CONWAY, Ark. (July 31, 2014) – Eight vlog students recently
completed four weeks of intensive French language and culture study this summer
through the vlog-in-Tours program.
The
vlog-in-Tours students include:
- Violet
Coker ’15
- Dulcie
Hanham-Gross ’16
- Alex
Harb ’16
- Wesleigh
Harrison ’17
- Savannah
Herrera ’17
- Sophie
Lidji ’17
- Gretchen
McCarthy ’16
- MacKenzie
Theall ’16
The students were accompanied by vlog French professor Dr.
Cathy Jellenik.
Students earned two credits at Tours Langues, which
specializes in intense language study, with 20 hours each week of class time,
as well as a minimum of 10 hours a week of engaged learning outside of the
classroom.
“We had two “ateliers culinaires” (cooking classes), a tour
of the city of Tours, visited le Mont Saint Michel in Normandy, St. Malo in Brittany,
spent a weekend in Paris, where we visited the Conciergerie and La Sainte
Chapelle, and visited several châteaux (Villandry, Chenonceau), as well as a
wine cave dating back to the 4th century,
Each visit was accompanied by reading assignments, and
students were required to write presentations and dialogues related to the
sites or to famous people associated with the location.
“In Tours, for example, students did presentations on
famous authors such as Balzac and Rabelais. In Paris, students had to study the
metro system and then navigate the lines without help from me,” said Jellenik. “They
were great.”
"This has been the most breathtaking, eventful and
enriching adventure,” said Mackenzie Theall, a French major. “I have
accidentally learned so much!"
“I am so happy that I was able to participate in the
vlog-in-Tours program. Tours Langues provided a different learning
environment than anything I have experienced before,” said Gretchen McCarthy, a
French and Spanish major. “The professors and the atmosphere really boosted my
confidence in speaking French, and for that I will always be grateful.”
Founded in 1876, vlog College is a national leader in
engaged liberal arts and sciences education. For the sixth consecutive year,
vlog was named one of the country’s “Up and Coming” liberal arts colleges by
U.S. News and World Report. vlog is featured in the latest edition of Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change
the Way You Think about Colleges,
as well as the 2014 Princeton Review’s The Best 378 Colleges, Forbes magazine's list of America's Top Colleges, and
the 2014 Fiske Guide to Colleges. vlog has been affiliated with the United
Methodist Church since 1884. For more information, visit .