Eager to follow in the footsteps of a college student who studied abroad in France? We recently caught up with Ainsley, a digital media major and French and francophone studies minor from Xavier University, who studied abroad in the mountainside city of Grenoble during her fall semester.
Discover how Ainsley’s fall semester in Grenoble with AIFS Abroad helped improve her French language fluency and expand her worldview.
Choosing a Study Abroad Program Destination & Term
With more than 30 destinations to choose from with AIFS Abroad, deciding where to go takes some consideration (our team can help with that!). You can narrow down your search by filtering programs by academic interest, country, or term using our program finder on the homepage. If you’re like Ainsley, you may look at smaller cities where you can practice speaking French:
“[I chose Grenoble because of] the size of the city, the homestay housing option, and the beautiful French Alps. The city was also very near to some other bigger cities like Lyon and Geneva, which were perfect for short weekend trips. This program is perfect for a student who is dedicated to improving their French, as the course aspect of it was incredibly transformative for my language skills. Grenoble is also perfect for someone who loves the outdoors and—like me—maybe doesn’t want to be in a larger city like Paris.”
When it comes to choosing when to study abroad, your academic or extracurricular schedule may influence your decision. As a member of her school’s band, Ainsley had fewer commitments during the fall semester:
“I chose the fall term because I am a part of Xavier’s pep band, and we do a lot of traveling for the Big East and NCAA tournaments in the spring semester, which I did not want to miss. I ended up really enjoying the fall semester, because I was able to spend my birthday traveling to Nice with my mom, and I loved going to the Christmas market.”
Why AIFS Abroad?
There are a million reasons why college students and recent graduates choose AIFS Abroad—including our dedicated on-site support, immersive activities and excursions, award-winning housing, and our experiential study abroad and internship programs located in exciting destinations around the world. After doing some research, Ainsley discovered that our intensive French language courses were just what she was looking for:
“AIFS programs offered more intensive French language courses than others. I liked that AIFS included opportunities for travel in its programs, and that they work to offset carbon emissions.”
Academics Abroad
When you study abroad, you get to experience a totally new academic environment. You can learn from professors with unique perspectives, meet international students from around the world, and experience how a different cultural context can transform your studies. Hear Ainsley describe her experience at the University of Grenoble Alpes:
“[I attended the] University of Grenoble Alpes, specifically the Centre Universitaire d’Etudes Françaises (CUEF). This department was for international students looking to improve their French. Though I did not meet many French students, I was surrounded by people from all over the world, and my worldview was expanded so much because of it. I was able to learn not only about French culture, but other world cultures as well.”
As someone dedicated to improving her fluency, Ainsley signed up for an intensive French language program where all of her classes were taught in French. Her five courses in Grenoble included: French Literature, French Language, Vocabulary Enrichment, Mythologies, and French Culture & Society. The language course stood out to Ainsley for a few reasons:
“The main language class was definitely my favorite, because I learned SO much from it in terms of language. The professor was very helpful in integrating our weakest skills into the course and ensuring that we were learning how to speak fluent French. I really enjoyed a field trip we took to the Chateau de Vizille, which is where the French Revolution actually started. The activities coordinator gave us lectures on the history of the chateau, and we were able to explore the museum and the garden.”
Language Learning
While some students choose to study abroad with the goal of improving their foreign language skills, you are not required to speak or learn another language to study or intern abroad. However, certainprograms, like the French Language and Culture option Ainsley chose, do have foreign language requirements:
“I had to be at least at a B1 level in French, which is early intermediate. Coming into the semester, I was pretty good at reading and writing, but listening and speaking were my worst skills. My French improved exponentially throughout the semester, because I was completely immersed. I hardly spoke English during the day, and I read Harry Potter books in French throughout the semester to practice my reading. My advice for immersion is to truly let yourself be immersed, and don’t default to English with your peers just because you can. The more you practice and try, the more you will be rewarded… By the end of the semester, I had grown very used to hearing and understanding French.”
Homestay
Many AIFS Abroad programs, like Ainsley’s, offer a homestay as a housing option, which is perfect if you want to practice a foreign language or immerse yourself more fully in the local culture. To ensure participants are matched with the right hosts (all of whom are fully vetted by AIFS Abroad staff), we ask participants to fill out a questionnaire. For example, Ainsley noted how she likes dogs and cats, so she was placed in a pet-friendly homestay:
“I stayed in a homestay with an older woman and her two cats and two dogs. She cooked dinner for me every night and provided me with fruit for breakfast. She also did all my laundry because the French are very particular about their laundry machines. It was really nice being in a homestay and having a nightly family dinner. We also had several other short-term international students stay with us throughout the semester, so it was fun having a makeshift family around.”
AIFS Abroad Trips & Excursions
The French writer Stendhal once described Grenoble as having “a mountain at the end of every street,” a fitting image for this alpine city. But apart from the beautiful French Alps, there’s far more to discover beyond your host city. All AIFS Abroad programs include trips and excursions, which are led by local staff who take you around your host country. You’ll get to explore more of the region and learn about the history and culture by visiting important sites. Hear Ainsley discuss a few of her excursions throughout France:
“I went on a lot of excursions, [including two] weekend ones [to] Provence and Paris. I loved getting to explore other cities, especially in different regions of France, which are very different. I loved having free time on my own to get meals, explore museums or shops, and see what I wanted to see the most. I also got to meet the AIFS Cannes students on these trips, which made exploring even more fun.
My favorite [excursion was] the Chartreuse Museum and Annecy. Annecy was a beautiful lakeside, mountainous town that my Program Director called the Venice of France. The city was full of canals, and the buildings were covered in ivy and flowers. The food there was delicious and there was a great weekend market. The Chartreuse Museum was just super interesting because it was something I had never heard of or tried before.”
In addition to AIFS Abroad excursions, Ainsley took a few trips with friends and family over the weekends and during her host university’s fall break:
“I went to Geneva with a couple of friends, and I had a great time there. It was a 2-hour train from Grenoble, and the food there was really delicious, and the old town was very pretty.
I went with my mom to Prague over fall break, which was a super fun trip and much needed after midterms. We explored the whole city together, and I fell in love with some of the food there. Prague was relatively cheap compared to other cities I visited. My mom and I also visited Nice for my birthday weekend. The weather there was beautiful, the beaches were so pretty and just relaxing to hang out at, and some of the cafes and pastries there were incredible. Nice is also super close to Monte Carlo and some other small coastal cities, so it was easy to take a short day trip to another town.”
Making Memories
Apart from the amazing cultural experiences and the exponential improvement of her French language skills, one of the highlights of Ainsley’s study abroad program in Grenoble was the friends she made. Thinking back on her favorite memories during her time abroad, Ainsley shared:
“My two closest friends were from Norway and Iran, and we had a lot of fun sharing cultures and exploring France together… A fond memory I have is having dinner and a sleepover with [them]. It was the weekend before finals—and the weekend before I was leaving—so we wanted to have one last super fun weekend. We went to a Persian restaurant, because my friend is Iranian, and we had some of the most delicious food I’ve ever had there. Then we went back and made cookies, studied, and then got all bundled up and watched a movie.”
Are you ready to take the leap and study abroad like Ainsley did in Grenoble? We’d love to help you start your journey!
When it comes to helping college students study abroad, AIFS Abroad knows how to do it best. Our study abroad programs give students space to grow while providing dedicated support and other valuable inclusions that help them make the most of their time abroad. Cultural and social activities allow students to make friends and learn more about their program destination, while 24/7 emergency assistance, vetted housing, and on-site staff let students go abroad with confidence. Explore AIFS Abroad to discover what sets an award-winning study abroad program apart.
