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High school expands foreign exchange to Costa Rica

Date: 11/5/2012

By Chris Maza

chrism@thereminder.com

LONGMEADOW — After two successful years, Longmeadow High School is expanding its participation in a foreign exchange program and is looking for host families.

Satisfied with how two years of hosting high school students from France went, the World Languages Department at the high school will be adding a component this winter through which it will welcome students from Costa Rica.

World Languages Department Head Kathleen Epaul told Reminder Publications that the school first starting working with FACES (Friends of America Cultural Exchanges), a company that specializes in arranging student exchanges, to establish a program involving students from France, an area FACES specializes in. When FACES announced that it would be expanding its services to include Spanish-speaking students, Longmeadow High School enthusiastically agreed to participate.

"We started out with FACES as sort of a trial run and the response has been phenomenal," Epaul said. "It has been really encouraging to see the response from the community."

Epaul explained that while the exchange students live with and attend the same classes and activities as their hosts, the social interaction with the school community as a whole makes the program a success for the visitors and the students alike.

"The benefits have been enormous. Our students, whether they are in a language class or just a member of our school community, all have the chance to interact with the students who visit us. Visitors get to know kids across the community, so it's not just getting to know the kid you're staying with," Epaul said. "The visiting students tend to blend in with the rest of the students. Honestly, after about a week I had a few people comment to me that they all just blended."

In addition to social interactions, students have been able to integrate things they have learned from their visitors into the classroom.

"As a teacher in the classroom, I see how it has impacted them," Epaul said. "When we are talking about culture, history, food and sometimes even grammar points or language vocabulary, my students will chime in and say, 'Oh, I was just talking with so-and-so about that and he or she said this' or 'he or she referenced this.' It takes what our students are learning in the classroom and pulls it right out and makes it real for them."

The student interaction has extended beyond the month-long stay of visiting students, as new technology has allowed the learning initiated by the program to continue.

"For our students, the impact has really been huge, whether it's been travel opportunities or continued contact," Epaul said. "What we have found after these first two years is that our students have been invited to go and visit their students in France. Our students maintain regular contact with their visitors through a variety of social media outlets and through FaceTime where they're talking in French and in English."

The World Language Department is currently accepting applications for students from Costa Rica, who will be arriving on Jan. 5 and staying through Feb. 10, 2013.

Families of students currently enrolled in Spanish classes will get first priority, followed by students enrolled in other classes in the World Language Department. If more hosts are needed, the department will consider students not currently taking a foreign language.

"The first year we needed to do that," Epaul said of opening applications up to students who are not in the intended language program. "We had several Spanish students host French students and we had one student who wasn't involved in a language program host as well. But the program was such a success that last year when we hosted French students, we had almost twice as many applications. It was very exciting to see how our students and our community have reacted to our visitors. It's been a really positive reaction from the Longmeadow community."

The school is also looking for hosts for the visiting students' chaperones. Epaul explained that those hosts do not need to be associated with the school.

"These students come with several teachers from their school and we're responsible for placing them as well," she said. "Sometimes that can be more difficult because a lot of times the teenagers don't want to take the adults in, so what we've found is that becomes a community outreach part of the program and we've had members of the community host the teachers. That has been a super opportunity for adults to become involved in the program."

Once hosts are selected the school and FACES help prepare the families for the visiting students' arrival.

"The director of the program comes a month or so before the guests arrive and hosts a program where he offers tips for them as well as a lot of information just to give people some guidance," Epaul said. "What's nice is having already participated in the program, a lot of our families come with some knowledge having already spoken with other families that have hosted visitors."

She added that most families have interaction with their visitors prior to their arrival, which allows both to prepare adequately.

Those interested in applying to be a host family should fill out the application located on the Longmeadow High School website (http://sites.longmeadow.k12.ma.us/lhs/academic/foreign-language/faces-exchange-program) and email it to Epaul at kepaul@longmeadow.k12.ma.us.