, spend four days relaxing on the sunny beaches of the Riviera in the town of Saint Raphaël.

The French Alps • Our journey ends in a small village near Chamonix in the French Alps. Stay for six days at a mountain chalet opposite Mont Blanc, the highest point in Western Europe and an area of stunning natural beauty.

Return • On the last morning of the program, we take a private bus to Geneva, Switzerland, and depart for Newark, New Jersey, accompanied by one of the program leaders.

This itinerary represents our best projection of the group’s schedule. However, we may implement changes designed to improve the quality of the program.

 

Destination

Background • From the rocky northern coast to the rolling pastures, orchards, and sunflower fields of central France, to Mediterranean beaches and majestic snow-capped Alpine peaks, France’s spectacularly diverse natural beauty as well as its rich history and culture make it the favorite destination for travelers worldwide. Explore the magnificent chateaux and opulent palaces of Louis XIV, the boulevards of Paris, and discover the local stories of small towns and rural villages. Use your language skills to get to know French people and bring history to life by tying it into modern day culture.

Population • France is home to approximately 65 million people. Paris and Aix-en-Provence are the largest cities we visit (populations 2.5 million and 125,000, respectively).  We spend most of our time in smaller cities and rural towns. In Brittany and in the Alps we stay in communities of about 3,000 people. The population of Blois, in the Loire Valley, is about 50,000.

Language • French is the only official language of France, although there are over forty regional dialects, including Breton, Provencal, Picard, Gascon, Limousin and Alsacian.

Climate • Summers in France are pleasantly warm. Daytime high temperatures are generally in the 80s, though it is cooler in Brittany and in the Alps where afternoon temperatures seldom exceed 80.

Cuisine • France prides itself on its refined and delectable cuisine; after experiencing the crackle of a fresh baguette, enjoying a warm goat cheese salad, or devouring a molten chocolate cake, you can’t help but agree. Each region of France is famous for its own specialty, usually a product of the region’s climate, history, and customs. While northern French cuisine is a hearty reflection of the region’s farming industry and proximity to the Atlantic coast, southern French cuisine showcases Mediterranean and Italian influences. Throughout our exploration of France, we complement meals at restaurants and bistros with delicious picnics and plenty of stops at cafés and boulangeries.

Currency • After centuries of using the French Franc, France converted to the Euro in 2002.  An ATM card is the most convenient way to access cash in France.

Voltage • France uses 230V/50Hz current and type C plugs (two round pins).  You should bring a universal plug adapter, and may need a voltage converter to run some US electronics.

How To Apply

STEP 1: LOG ON.

If you are new to Putney Student Travel, visit our Online Application.  
If you are a Putney Student Travel alumni family, use your existing account information to Log In.

STEP 2: HOLD A SPACE IN THE PROGRAM.

You can hold a space in a program by completing the Online Application Form, submitting a signed Agreement Form, and providing the $700 Application Deposit by Mastercard, Visa, or Discover Card through our secure online system or by sending a check to our office. Our admissions staff is also available to take credit card information over the phone.  We will hold a space in a program for a reasonable time, pending completion of the full application process. See Step 3.

After March 15, we will hold a space temporarily as above, but we must receive full payment by check or wire transfer within three days to continue to hold a space in the program.

STEP 3: COMPLETE THE APPLICATION PROCESS.

Before we can make a final admissions decision, an application must be complete.  In addition to the Application Form and Application Deposit described above, a complete application includes:

• Applicant Statement - Attach a statement explaining why you would like to join a Putney program and what you feel you can contribute to it. Your application cannot be processed without this statement. Approximately 150–300 words is sufficient. Global Action applicants’ statements must be 300-500 words addressing these questions, and detailing their interest and/or experience in the country and issues on which they wish to focus.
• Two Teacher Reference Forms

These documents are available as part of our Online Application.  We review a completed application within a few days, and notify families of our admissions decision by e-mail.