Hamburg High School Lille Exchange• Brief history– Exchange with Ensemble Scolaire Thérèse d’Avila

in Lille, France began in the 2010-2011 school year– Over the course of five years, we have welcomed

over 70 French students to Hamburg and taken over 30 HHS students to France.

– French students come to Hamburg in October and Hamburg students have travelled to France in January and April.

– Students at Thérèse d’Avila study an “international option” which requires them to study in America for a minimum of two to three weeks.

– In 2012 an agreement was signed between administrators of the two schools to formalize the program.

Benefits of an Exchange ProgramHamburg’s Lille exchange program exposes students to many of the 21st

Century Skills

SKILL Example from Lille exchange program

Global Awareness Students experience life in a foreign country!

Financial, Economic, Business and Entrepreneurial Literacy

Students are exposed to exchange rates, value of euro vs. dollar, cost of items in France vs. US

Civic Literacy Students addressed issue of bullying in journal entries

Health Literacy In journals, students noted the amount of smoking they witnessed, as well as the healthier foods that the French seem to eat (more natural, less chemicals and preservatives)

Environmental Literacy People walk, take metro, bike less cars = less pollution

Learning and Innovation Skills

• Learning and innovation skills are what separate students who are prepared for increasingly complex life and work environments in today’s world and those who are not. They include:

• • Creativity and Innovation • • Critical Thinking and Problem Solving • • Communication and Collaboration • While living in France, students were faced with daily

tasks for which they had to determine appropriate cultural responses and vocabulary.

Life and Career Skills • Today’s life and work environments require far more than thinking skills and

content knowledge. The ability to navigate the complex life and work environments in the globally competitive information age requires students to pay rigorous attention to developing adequate life and career skills, such as:

• • Flexibility and Adaptability • • Initiative and Self-Direction • • Social and Cross-Cultural Skills • • Productivity and Accountability • • Leadership and Responsibility • “Students in France have more freedom than we do, but it teaches them to

be responsible!”• When asked what they would say to future exchange students, the most

frequently mentioned pieces of advice? BE FLEXIBLE and ADAPT TO THE CULTURE!

Research shows that experience in other countries makes us more flexible, creative, and complex thinkers.

• How does studying or working abroad change you? You return with a photo album full of memories and a suitcase full of souvenirs, sure. But you may also come back from your time in another country with an ability to think more complexly and creatively—and you may be professionally more successful as a result.

2015 Lille Exchange

Arrival in Brussels

Les élèves en ville

le chocolat chaud!!

Au lycée

Les profs au lycée

What do we, as teachers, do?

• Attend classes at the lycée/check in with students daily

• Collaborate with French teachers, both in Hamburg and in Lille, to plan lessons

• Plan excursions for Hamburg students in Lille• Professional development/language

development

English classes

Au collège (not what it sounds like!)

Charlie Hebdo

Le Départ

Quotes from students…• It was my confidence to speak French that increased dramatically• It was awkward when they knew more about American politics than I did• It was the right balance of time in school to excursions• I see the French people as really similar to us• Social lives are harder to maintain outside of school because of the longer school day and students living

far from school• school… has more of an antique feel to it • It’s easier to adjust if you’re open and embracing of he changes/differences• I find that their school schedules are more related to college-type schedules. I feel by using this method it

prepares the students better for college.• I like how we went to school because then we meet actual French people and make friends.• Don’t be afraid to try something new, talk to a new person, and most importantly, don’t be afraid to make

mistakes!• I like that I can practice my French with fluent speakers• Do not be afraid! Although it might be intimidating at first, being surrounded by a foreign language and

new people, it is definitely worth it getting to know the new people.• From this experience, I definitely improved my French skills by actually speaking to fluent French speakers.• School is much different in Lille: the students don’t get up until the teacher is done teaching even if the bell

has rung; the students are taking notes on what they believe to be important not what the teacher tells them to write down.

• Be open to new experiences!

Regarding the Charlie Hebdo attacks

• Once I arrived in Brussels, I could barely even tell that these (terrorist) attacks and failed attacks had happened at all.

• When walking in Lille there are armed guards walking in the street, but it actually makes me feel safer. I find it so interesting how the French have dealt with this situation. Everybody, I feel, is for one cause and I can feel that motivational energy in Lille. I would have definitely regretted not coming to Lille and Mme Thomasson and Mme Winters made the right choices throughout the whole trip.

• When a major terrorist attack happens in America, the news constantly continues to bring it up, while the French pay tribute to the event and continue their lives. This simple act (referring to “Je suis Charlie” signs) shows the perfect amount of respect to the shooting.