CommunicationSpringSummer... - Ontario Modern Language ...

OMLTA/AOPLVDÉGELIS, QUÉBEC-A NEW EXCHANGE EXPERIENCEFor the first time in my teaching career, I embarked on an exchange this year. After consulting with a number ofteachers, I decided to contact SEVEC and commence the process. While there is a great deal of paperwork involved,it is undoubtedly worth the time! I had the privilege of travelling with 19 students (in Grades 10, 11 and12) to Dégelis, Quebec for one week. While in Dégelis, we went to a cheese factory, an observatory, a dam, anagricultural museum, Fort Ingall, a sugar shack, a maple farm, and a Nordic spa. We spent a day at l'École secondairede Dégelis and a day in Quebec City. When the students from Dégelis visited my school, we went to Toronto,Niagara Falls, the Ontario Science Centre, the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, and the NewmarketMuseum. We also played Laser Tag and watched a theatrical performance of Romeo and Juliet. Studentsemerged from the experience not only understanding and speaking much more French, but also feeling moreempowered, independent, and confident. Below you will find testimonials written by some of my students:Sophie ArmstrongHaving the opportunity to go to Dégelis for the week was truly a once in a lifetime experience. Being in a smallfrancophone town forced me to use my French and allowed for me to learn new words and expressions. At thebeginning I was extremely nervous to stay with a family that only spoke French because I was worried that wewouldn‟t be able to communicate. I really had nothing to worry about; the family that I was staying with was absolutelywonderful and I felt like they took me in and treated me like one of their children right from the start.They made me feel at home and not like a guest in their house. One of the highlights of the trip was the snowshoeing on the last day of the exchange. We snow shoed up to the summit of a small mountain and saw an absolutelybreath-taking view. Then we slid down the side of the mountain on our snow shoes. One of the funniestmoments of the whole trip was when we were sliding down trying to avoid trees and I looked behind me and Alewas trying to grab onto a tree but the branch broke and she crashed right into me. Overall the exchange was anamazing experience and I would definitely do it all over again.Philippa PowisThe week that we spent in Quebec was one of the best weeks of my life. The family I stayed with consisted ofmy French twin, her mother, step-father, 15 year old sister and 4 year old brother. They were all incredibly niceand never got frustrated when I didn‟t understand what they were saying. On the contrary, they would happilyspend five or ten minutes playing charades with me until I understood exactly what they were trying to say.The memories that we made there still make me laugh: attempting to perform a French dance at a talent showthat only one person knew the steps to; snowshoeing through a sugar shack that we were convinced was inhabitedby hibernating smurfs; eating maple butter out of the jar with a spoon; trying to knock each other off of foamboards with padded sticks in their school swimming pool; and finally…the lingering smell of the cheese factory…that, none of us will ever forget. The town of Dégelis was small, but so welcoming and I know all nineteenof us had an incredible week.Courtney DeSouzaHaving the opportunity to go on an exchange to Dégelis, Quebec to improve my knowledge of the French languagewas an experience like no other. The town I lived in for the duration of my stay had 85 people in it, so Iwas surrounded by French the entire time. Although at first it was tough to adapt to speaking and hearingFrench all the time, after just two days I could already see the improvement in my French speaking and comprehensionskills improving.continued on page 26