Spoiler alert: The Language Pledge is not what improved my French during my semester abroad

I’m shocked when I hear accounts of other American undergraduate students' time abroad, learning nothing more than how to say “merci” while in Paris. As I wrapped up my semester abroad this past December in Bordeaux, France, I could safely say that my French improved exponentially and that there was value in the intense and immersive qualities of the Middlebury program, which is known for its notorious Language Pledge requiring students to only speak in their target language. I lived with a host family and was directly enrolled at the local university, taking courses any native student would take. I successfully blended into the lecture halls, challenging the stereotype that American exchange students can only speak English.

I’m thankful that my college makes sure its students will truly make an effort to understand another culture by requiring a certain level of language proficiency to be able to study abroad. However, I wonder if the Language Pledge is completely necessary to improve language proficiency and if it’s fair to require it for all students alike. Moreover, the requirements to go abroad in the first place are not always reasonable.

Middlebury should continue to instill a certain level of language requirements while abroad to ensure we are immersed with the local culture and languages, but there should be more flexibility. Not all students studying abroad have the same goals, nor come from the same backgrounds. Some go abroad to commit to not speaking a lick of English, while others may be more focused on meeting new people from across the globe or simply experience living in a different place, as it might be their first time outside of the U.S.. 

For students who come in without prior knowledge of their language of choice, the amount of financial investment and time commitment required at Middlebury to go abroad in their chosen language is also hypocritical for a school that prides itself on curiosity, exploration and language learning. If students start a language any later than their very first semester, enrolling in Middlebury’s summer Language Schools is the only way to get ahead in languages. Febs have no choice but to do so, as 101 level courses are almost always only taught in the fall. 

Language Schools are not included in our tuition — the Spanish Language School, for example, costs approximately $12,000 and the maximum need-based grant is $5,500. Many students I know who are Febs have decided not to go abroad in a foreign language-speaking country because they cannot or are unwilling to pay a significant extra amount of money for a language education that should be achievable as part of their academic year package.

While I was lucky to already have 10 years of French education under my belt before going to Bordeaux, the program was still undeniably challenging for me. It was no small feat to keep up with a lecture about the French constitution at twice the speed of the French I had heard in classrooms back home. I couldn’t begin to imagine what this was like for students who had started learning French just two years prior upon arriving at Middlebury as a first year. Despite our different levels of experience, they were held to the same expectations as I was — we couldn’t take even one course in English that was offered by the university.

Of course, if there was no language pledge, what would incentivize students to speak as much of the target language as possible? This is a fair question, but it was not the Language Pledge that truly forced me to speak French, but the situations where I simply had no other choice. Through conversations with my Middlebury peers, it seems that there is a collective commitment among students who want to go abroad to increase their proficiency in the language. I wouldn’t imagine that any of my peers would’ve barged into a local café, asking if the barista spoke English. 

My improvement in French proficiency was not thanks to the Language Pledge: I owe my growth to basic social sensitivity and curiosity. The Middlebury program did a great job of encouraging us to maximize the amount of French we were exposed to through listening to French media and continuing to speak in French even if someone switched into English after hearing an American accent. 

While I was initially skeptical about being placed in a 15-person seminar designed for only local students, I was ultimately appreciative that I was forced to interact with local students who only spoke French with me. Given the intensity of my academics, did I really need to worry that speaking to fellow Americans in English would take away from the great amount of progress I made each week speaking French?

I can attest to the fact that it is mentally and emotionally tiring to try to communicate in a second language. We should continue to challenge ourselves and confront very real stereotypes of American students abroad. However, it shouldn’t come at the expense of not being able to decompress with conversations in English with our friends from home, or, frankly, feel like we are being watched like children if we speak a bit of English.

There must be some loosening of the requirements across the board. This doesn’t need to come at the cost of sending less experienced students abroad, but perhaps the entry requirements for the program could be altered. Then, Middlebury could create different tracks that students can choose to take in their host city. For example, there could be one track for those who want to speak no English at all and one track that allows students to select a mix of courses in their target language and in English. In this case, they won’t fear retaliation for occasionally speaking in English, especially if they only started learning the language two years prior and couldn’t afford to attend Language Schools. Even with altered requirements, a student's language proficiency is bound to improve during their time abroad.