French students visit Whitefish pen pals

The language barrier between a group of French students visiting their American counterparts at Whitefish High School last week was sometimes a stumbling block. But there were a few things the students could rely on as common areas of understanding — school, sports and food.

About 20 students came from Bordeaux, France, and spent roughly a week in Whitefish touring the town, staying with their WHS pen pals and visiting the school.

The exchange is part of an ongoing relationship between WHS and Vaclav Havel high school. For the past 10 years, WHS teacher Jen Vilar has partnered with their English teacher to connect students together. Students have pen pals and participate in video conferences.

“We have discussed many different cultural topics such as views on food and eating, music, movies, Internet usage, school systems and daily life, sports and leisure, law and government, and many more,” Vilar said.

The pen-pals program is a great chance for students to learn, Vilar said, but the visit from the French students offers so much more.

“It gets them excited about learning a language and culture,” she said. “This is the real deal. It’s not just talking to me or in class — they have to communicate.”

The French students Thursday joined Whitefish students participating in several classes. They joined students in a French class, but also participated in other classes where the Whitefish students may not have spoken any French.

In a morning government class, students started the day by getting to know each other and explaining their home country’s government. Sometimes the words to describe government weren’t the easiest to communicate. When all else failed students reverted to the common ground of teens — asking about each others participation in sports and at what age a drivers license could be obtained.

Later, the French students joined a baking class and food became the common denominator. The French students learned to make, and tasted, chocolate chip cookies. One of the French chaperones taught the American students to make crepes, which both sets of students tasted with huckleberry jam.

For three years, in 2005, 2008 and 2011, Vilar has taken a group of Whitefish students to France where they also met their pen pals and were able to visit their high school.

Having the visiting students stay in the homes of Whitefish students has forced the two groups to improve the language skills in English and French, respectively.

“When the French students got here it, because it was the beginning of the school year, many of my students were rusty on their French,” she said. “Now their doing great talking together. I’m very proud of them.”