Goals of the SalZH-Grand Rapids Exchange April - May 2013

“Then our sons in their youth will be like well-nurtured plants, and our daughters will be like pillars carved to adorn a palace.” Psalm 144.12

Before completion of the mandatory school years, the students of our 9th grade class have the opportunity to take part in a four-week foreign language exchange in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The exchange is considered part of their official education. The students will live with host families, attend classes in American schools, and spend one day per week with their Swiss classmates and teachers for instruction. In addition to various day trips in Grand Rapids, Swiss students will have the chance to visit Chicago at the conclusion of the exchange.

The goals of this 4-week exchange in the US are:

1. Language goals of Canton Zurich: The students at the secondary school level will demonstrate an increasingly independent oral and written use of the English language in everyday life. The foreign exchange supports these learning goals in the language preparation in the lead-up to the exchange and also in the immersion experience of living with an American host family and attending an American school.

2. American History & Culture: during the period of the exchange students have the chance to learn in a stimulating setting about American history and culture both through direct instruction on Fridays, as well as the experiences they have in American schools and with their host families and in their churches.

3. Unique Aspects of American Education: In spending time over three weeks at Potter’s House, Grand Rapids Christian High School and Algoma Christian High School, our students have the chance to learn alongside their American colleagues but also to learn about how American schools work, and therefore American society.

4. Strong character development: For some students this is the first long stay abroad. The separation from their home and family as well as persevering in a foreign language setting is an opportunity for strong character development.

5. Memorable Completion of School: Students in the 9th grade who are anticipating apprenticeships or other post-secondary education tend to bring less seriousness to their final days of school. With this foreign exchange, the students are furnished with a very concrete and exciting learning experience as well as a memorable conclusion to their school career.

6. Building relationships: With a trip to the United States, we build relationships on several levels. It is the chance for learning and exchange between Christian schools of different lands; students of different countries have the chance to build personal friendships and our 9th graders have the chance to bond as a class.

7. Giving back to U.S.: We could never pay back the many gifts we are receiving in terms of time and commitment from American schools and host families, but by way of saying thank you we offer the teaching abilities of our team, our gifts as native speakers of German, the perspective of foreigners in American culture, and our sincere gratitude.