Rivers Welcomes French Exchange Students for an Immersive Cultural Experience

The partnership between Rivers and a bilingual program at Georges Duby began in 2013 and is offered to Upper School students in Grades 9 through 11. The visiting French students are the grade equivalent of Rivers’ sophomores. In June, Rivers students will complete their end of the exchange when they reunite with their French “correspondents”—or “les correspondents,” also known as “a person with whom you exchange letters”—and live with the families of those students in Aix-en-Provence, France. 

Students are immersed in a global learning opportunity beyond sightseeing or classroom work. They attend school, engage in after-school sports, and participate in social and recreational activities such as Grade 9 and 10 Casino Night and the annual Special Olympics basketball tournament organized by Grade 10.

Lily Soares ’27, a student in Scott Butchart’s French class, explained how memorable this part of the exchange was for her and the connections she and her family made with the French student they hosted. “She was so eager to learn all about American culture and get a glimpse of everyday life,” said Lily. “She really became part of the family. One of my favorite memories was taking her into Boston and showing her around the seaport and Boston Harbor. I introduced her to some of my favorite American foods—like my all-time favorite ice cream place—and drinks she hadn’t tried before, like a Shirley Temple.”

While at Rivers, French students visited every French Middle School and Upper School class offered at Rivers, and attended Rivers French classes of all levels, including Honors III French, Honors IV/V French, French Cinema, and AP French with their “correspondents.” Every other day, they took excursions into Boston and visited landmarks including the Prudential Center, Boston Common, the State House, Fenway Park, Quincy Market, the JFK Library and Edward Kennedy Institute, and the campuses of Harvard and MIT. Evenings and weekends were spent with Rivers host families. In France, Rivers students will have a similar rhythm, but with the school year finished, they will split time between time with their host families and group cultural excursions in the Provençal towns near Aix.

One visiting student shared gratitude for the exchange. “I’m so thankful for [my] host family and Rivers,” she said. “I saw many classes like math, biology, French, and English that I also have in France, and I also saw other classes, such as data science and music classes, that I don’t have.”  A highlight of this student’s experience visiting Boston was attending a Celtics game with her host family, she said. “The atmosphere, the game, the food, the players—everything was so amazing.”

Elisa Goldsmith, French teacher and language department chair, emphasized the value of students taking their classroom learning into a French community. “Two weeks hosting a French student and two weeks living with the same French student’s family proves to be an invaluable experience,” she said. “Beyond immersing themselves in the French language and culture, students develop a strong emotional attachment to their French families, the language, and the culture.”

Rivers students said “au revoir” to the French students at the end of their visit, but they will be reunited in June. There, the cultural exchange will continue, and Rivers’ students will have the opportunity to learn about French culture–a valuable step in becoming global citizens.