As the year is coming to a close, summer vacation is already being planned out and organized for certain students taking French and German. Poly is fortunate enough to have multiple language departments embarking on cultural trips to allow students to embrace the language they have studied during their high school years. This summer, Poly’s French and German students have the opportunity to travel and stay with foreign exchange families to broaden their understandings with real, cultural experiences.
For German students, the exchange has been occurring over this past school year. Poly junior and German student Ella Christensen explained, “German exchange students come around spring break to stay with American students and then during summer, American students go to stay with the same family in Germany from July to August.”
While in Germany, Poly students have a variety of activities and places to go. Junior Aubrey Chapman said, “I am going to go to school for a week while I am there to see what schools in Germany are like and my German exchange student is taking me to Paris and Athens.”
The French language department will travel to France and like Poly’s German department, French foreign exchange students had come to stay with Poly students during this school year. The French exchange students “attended cheer, swim, and cross country practice,” according to sophomore Matlynn Giles. Giles continued to explain that Poly students going to France to stay as foreign exchange students “was an option and one-third of Poly’s French students are doing the dual French-American program.”
The foreign exchange program Poly has provided for its students studying French and German is continuing to inspire and influence students to learn more about different cultures.