Learn a language in total immersion: Internships, voluntary work

An internship follows on from a language course and allows you to put your language skills into practice in a professional setting. Numerous sectors of activity are available. The internships are unpaid, but, as a result, allow you to choose the professional domain which interests you. The first element to consider in carrying out an internship is the language level of the partipant. For this reason, the programme is divided into two parts, firstly starting with the intensive classes in order to lead on to the full-time internship.

This structure contains numerous advantages. On the one hand, the classes allow you to acquire the necessary knowledge in order to communicate in the professional setting. On the other hand, during this first part of the course, the future intern participates in personalised meetings in order to define his/her interests and skills and to have an overall and objective vision of the onsite professional world. The participant is given guidance in order to prepare his/her CV and his/her cover letters according to the customs of the country and the specialised professional domain. Interviews with potential employers are organised in order to lead to the placement as an intern. Once the internship has begun within the chosen company, the participant will have various work partners and various tasks in order to familiarise him/herself with the sector. Gradually, the intern will be given more and more responsibilities and specific assignments. For this reason, the intern's ease at communicating in the language of the country, motivation and availability are part of the main elements for the quality of the work experience placement.

The available professional sectors are all those which concern communication (services, marketing, commercial, hotel industry, tourism, computers, new technologies, legal or social domain etc.). The possibilities are therefore very numerous and it is not a matter of being tied down to one domain or to only see the technical aspects of it. The  course + internship programme represents an ideal experience to attain good language knowledge and to use it is the reality of the professional world of anotehr country. A quality opportunity for all those who wish to master a foreign language. Experience a language study stay abroad in total immersion in the two complementary contexts of academic learning and practice.

The voluntary work programmes proposed in Latin America or in South Africa are based on the same approach as for work experience placements. It is possible to carry out a voluntary work placement in various sectors, including social work, education, ecotourism, sustainable development, etc....Doing voluntary work in an excellent means of putting your language knowledge into practice "on the field" and of filling in the distance that often exists between the local population and foreign visitors. It will be easier for you to foster direct, meaningful and lasting relationships with the people of the country.

The domains for which you can carry out a work experience placement are varied and, for this reason, it is necessary to communicate 3 centres of interest for the different sectors of activity in order to guarantee the work experience placement. We ask you to please prepare a CV and a cover letter in the language of the destination country, as well as sending us a copy of potential work certificates or letters of recommendation as the same time as your enrolment form.

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• Language studies abroad
• Internships, voluntary work
• Paid jobs
• Career training