The ImmersIon Experience

Immersion is not a quick dip, an afternoon break from the English-speaking world. It’s the chance to be completely surrounded, for days, a week, a month or more, in the seductive sounds, exacting logic and quirky irregular verbs of the French language, soaking them up until they become second nature. And when you study in France or a Francophone territory, you are immersed in the whole range of French culture at the same time. Do you want to study in the heart of the City of Lights or by the beach in Provence? The possiblilities are all there.

The editors of FrancePress have compiled this annual Travel Study Guide to bring you the resources and useful tips you’ll need to plan your own immersion experience. We asked experts such as Stephen Loflin, author of Adventures Abroad; John J. Janc, creator of the Minnesota State University Summer Study Program in France; John Chrisman and Audrey Queyreyre, authors of Study Abroad Paris; and Dr. Susan L. Pugh of the Student Financial Assistance Office at Indiana University Bloomington, for their thoughts on selecting the best programs and how to plan and finance your trip. Whether you choose to go to France, Canada, the Caribbean or a U.S.-based immersion school, you’ll find plenty of options in our listings. Of course the ground-level experts are the students who have already experienced these programs firsthand. We asked several of them for their inside tips, their best memories and their advice about facing the challenges of studying abroad. Next year, your voice could be among them—keep in touch!

Hélène Goupil
Travel Study Guide Editor