I’ve had another productive day learning French in Montpellier today and have also gained a bit of practical knowledge of some of the quirky types of holidays you can take too. I find that the real-world topics that we cover in class are useful for many reasons and this was another example.
We had loads of interesting discussions today on my French Intensive course for adults at the Easy French Language School in Montpellier. We covered a couple of different topics that were both very fascinating and gave rise to dynamic debates, everyone in the intensive French class was getting involved and contributing their points of view as well as sharing their relevant knowledge about their own countries.
The first topic in our French lesson was schooling in France. We were doing a reading exercise and we were working with a document on how the schooling system encourages and hinders social mobility. The text was a compilation of testimonies of teenagers and children of different ages and different backgrounds, they were talking about their experiences in the schooling system. One of the most interesting parts of this debate on my French immersion course was the issue of positive discrimination which is a very controversial topic all over the world. I always like these debates, as we have such a wide variety of people at the Easy French Language School you get to hear such a broad set of views. Sometimes the views align sometimes not but it always keeps you engaged.
We also learnt a bit about the 20th century philosopher Pierre Bourdieu. He was concerned primarily with the dynamics of power in society across the generations. All in all, it was a great topic and very relatable as the education system in the UK has been hotly debated recently and is never too far away from the spotlight.
We Learnt About Agritourism in Our Intensive French Lesson Today
The next part of our intensive French class was a listening exercise where we watched a video on agritourism. This involves the combination of work and tourism on a farm or in some area of agriculture where people can go and experience what working on a farm is like and receive food and accommodation at a reduced rate. I really like the idea but some of the other students in our French immersion class weren’t so keen. Their position was pretty much; why would you go on holiday to do more work?! The video tracked a couple of farmers who were explaining why they had started to do the tourism side of things alongside their normal work. They explained that it allowed them to meet interesting people from all over the world, vary their day-to-day work, educate people on good farming practices and show them what life on a farm is really like.
I thought this was a great thing to do, I personally hate the ‘relaxing’ holidays that involve going to a beach every day for a week. I find it a bit boring but being able to experience something like that whilst learning, eating great food and getting a cheaper rate just sounded perfect. In fact, it’s actually made me think I would like to go and do something similar at the end of my time learning French in France. Finishing off my French immersion course in Montpellier with a cheap trip to the gorgeous rural areas of the south of France sounded perfect to me. So not only have I learnt a lot today at the EasyFrench Language School but I’ve also figured out how I’m going to round off my trip in Montpellier. It was a productive day come to think of it.