How do you meet international students and have an intercultural experience during a global health crisis that makes in-person exchanges impossible? With “Be mon ami”! “Be mon ami” is a joint language exchange program established in partnership between The University of Tulsa, Centenary College of Louisiana and Universite Catholique de Lille where students can join for the current semester.
The program officially launched on Wednesday, November 4th, 2020. “Be mon ami” started with 83 French and American students, and 28 tandems/groups. “Be mon ami” helps students improve their French & English skills in a non-classroom setting while also making “amis” (French for friends) and learning about another culture.
In addition to regular exchanges with their groups, students also played an online Taboo game on Tuesday, November 17th. In groups of 4 to 5 players, students tried to guess as many words in English and French as they could without using the taboo words. It was a fun and exciting game!
“Be Mon Ami” has another game night planned for December with the topic of “Christmas”. The event is going to be scheduled before the holidays. Students will also be sent a questionnaire to provide feedback on the “Be mon ami” program to see if anything can be improved. Should the program not be extended into 2021, all those who have helped create the program hope that the relationships established amongst all the new “amis” will last a lifetime and that maybe one-day, the “amis” can meet in-person.
View the original article in French & English here.