To be an exchange student overseas, would I need to speak the language of the country fluently?
I am thinking of applying to do a student exchange in Italy, Germany or France. I do not speak any of these languages totally fluently (In fact I speak NO French). Would I still be able to do an exchange program in these countries? I can read and write in Italian and German, but cannot speak the languages very well. (The italian I do speak, is a dialect....)
Studying Abroad - 7 Answers
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1 :
get money
2 :
Classes will be in the language of the country in which the schools are, so yes, you will need to understand the language well. If your courses require writing a paper, or a longhand answer on a test, you will want the language. It would be very rare for classes, lectures or lessons to be conducted in anything other than the local language. best regards, petr b.
3 :
no you dont need to speak the language fluently because it is an educational experience. you just need to have studied the language for 3 yrs in most cases but for some countries you dont have to have learn the language at all t go on exchange. dont worry its really hard to learn a language the best way is to live the language!
4 :
I think you need to know the gist of it so you can get through it. My sister hosted a Spanish exchange student once, she was really nice. Her English was a bit rough, but understandable. I'm not sure how she did at the school. But I'm not sure if the course work you do in their classes counts. I'm not too keen on exchange programs. Take it as a learning experience, not as a test for how well you can say 'Can I get a beer' in German (what is the drinking age there?) If you still aren't sure...take an exchange trip to America or Canada. Although traveling to the latter may be bad for your mental health.
5 :
English is the universal language, you can get by with it almost anywhere ... except the United States, where it is becoming obligatory to be fluent in Spanish.
6 :
It depends on what classes you're going to take while you're there. I studied abroad in France, and didn't speak any French when I went there. I ended up speaking it relatively well when I came home...however, all the teens in Paris wanted to practice their English with me, so I wasn't around very much French other than in my language classes! Hope this helps! LC-B
7 :
You are definitely still able to go on exchange. As long as you learn some basics during orientations and such, you should be fine. I've actually heard of people going on exchange without any knowledge of their host country's language and doing just fine, with the help of a dictionary, of course. So, as I said, you should be alright. :)
8 :
If your are speaking of a high school exchange, some countries have a language requirement in place, others do not. For example, if you want to go to France or the French speaking portions of Switzerland or Belgium, you must have had two years of high school French. Germany, on the other hand, has no language requirement. If you can write German -- you'll be way ahead of most others going! It's a tough language -- even the Germans can't speak it (or so says the father of one of our German exchange kids -- the father is a German teacher LOL).
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