<p>Hello all, I have a dilemma.</p>
<p>I have the wonderful opportunity to study abroad through rotary. Now I have to decide my first two top pick countries. I'm stuck between which should go as first, and which as second. It's going to be either France or England. Which would you say would be a best fit. Here's my thoughts so far:</p>
<p>France-I'll be there for a year, so I'll probably become fluent.</p>
<p>England-It might help me be less homesick, and I won't have to miss out on my books (I'm a book-addict).</p>
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<p>You won’t become fluent. If you’re a beginner I doubt you’d learn much at all, especially if you spent all your time with other Anglophones (which is what nearly all American study abroad programmes are like).</p>
<p>I disagree with Dionysus - you might become fluent! I don’t know what your current level of French is, but if you’ve studied it for a while it’s possible. You do need to put effort into it; you need to speak with as many French people as possible. You should live with a host family if you can, and take classes at a local university. If you hang out with Americans though, and live with them, then no, you won’t become fluent.</p>
<p>That being said, I don’t think being in England will necessarily make you less homesick. Despite the fact that they speak English there, it’s still a very different culture. My mother grew up in Canada and came to the US for grad school, and she always talks about how she was completely unprepared for the culture shock. It’ll happen no matter where you go.</p>
<p>Personally, I’d go for France. I think one of the greatest benefits of study abroad is to live in a different language, and you won’t get that in England. </p>
<p>(Also, I wouldn’t base my decision on where to study abroad on where I could buy books! You can always get a Kindle or a Nook, and then you can continue to purchase and read books no matter where you are. Or, if you are in France, you can buy French books and challenge yourself - it’ll be great for improving fluency.)</p>
<p>In my experience, British people like Dionysus58 have a higher barrier for ‘fluency’ in a foreign language.</p>
<p>To most Americans, someone is fluent in French if they can have lots of conversations that ‘flow’, and are not groping for words etc.</p>
<p>To most Brits, I think, it means something much harder: they have minimal accent, can follow any movie or play, basically near-native standard.</p>
<p>I agree with what mrbc2011 says above. You won’t necessarily experience less culture shock in an English-speaking country. If you’ve never traveled before it’s impossible to say whether you will experience this or not.</p>
<p>I also agree with keepittoyourself - American fluent and European fluent are two very different things! If you are a complete beginner to French I doubt you will become fluent in a year. It depends on your current standard.</p>
<p>As well as the Kindle solution (I have never seen a Nook in Europe so I am not sure they would work), you can buy English books in France, especially in Paris. And also, you can buy from amazon.co.uk</p>
<p>I’m studying in the US from the UK and the familiarity hasn’t stopped me missing England.</p>
<p>Also I’m far more familiar with US culture than you could be with British culture - I’ve been watching almost daily US TV since I was 7, and reading American news and talking with Americans online for about 8 years.
Why would anyone pay that much attention to Britain? XD</p>
<p>I also have a Kindle, and while I can understand the language here (as foreign and strange as it is) it’s handy on a practical level - I can buy new books without increasing the weight of my luggage home.</p>
<p>I would definitely pick France just to challenge yourself and experience a much more different culture. Have you taken any French classes?</p>
<p>It all depends what you want to do. The french culture is much different than the British culture. Do you want to learn a new language? Do you want to travel throughout the UK? Do you want to live in a city with a big downtown similar to major US cities or Paris which is more spread out? Do you want nightlife? It will be helpful if you can provide us with some of these answers first.</p>
<p>I’ve lived in both countries. France is much more “foreign” than England, which is kind of like a slightly weird version of America where they have funny slang and say weird things like “have a chinese” for eating Chinese food. London is like a more historical version of NYC. France, on the other hand, has a different culture and way of life when compared to America. I would never trade in my six months in France for anything, because I got to experience living in a place that was very different from the USA. True, it’s not Asia/Africa/the Middle East, but it’s significantly more “exotic” than England.</p>
<p>Long story short, go to France. England’s great, but too similar to the US to waste your study abroad experience on.</p>
<p>Did you really live in both or did you just study abroad?</p>
<p>Just because someone “studies” in another country does not mean they did not “live” there…</p>
<p>I agree, there are some who enroll for all 4 years, thereby living in the other country.</p>
<p>I really lived in both at different times of my life.</p>