France: Lyon - French Language, Art History, and Francophone Studies

My semester was incredible and I had so much fun studying abroad. I was able to see so much of not only a France but all of Europe for a decently affordable price. I enjoyed the freedom of staying in a dorm, but those who lived with host families had an even more enhanced experience and I feel like it’s a better way to learn the culture and language. Classes were difficult to get used to at first, but I really loved most of my professors and I learned so much. I wish I tried a little harder to meet other French students on campus, but I definitely made great friends with people in my program. The excursions organized by USAC were some of the highlights of my semester and I always felt safe and supported. If you can, definitely go on the optional tour at the beginning of the semester! It is totally worth it.

Studying abroad in general is something that I feel like everyone should do if they have the opportunity! I learned so much about myself as a person, and I also grew substantially in the 5 months I was in Lyon. I learned more about the world and the role that I hope to play in it in the future. I also got to see things that I may have never had to opportunity to see otherwise. I am one of the first people in my family to actually leave the country and travel over seas.
I think the best part of my experience was living with host family. They were some of the nicest people I have ever met, and they took me in, and treated me as though I was their own child. My host mom also made the best food, which I now miss very much being back home in the US. Lastly, it was the best thing I could have done in order to expand my knowledge of the French language. It is nice to know that should I ever need it, I have the ability to at least get through a simple conversation with someone who speaks French.

How I wish I could go back right this moment. I don't even know where to start in terms of giving this program and this city a positive review. The city of Lyon is absolutely beautiful and unique. There is a wonderful community of people. On any sunny day, the Lyonnais took to the parks and really any grassy area. The USAC members were very helpful and gave us all ease of mind when going to a foreign country. This was my first time out of the United States, and having them around made me feel more comfortable about everything. The people I met in my classes and outside of my classes were memorable. You learn so much about various cultures throughout the world. Overall, it was an absolutely amazing experience that I will continue to cherish.

The staff in Lyon was amazing, for they always helped us out with anything we needed help with and encouraged us to get involved with the community especially with the World Cup going on and a lot of summer related activities. The trip to Annecy, France was amazing as well. My favorite part of the program was the optional tour of Paris for the first week of the summer program. The courses were structured more to focus on making communication in French. It was just a unique set up having classes that had projects to encourage communication as opposed to just receiving a textbook. Lyon is a beautiful town with a lot of culture, food, and activities to get involved in. It's also easy to take trips from Lyon to Geneva, Marseilles, and the northwestern areas of Italy. I highly recommend if you go on a summer program to Lyon that you do two sessions instead of one!

I studied in Lyon for the 2017-2018 academic year, and I wish I never had to leave. My experience was unique in that I was a year long student so I was able to make longer lasting connection to the city and people. It was a learning experience getting use to the different university environment, in that, most classes were two hours long and the learning curriculum was different. After the adjustment period, I loved learning the language with other international students in the CIEF program. By going with USAC, it provided a support system that you wouldn't have had otherwise. They were there from helping with classes to helps or just another person to talk to. Overall, this was one of the best experiences of my life, from the people I met to living in the city I call my second home. I am waiting for a way to get back to Lyon.

I absolutely love Lyon! It's a wonderful location that is beautiful, central, large enough to get all of the benefits of living in a big city, yet much smaller than overcrowded cities like Paris or New York. If you're looking to study here, I would definitely recommend it!

Going through the USAC Program was a little complicated since the classes and grading are not the same as what you sign up for. You basically sign up for classes, then are integrated into Université Lumière Lyon 2's CIEF (Centres International d'Études Françaises) courses that are built to prepare for entrance into a French university. You are broken up into levels (A1-C2 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages), then you attend those courses (11 classes of 1 hour 45 minutes per week) with foreign students working towards a B2 or C1 DELF/DALF. It was hard work, and for me, Monday through Friday. Some days were so long that my body ached for sitting for hours at a time. It was also difficult to travel during weekends because of the late classes scheduled for Fridays and early classes scheduled for Mondays (they discourage skipping courses, but I definitely needed to sometimes). You can tell that this is an intensive program made for those who are seriously working towards the language skills to integrate into a French university, and since it was not my goal, it was a little difficult to remain motivated sometimes.

I would say that, overall, Lyon is a great study abroad city with a vibrant social scene for young adults, but I was less than impressed with Lyon 2's CIEF program.

The city was great for university aged students. There was a lot of night life, museums, and coffee shops. Also, the public transportation was very accessible and easy to use. Because it is one of the major cities it was also easy to travel to other parts of the country and continent. Along with this, there was a problem with theft when out in the city. The school had a great staff that was ready to help me learn.

I had an absolute blast in Lyon. I met a ton of really interesting people from around the world in my courses, and made life long friends. I had a great time with my host family! There are many options for transportation but everything was close enough I chose to walk most everywhere! It was an absolutely incredible experience, and lyon is an amazing city to live in: great food, lots of amazing art, and an overall buzz of a fantastic place to be.