L’Athénée possède une longue tradition d’échanges linguistiques. Les destinations varient selon les écoles partenaires. Nous sommes en permanence à la recherche d’écoles qui acceptent d’organiser un échange et partagent les mêmes priorités que les nôtres: l’échange doit être réciproque, l’hébergement doit se faire en famille, l’apprentissage de la langue cible est prioritaire. Généralement, la matinée se passe dans les classes de l’école qui héberge et l’après-midi permet une découverte culturelle du pays ou de la région hôte.

Les échanges se font actuellement en 4e année, avec une école limbourgeoise située dans la commune de Dilsen-Stokkem.

Ces échanges se concluent par une activité pédagogique et/ou une exploitation en classe. Nous vous proposons ci-dessous quelques exemples d’exploitation pédagogique de ces échanges. Par ailleurs, nous plaçons un appel pour trouver un éventuel partenaire à un tel échange.

 

Appel à un partenaire

We would like to establish an exchange with a British school along the following lines :

• The students, staying with families, would be taught in the morning (or would attend classes).
• Visits can take place in the afternoon and be used for a variety of assignments(summaries, questions to be answered…).

We’ve been maintaining links with English schools for a number of years now and, though we do get on very well, we would like to enhance the linguistic aspect of the exchange.

We feel it is a pity that the potential of this existing structure is not used to the full. It could save parents, who often pay through the nose to send their children to summer schools, quite a hefty bill.

The students are fifth formers their number range between fourteen and twenty, they are supposed to reach the intermediate level by the end of the fifth form.

 

Exploitation pédagogique (El intercambio en España, 2002, texte de Laura ZADUNAYSLI, 6LG)

Hemos salido el 16 de marzo.  Cuando hemos llegado, había 18 grados y también mucho sol.  Este sabado, hemos quedado con nuestra familia y hemos ido a la discoteca por la noche.  El domingo, muchos de los nuestros han dormido tarde y no han hecho mucho más.  Estábamos esperando a el día segundo, en la escuela.

La escuela española es muy diferente ne la nuestra.  Tengo la impresión que los alumnos no trabajan! Llaman a los profesores por su nombre y son muy ruidosos en la clase.  Tienen menos horas de clase por semana que nosotros y tienen menos horas de la misma clase que nosotros, por ejemplo, hace 6 años que hacemos latín y tenemos 4 horas por semana, pero en España, sólo tienen 2 horas para semana y hace 2 años que hacen latín.

Hemos ido 2 días a Barcelona para visitar con la profesora.  Hemos visto los monumentos más importantes de Gaudí, el Parque Guell, la Casa Milá, la Casa Batlló, y la Sagrada Familia; hemos visto el hispotal St Pau, el puerto y la Rambla.  El estilo de Gaudí me gusta mucho y monumentos semejantes no se encuentran en Bruselas pero la Sagrada Familia me parece muy fea !  Barcelona es una ciudad muy bonita y muy grande, pero pienso que si no hubiera los monumentos de Gaudí, la cuidad estaría muy vacia y menos interesante. No hay ningunas casas en Barcelona y esto no me gusta.  Prefiero Bruselas porque todas las casas antiguas son bonitas y no solamente las que han sido hechas por los arquitectos famosos.

El jueves, hemos ido a Taragona, para ver algunos sitios romanos antiguos.  No queda mucho de estos sitios pero era bastante interesante.  Había un circo y un puerto.  Por la tarde hemos ido ?a la playa para tomar el sol y ésto fue la actividad más interesante !

La vida en españa es también muy diferente, los españoles llegan siempre retrasados !  Si tienen que estar en algún sitio a las ocho, van a salir de su casa a las 8:10 !  Pienso que la vida en España es más barata en general que en Bélgica, para la ropa, la comida en los restaurantes, etc.  Viven más tarde que nosotros también, cenan a las 9 o a las 10.  Son muy ruidosos y hablan mucho.  Pero son muy simpáticos y me he entendido muy bien con los alumnos españoles!  Espero ver a Estefanía, Mónica, los otros y tambíen a los otros alumnos que no han participado en el intercambio.

 

Exploitation pédagogique (échange avec la « Roundhay School »de Leeds, mai 2005, texte de Sandra BAKKE, 6SE)

• Explain the trip from Brussels in details7.30 a.m. My dad and I arrive at the Central Station. I’m still sleepy. Luckily we find the Eurostar counter without too many problems. Mrs. De Meue welcomes us in English with enthusiasm. After checking if I have my identity card and receiving my ticket, I can finally put down my heavy luggage full of Belgian chocolate. Time to say goodbye. We are now walking in direction of the Eurostar. We have to get through different securities. Around 8.30 a.m. we are ready to get on the train. The trip starts. About 45 minutes later the loudspeakers’ voice informs us that the crossing of the English Channel will begin and of not forgetting to set our watch right when arriving in England. 20 minutes later we all rush out of the station to get our coach. First surprise, the entrance door and the steering wheel are on the right side … Around eleven o’clock (English time) we are driving through London’s streets, of which we have a quick view : The Thames, Piccadilly Circus … and of course the famous red double-deckers and telephone booths. A really short sightseeing. Then we are stuck an hour in a traffic jam. Finally we are on the motorway to Leeds. We are all looking forward to seeing Leeds. Three long hours in front of us before arriving and finding our English friends. This part of the trip is quite calm. Everybody is relaxing and resting. The bus stops once on the motorway for 45 minutes in a shopping area. Everyone gets back on the coach : final straight before Leeds. Finally, at 3 p.m. we arrive at Roundhay School after a long trip. Our exchange partners are waiting for us, all excited. After hugs and greetings we enter the school, get a little snack in the staff room and receive instructions in the main room. Our partners insist to show us the school in a hurry, but it is so big that we don’t have time to see all of it. At four o’clock my partner Simone and I decide to go home. One of the other partners’ dad gives us a lift. (Very nice of him. My luggage is a l?bit heavy). At home I meet Simone’s sister, Lauren, who is about the same age as me, and their mom who gives me a warm welcome. I already feel at home. Instead of resting as planned we spend this afternoon rushing to the supermarket, to Mac Donalds …Later on in the evening we are invited to a birthday party. I meet a lot of Simone’s friends. My own class mates are there as well, together with their partners. We don’t go home too late because both of us are exhausted. It has been a very long day. Luckily it is Saturday tomorrow.
• Tropical WorldTropical World is located 3 miles north of Leeds City Centre, only 20-30 minutes from Roundhay school. Instead of going by coach we walked. It is one of the most popular attractions of the UK. You can see displays of exotic and rare plants, flowers and trees. You also see different varieties of fish : huge ones, colored ones, dangerous ones like the piranhas. Between 30 and 40 varieties of butterflies can be seen in Tropical World as well. In the South American House you discover Golden Lion Tamarins from Brazil, Whistling Ducks. In the Nocturnal Zone you can see Egyptian fruit bats, giant jumping rats and other creatures living at night. In the Desert House you can see some of the oldest tortoises of Britain. In the Insect Zone as the name tells you see arachnids, lizards, snakes … not my favourites. Other animals you can see in Tropical World are monkeys, iguanas, birds etc. For me this place was a bit too hot and also a bit small.
• About the foodIt was certainly not as bad as I expected. Actually it wasn’t bad at all. Contrary to what is said, English people – or at least my hostfamily – have a healthy diet. When we went to Mac Donald’s the first day, my friend took a salad !!… Different kind of chicken (sometimes a little spicy) was served every night with vegetables and rice. It was very tasty and copious. I was certainly not starving. Like all teenagers, my partner Simone loves chocolate, candies and so on. English chocolate is disgusting, I was told – I did not want to check – so that’s why I took with me plenty of chocolate from Brussels to give to my host family. What I discovered in Leeds was tea. I had never drunk tea before, but now I have to admit that I like it. My friend Simone succeeded in making me drink a cup. Since then I drank at least one cup a day, but English made : Tea from Yorkshire, milk and sugar. For breakfast we had pancakes, fried eggs, bacon, toasts … the day was starting well. School started only at 8.25 a.m.
• The English way of lifeI don’t know if it is typical of English people but they don’t seem to stress a lot. It looks like they enjoy life. They take their time to do what they have to do and know when to relax. One strucking thing is the fact that they walk a lot. Every morning we were walking to school which isn’t that far away though it isn’t next door, because you need 20-30 minutes by foot ! Teens are spending much time hanging out at each other’s place and all live in the same neighbourhood. In Belgium if I want to go somewhere, to town or to see a friend from school, I have to go by public transport. Teenagers are also spending much time outside, practising sport or relaxing in a park. We do not always have time or take our time to do so in Belgium. Leeds is in fact very green and built differently from Brussels. The only time when they go by bus is when going to town (where you find the shops and offices). It seems like everybody knows each other in Leeds because they live in the same neighbourhood and the parents are always likely to give their children’s friends a lift home. What struck me the most was definitely this easy-going attitude. This was even noticeable at school. Pupils were talking to teachers like they had known them for a long time, without lacking of respect. Everybody was cheerful and friendly.
• Personal opinionI really enjoyed my stay in Leeds. I got to meet new people and make new friends. I discovered a new culture, another way of living. At the same time everything was similar and different.