High Expectations for the Language Trips to Spain and France

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Photo Courtesy of Danielle Eivins

Spanish students explore Spain on the 2019 foreign language trip. This year students will explore Toledo and Segovia in Spain.

Ian Martinez, Reporter

For students in Spanish and French, language trips are coming up. Spanish students can go to Spain or Costa Rica, and French students can go to France. If a language student is in French or Spanish III and above, they are allowed to go on the trip. 

“Students who go on the trips must show willingness to participate in all activities, practice the language to be as fluent as possible and be respectful of others,” Danielle Eivins, a Spanish teacher at City, said. 

Spanish students are going to Madrid and travel to Toledo and Segovia from there. Then, they will go to Granada in southern Spain. Students will stay with families there for five days. French kids are going to spend about a week in Annecy and by the Swiss border, along with staying in Paris for a few days. 

“There is a long list of things we expect from the students, but the most important ones are that they go with the mindset of having a good time, be ready to speak French, expect to learn more and practice more,”  Tony Balcaen, a French teacher at City, said. 

There are two types of expectations teachers pose for these trips.  One is that students need to be ready to speak the language to the people where they are going to stay. Number two is that they need to be respectful of their surroundings.

“The expectations on the Costa Rica trip were obviously to speak Spanish, be respectful, and represent our school district well within your host families.The hardest expectation is speaking and communicating with your family,” Nina Lavezzo-Stecopoulos ‘20 said.