Finding yourself abroad

Many Transition Year students take the opportunity to study a language abroad, but often learn a lot more than just grammar, writes  PETER McGUIRE

EVERY YEAR, the chattering of young Spanish and French students on Ireland’s buses and trains heralds the start of summer. Here to learn English, they spill on to the suburban greens, congregate in shopping centres, and obligingly visit all the local city sights.

Meanwhile, Parisian men sit on buses, sighing with irritation as the incessant noise of Irish exchange students drones out the sound of their iPods.

Although a soggy fortnight in Irish College is still the most popular language improvement trip for secondary students, many more pack their bags for France, Spain, Germany, Italy or beyond.

Todd Harrison (16) spent six weeks studying French in Montpellier at the end of transition year, and recalls initially feeling like the outsider.

“I remember my first day, and people saw me in the same way I might see a French student in Dublin studying English,” he says. “But everybody was really nice to me, and I made many new friends.”

When he came back to Ireland, Harrison was close to fluent in French, although it took some perseverance.

“I’d try to talk to people in French, but once they saw I was an English speaker, they were keen to speak in English to me. It was awkward, and not always possible, to ask them to speak French.”

Jack O’Callaghan, a student at Presentation Brothers College in Cork, spent two weeks on a Transition Year exchange in the beautiful French Basque city of Biarritz. He saw his trip as a chance to learn more about French language and culture.

The French version of the bean an tí doesn't serve up gruel for breakfast, ham sandwich for lunch, and mince with potatoes for dinner. La madame de la maisonencouraged them to try l'escargot.Snails led a trail to the many rich flavours of French food, and O'Callaghan quickly developed an appreciation of French food.

No two days were the same. O’Callaghan’s mornings consisted of classes, while afternoons provided a chance to indulge in one of his passions: surfing. In the evening, he hooked up with other students from France, the Netherlands, Germany, and other countries, and headed into town.

“The trip was definitely worth the money,” says O’Callaghan. “The weather was great, it’s an easy place to live, and I had the best time there. When I came home, I was speaking excellent French and I’ve been well ahead since.”

ANOTHER EXCHANGE organises for Irish students to bring a European student home with them at the end of their trip abroad. Yvanna Murphy spent almost six months of transition year with a French family.

“It was tough, but I got through those first few hard weeks and now I look back and I’m proud of myself,” she says. “I now have a second home in France. I still keep in contact with my friends and family over there.

“Although I went over with my main intention being to learn the language, I got something way better. New friends, second family, new ways of thinking, experienced a new culture, lifestyle and language. It was really an unbelievable experience. I would do it again in a second. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about the family and friends I made.”

Murphy’s host sister Marianne came back to Ireland with her. “We went on trips together, played games and went out together. We had the odd hiccup, but we both compromised and understood what the other was going through.”

Todd Harrison and Jack O’Callaghan travelled with Stein Study Abroad. For more information, see steinstudyabroad.ie or call 01-4759646.

Yvanna Murphy participated in a student exchange with Transition Europe – see transitioneurope.ie for details. It also organises student exchanges in Spain – see tyspain.com for more information