So here comes the “résumé” after our first week of international studies. And this time, we’ll focus on the lectures themselves (+ the materials provided).
After a few days, we slowly grasped that analyzing long texts is the order of the day. Instead of filling out exercises in workbooks, students are given printed documents and worksheets. The lessons are very similar to debate circles, with students interacting with the professor or among themselves. They’re presenting their point of view, which sometimes includes a slight disagreement. However, they’re encouraged to show their ideas and to “n’avoir pas peur de tomber".
Moreover, the average lesson lasts 2 hours with a short 5-minute break in between. However, the atmosphere is much more relaxed, with students often working on group projects, model situations, and their research.
As far as we have seen, the content of the lessons also slightly differs - the focus is on global problems, economics, environmental questions, and sustainability.
Another peculiarity would be the good old “Philo” - this subject is taught from a relatively young age. It’s a mandatory subject when completing “le bac”. Once again, Kant, Spinoza, and Voltaire are just as regular topics as the dessert of the day.
On the other hand, the knowledge of foreign languages is questionable. English is mandatory, but not everybody feels confident enough to speak, not to mention the second language.
To sum up this little reflection, the pros and cons are simply in each education system. But it is up to us what we will take away from this month-long stay, what we will let it enrich us, and what we will learn from the French.
À très bientôt!
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