The Strasbourg French-Teacher Internship Program of the Department of Foreign Languages at Otterbein College

The Strasbourg
French-Teacher Internship Program

The Foreign Language Department at Otterbein College in cooperation with the elementary school system of Strasbourg, France, offers a 10-week internship for students preparing to teach French in the elementary schools. The primary objective of the internship is to acquaint the American student with the French language as applied in the elementary classroom, but also to increase the student's understanding of the French education system and to expand the student's awareness and appreciation of French culture in general.

This unique program gives students the opportunity to participate in classroom activities to the extent that their linguistic abilities permit. They will be placed with carefully selected cooperating teachers (with some knowledge of English) who are eager to work with an American student and to help that student build a resource library for the teaching of French in an American elementary school. Students will be expected to share information about themselves, photos, realia, etc. with the school children (in French) and to teach them American songs, games, and common expressions.

Eligibility

Any student pursuing a degree in second-language education with at least junior standing and a solid foundation in French (at least two years of college French) is eligible; however, because of limited space, preference will be given to students planning to teach French in the elementary school system. Applications must be approved for off-campus study by the Foreign Language Department and the Intercultural Relations Sub-Committee.

Location

Located in Alsace-Lorraine in Northeastern France, Strasbourg is close to Dijon, Paris, Nancy, Besançon, and Colmar. Strasbourg is the hub of a major European gateway to major destination points in Luxemburg, Germany, and Switzerland. This major metropolitan area proposes world famous art collections, an excellent Opera program year round, and an ambitious variety of theatrical performances that are world renowned.

Dates

The preferred calendar for the school internship is the 10-week period from October 1 to mid-December. An optional calendar is the 10-week period from January 1 to mid-March. The Foreign Language Department strongly recommends that students who participate in the fall program also spend the month of September in an intensive French language stage (workshop) at the Université de Bourgogne in Dijon in order to be better prepared linguistically and culturally for the internship experience. Students who participate in the winter program may want to spend the entire fall quarter at the Université de Bourgogne.

Credits

Students who participate in the 10-week internship will receive 15 quarter hours of credit in French and 2 quarter hours of credit for the course entitled Multicultural Education. Students who participate in the September stage in Dijon will receive an additional 5 quarter hours of credit in French. Full credit will be given only if the student fulfills the outline of course work specified by Otterbein's Foreign Language Department. (Course work revolves around the completion of a journal written in French and the completion of a bank of resource materials.) Otterbein students are also entitled to waive a required Integrative Studies course.

Housing

Students may request to live on student housing or to board with a family or in a pension.

Cost

Students will be charged the regular Otterbein tuition for the 10-week internship. Costs not covered are round-trip transportation, as well as transportation within France, room and board, school supplies, and personal expenses.

For further information, click here to e-mail Dr. Levilson C. Reis, Department of Foreign Languages, TFS, One Otterbein College, Otterbein College, Westerville, OH 43081, 614-823-1112.