French Exchanges

In order to have a successful exchange, there needs to be a contact in the host country with whom a teacher can plan accordingly.  During the 1993-1994 school year, Lowell Hoeft and Viviane Tourne exchanged classrooms through the auspices of the Fulbright Teacher Exchange.  Viviane Tourne, an English teacher in France, taught Lowell Hoeft’s French classes at Price Lab School. Hoeft taught English in Tourne’s classroom at College Pierre Weczerka, a middle school in Chelles, an eastern suburb of Paris.  

That teacher exchange was the start of the first student exchange for Lab School students studying French.  It was Madame Tourne, upon returning to France, who suggested that a group of her students travel to Cedar Falls during their spring break in April of 1995.  The first year, it was not an exchange since only students from France traveled and stayed with families in Iowa.  It was a very special experience for the group from France, since Hoeft had been their English teacher the previous year in Chelles.  The French students then had the opportunity to observe him teaching their native language in the United States.  

The first year that Lab School students went to France was during the spring break of March 1997.  That first year, students were required to be in, at the minimum, the second year of language study.  For subsequent trips, their third year of studying French was a requirement in order to be eligible to participate in the two-week family stay.  The first time that the American students participated, they exchanged with students at College Pierre Weczerka, the middle school where Hoeft taught in 1993-1994.  That meant that they were a little younger than their American counterparts, even though a middle school in France includes ninth graders.   

Prior to the 1997-1998 academic year, Madame Tourne accepted a new teaching position at Lycee Martin Luther King, a senior high school in the Paris area of Marne-La-Vallee in the city of Bussy St. Georges.   All classes are housed in the same building which accommodates approximately 1200 students in grades 10-12. The school is located in the modern section of Bussy where there are many businesses and stores. The city borders the Eurodisney Amusement Park.

Hoeft chaperoned the students on a yearly basis between 1997 and 2003, except for 2002 when UNI suspended all Lab School trips due to the September 09/11 event.  Beginning in 2004, Elizabeth Zwanziger, replaced Hoeft at Price Lab School when he accepted a different position at the university.  She continued the exchange on a yearly basis until 2008 when Madame Tourne retired.  

Zwanziger did not sponsor a trip to France in 2009, but created a new travel opportunity in 2010 through the student travel organization called Language and Friendship.  Students were hosted by families in Enghien-les-Bains, and by an English teacher, Regine Moscovitz, at the College Lycee Notre-Dame Providence.  For three years, this was the option for PLS French students traveling to France, with the last trip being in 2012 when the Laboratory School closed permanently two months later.

In order for any student travel experience to be successful, many hours of time and preparation are required.  Prior to having an evening meeting with students and parents shortly before departure, the teacher in charge and the students would meet during lunch hours to discuss a variety of topics related to the exchange.  

1. The Cost 

Each student was responsible for his or her own expenses which included passport and photo, roundtrip airfare between Cedar Rapids and Paris, a three-day France Rail pass and reservations for travel with the chaperone on excursions outside the Paris area, and, of course, spending money.  The chaperone worked with an agent at Short’s Travel to obtain the best group airfare and student rail fares.

An exchange is a much more cost-effective way to travel because there are no hotel stays, no bus travel, very few food expenses, except for the three-day trips by train.  Even on those days, the host families would pack an abundant sack lunch for the student.

Students were informed where to have pictures taken for the passport, where to make application, and the cost of each.  

2. Three Separate Day Trips with Chaperone

Purchasing a three-day France Rail Pass was a cheaper way to travel by train rather than buying individual tickets.  For some parts of the trip, the high-speed trains were used and they required a minimum fee for a seat reservation. One of the day trips usually included a visit to a castle in the Loire River Valley such as Blois, Amboise, Saumur or Angers.  Another trip was taken into the Alps mountains to the city of Grenoble, or the border city of Geneva, Switzerland. A third trip may have been to La Rochelle, on the Atlantic Ocean, or to France’s third largest city, Lyon. Other options were Dijon, the area famous for its mustard; Rouen, the city where Joan of Arc died; and the tourist town of Pornichet on the Atlantic coastline. The only group that took only two train trips traveled in 2003. The students opted to visit Paris with Hoeft as a group to view its many monuments and enjoy a picnic lunch in one of the famous parks, the Jardin des Tuileries, in the city.

The day trips were an opportunity for the Lab School students to reconnect with their American friends and classmates.  After all, they did not always see each other at school because French high school schedules are similar to those of college schedules in the United States. Discussions on the train would be lively and laughter-filled with the sharing of stories about life with a French family. The day trips by train were also the only time that the chaperone would see certain students.  Even though Zwanziger or Hoeft were at school when not on the trips, they may have not encountered every student due to different schedules.

3. Correspondent

After receiving a letter of introduction written in French and a picture from the American student, Madame Tourne would make a match with her students.  In return, the French student would respond with a letter in English, with a photo attached. This was the procedure until internet communication became the norm.

4. Typical Itinerary

Once arriving at Charles de Gaulle airport, and being met by members of the host family, the students would be driven to the home where they would be spending two weeks.  At the end of the stay, the student would be accompanied to the airport for the return home.  

Day 1:     Departure from Eastern Iowa Airport, Cedar Rapids 

Day 2:      Arrival at Charles de Gaulle Airport, Roissy

Days 3 and 4:     Weekend activities with family

Day 5:      Attendance at school with correspondent

Day 6:     First day trip by train with chaperone

Day 7:      Attendance at school with correspondent

Day 8:     Second day trip by train with chaperone

Day 9:      Attendance at school with correspondent

Days 10 and 11:   Weekend activities with family

Day 12:     Attendance at school with correspondent

Day 13:     Third day trip by train with chaperone

Day 14:    Attendance at school with correspondent

Day 15:     Departure from Charles de Gaulle Airport, Roissy

5. Gifts for the French Family

As a polite gesture for being received into a French family, suggestions were given for gifts to be offered to each member of the family. Based on the established correspondence, it would be known how many people for whom to buy, or make, a gift.  Here is a list of a few ideas.

• picture books about Cedar Falls/Waterloo or Iowa

• tee-shirts with English writing on them

• regional specialties such as Minnesota wild rice

• a small photo album of your family and activities

• American food items such as peanut butter or chocolate chips; however, in recent years these became more readily accessible.

• Native American artifacts

  
  

6. Some Suggestions of Souvenirs to Bring Back to the States

• tee-shirts

• perfume

• picture books

• French school supplies

• French card games or a set of "boules," the French yard game

• a "gant de toilette," a French washcloth (different from an American one)

  
  

7. Le Journal

Students were required to keep a journal in French during the two-week trip which would not be collected by the teacher, but which had to be shown that one had been completed.  Guidelines as to what should be included were given and discussed at pre-departure meetings.

• Family: names, address, parents’ professions, vacations

• House/Apartment: size, rooms, eating times

• City/Village: size, market day, types of shops, gas prices, driving

• School: name, correspondent’s schedule, recess, cafeteria, clubs 

• Paris: monuments visited, shopping, observation of Parisians, metro

• Vocabulary: new words, slang

8. Total Immersion

At one of the student meetings, some time was spent talking about the fact that total immersion in a language can initially be mentally fatiguing.  Hearing French in the course of a class period, using it in daily activities, or occasionally using it with fellow classmates is not the same as when it would be heard and used for hours and days on end at school and with the family.  

Very little time was used at these meetings in discussion of French culture since a majority of  it had already been taught and learned in the course of three years of French study.  Students knew about eating times, school schedules, daily life, Paris, using the metro, clothing styles, French perceptions of Americans, and cost of living.

In addition to touching briefly on some of the aforementioned items, visitor behavior, student expectations, and luggage packing were discussed at the required pre-departure meetings with parents and students. Since the travelers were Northern University High School students, the teacher knew them and had few concerns about their conduct.  At the same time, it was important to make parents aware that their child was not only representing their school, but also their community and country.   Zwanziger established an email list with parents and kept them informed of activities at the French school and about the trips taken by train.  

Hoeft and Zwanziger were always very proud of their students’ behavior and their ability to communicate in French.   On the days when the French parents would bring, or pick up, the American students at the subway station for a day trip, compliments were often shared about their French speaking abilities and polite behavior.  The NU students were excellent representatives of their school and country.        

“Caitlin absorbed so much in such a short time, loved her family, and was encouraged she could speak and understand French with her friends and family. Thank you for all your time you gave in preparing the students and parents for the trip.”   

Parent of Caitlin Tracey - Class of 2005  

“We had so much fun in France.  It was great to experience a new culture and use their language.  Our correspondents were all very friendly and very enthusiastic to have us stay with them.  Most of us got to visit Paris more than once, in addition to our three trips to Blois, Avignon, and Grenoble.  There was also plenty of time for shopping and visiting the monuments and other historical sites of the cities.  We got to know each other better and made a lot of fun memories in the process.  Vive la France!”

Alison Hardy    –     Class of 2006

Michaela Gansen – Class of 2006

Heather Fremont – Class of 2007

France 1997 - Aaron Bertram being served by French father

France 1998 - Two girls in front of Briocherie

France 1998 - Group in Rouen

France 1999 - Picnic at Saumur Castle

France 1999 - Noah Johnson and Geoff Spain

France 2000 - Martin Luther King Lunchroom (Amanda Miller )

France 2000 - Group next to Lac Leman, Geneva, Switzerland

France 2001 - Katherine Lyman and Emily Callahan at train station validating tickets

France 2001 - Group in Grenoble

France 2003 - Group in front of Arc du Carrousel

France 2003 - Picnic in Jardin des Tuileries, Paris (Nick Kollasch)

France 2004 - Elizabeth Zwanziger and students au café

France 2004 - Elizabeth Zwanziger, Viviane Tourme and other English Teachers from exchange in France

France 2004 - Exchange - Grenoble, France

Canada 2004 - Quebec trip, restaurant in old Montréal

France 2005 - Café, Avignon

2005 - French IV students teaching PLS elementary French

2005 - French IV students teaching PLS elementary French

2005 - French IV students teaching PLS elementary French

2005 - French IV students teaching PLS elementary French

Canada 2005 - Qubec trip, Montréal (French IV)

2005 - Students from France at PLS

2005 - Students from France with PLS students at UNI Multicultural Center

2005 - Students from France working with French students in PLS classroom

2005 - Students from France working with French students in PLS classroom

France 2006 - Exchange, Château d'Angers

2006 - French exchange group at UNI Multicultural Center

France 2007 - Exchange group at Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris

2008 - Exchange, dans la classe à PLS (In class at PLS)

France 2010 - Exchange group at Versailles

2012 - Exchange, dans la classe (in class) at PLS

France 2012 - Exchange group at