Spend the Summer Studying in France with Choate!
Location
France: Paris
Description
Who would not want to experience what Paris has to offer? From its rich cultural resources to its fascinating art and history, this is one of the must-see destination you would not want to miss. Study in France and experience our program begins in late July with the orientation session at Choate's Wallingford campus, where students hear as much French as they can handle. You will have a four-week homestay in Paris and a concurrent academic session.
Highlights
For more than 30 years, Choate has offered a variety of international study opportunities in the summer to motivated high school students entering 10-12. Native teachers experienced with teaching American students and carefully selected host families make for an unforgettable experience in the language and culture. Study in France and get the chance to experience all these!
* Families and the Home-Stay
The primary focus of our program is the city of Paris and its many treasures. In addition to this rich cultural resource, life in a Parisian home can have many rewards of its own.
Host families come in many varieties: some with children, some without; some two-parent, some single-parent; some older families, some younger. The home-stay is an opportunity for students who study in France to live in a Parisian apartment and develop a relationship with real French people. This is an important goal for each student and is achieved to the extent that students are willing to reach out and connect to the French world around them.
We place students who study in France in one or two to a household, depending on the linguistic qualifications of the student and on the accommodations available.
* Excursions
The group travels together from the orientation session at Choate to France. Arriving in Paris, the group is transferred to the Loire Valley for a three-day introductory program at a French country inn. There is time to relax at poolside as well as study in between visits to the famed chateaux of the region. At the start of the first full week, the group transfers back to Paris to meet their French families.
In Paris, weekday afternoons are devoted to exploring the historic and artistic treasures of Paris as an extension of the morning art history class. On weekends, students are taken to nearby points of interest, such as the Palace of Versailles or Monet's house and gardens at Giverny.
* Academics
Students take three hours of classes each morning. Courses are devoted to French language, French literature, history of art, and French history. In addition, each student chooses an artistic or cultural topic to research independently in libraries, galleries, or museums. All classes are taught in French by native-speaking French teachers as well as by members of the Choate French department.
Afternoon visits to sites in Paris are a required component of the morning art history and history classes. Students who study in France have free time following the afternoon tours to discover Paris before returning to have dinner with their families and prepare for class the next day.