advice on student exchange to Belgium?
I am applying to go on a student exchange to Belgium for 5 months next year. One of the reasons I am going is to improve my French, but the lady at the program said that there is big possibility that I might get a Flemmish (dutch) host family. I am willing to learn Flemmish as well as French, but will my French improve if I have a Flemmish family (they can speak both languages, but the schooling would be in Flemmish)? The other option is France, but I am not too keen on that.
Studying Abroad - 4 Answers
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1 :
what is flemmish? that is the dutch language? www.joyce_travieza@yahoo.com
2 :
why do you want to learn french if you don't like france? i bet whatever family you live with will speak english anyway. i recommend studying abroad if you have the chance to do so. flemmish or no flemmish. :)
3 :
I am not too sure why you want to learn French when you dont want to go to France. Anyways, it is true that the first language in Belgium is Flemish but there are certain pockets where you will find French speaking families. Though these two sections generally prefer to stay in their 'own' colonies. I am sure you can easily find a French speaking family if you look for it .. Needless to say Belgium is a great place and yes not everyone understand English as someone commented and you may need to learn little bit of Flemish to survive there :)
4 :
When applying, specifically request a French-first speaking family. Most of these families live in 'Wallony', the French speaking part of Belgium, as opposed to 'Flanders', the Dutch or Flemish speaking part. I'm pretty sure they can accomodate you. Keep in mind that Wallony is considered the 'poorer' part, so you could request for a family living in Brussels, about 65% of people have French as their first language.
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