Go beyond. Expand your horizons
Living in another country is known to be the best way to be culturally immersed and embark on a journey of remarkable personal growth; ISP advocates these important life skills with the Buddy Exchange Programme!
The BEP enables reciprocal learning exchanges between ISP students for a period of one month. Buddies have the unique opportunity to live in the daily life of a fellow ISP student connecting with their people, their culture, and their world.
The real-world learning skills and greater independence that BEP students gain is phenomenal as they plan and prepare for a trip across the world, live in a new home with a new ISP family and have the chance to thrive in a new learning environment in another ISP school.
Students are meticulously paired according to their age, gender, interests, and hobbies to ensure they build their friendship even before they travel, become close friends during the exchanges, and go on to nurture their relationship beyond their time together.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Experience lessons in another ISP school and experience a different educational system.
- Gain first-hand experience and knowledge of new cultures, traditions, food, and history.
- Develop a wide range of their personal skill sets including: language, communication, independence, organisation and self-confidence.
- Learn to be a more responsible global citizen by gaining more cultural empathy and understanding.
Students learn a new way to live. From a personal point of view, it's an amazing way to grow because they experience living away from home in a different culture and obviously it enhances their language skills
MEET ICÍAR MUÑOZ DE VERGER
Head of Research & Communications at ISP Iberia
I grew up in Madrid but I was brought up in international schools in Madrid, London and Switzerland. I speak 5 languages and have lived in 7 countries. As a multilingualism enthusiast, my interest in how pluricultural competencies impact on communication and interaction, led me to study Translation and Interpreting in Spain, France, and Germany and specialize in Marketing and International Relations.
Attending internationally-minded schools provided me with the opportunity to gain a global perspective on the world. This includes learning about different cultures, languages, customs, beliefs, and values. I also gained an increased understanding of the interconnectedness of the world’s citizens and the importance of collaboration and communication within this global context. Such skills are increasingly necessary in the globalized world we live in and can give students an advantage when competing for jobs or attending universities
Speaking several languages can have a positive effect on your brain. It can improve your memory and cognitive ability, increase your problem-solving skills, and help to protect against age- related mental decline. It can also increase your cultural understanding, broaden your mental horizons, and enhance your professional opportunities.
At ISP Schools we want our students to benefit from EAL and multilingualism as one of the five pillars in the Improve Offering (School of Choice Strategy) by:
- Developing 1+ world language (alongside the home language)
- Having opportunities to interact socially and academically in English
- Integrating multilingualism across all aspects of learning and Teaching
Improved cognitive development and multitasking ability – Studies have shown that bilingualism can improve the development of cognitive skills such as multitasking, problem solving, and
abstract reasoning. “POLYGLOTS HAVE MORE FUN.”
Learning new languages is a very exciting and stimulating process that goes far beyond the language itself. It includes getting to better understand a society, its history, its values, its contradictions, its traditions, and that’s the whole beauty of the journey.
MEET SOFIA MOULINE
ISP CEO Office (Strategy & Support)
Bonjour, I am Moroccan and French, and speak a few languages fluently (French, Arabic, English, Spanish), and hopefully will get better in Portuguese over the next few years! As I was born and raised in Morocco in an international environment, I have been exposed quite early to different languages and I have enjoyed being surrounded by people from different countries, cultures, and religions since very young. I was lucky enough to go to the French school of Rabat (the capital city of Morocco), where the diplomats’ children were usually studying at that time. As a child, it was both very natural and exciting to have friends from all over the world and learn from our differences and similarities.
As a very young child, I was also very aware of the importance of mastering several languages, especially in a developing country. My parents used to talk to me in both Arabic and French and my first memories as a child are my French exams at 3 years old to be accepted at the French school, which was highly selective at that time! That was my first very high-stake moment in life, and I can remember how stressed my family was!
Speaking several languages obviously helped me a lot to achieve my goals both academically and professionally. I had the chance to study in a renowned business school in France, work in several international companies, and study/work in 5 countries over the last 15 years.
Learning new languages was not easy, especially as it gets harder to learn a new language as an adult, but it’s worth it! I arrived in Spain in 2019, where I still live today, with an A1 Spanish level – just enough to have fun in la Costa del Sol but way below the level required to work with Spanish people! I can testify that I spent hours doing grammar exercises and trying to learn el pretérito imperfecto de subjuntivo (!Qué infierno!). As I had already experienced a similar learning journey previously, I knew the path was long and that I had to be humble, resilient, and patient. Rome ne s’est pas faite en un jour…
As I lived in Brazil in 2016 and started to learn Portuguese there, my next challenge is to be bold enough to start a new learning journey and learn this beautiful language. Wish me luck! Chukran.
