Spaces and Exchanges / Espaces et échanges Bac Anglais LV1

Notion 1: Spaces and Exchanges

I'm going to talk about Spaces and Exchanges. First of all, I would like to define this notion. So we have got two different terms to define and the link between the two terms brings us to consider exchanges between people from different countries. There is exchange when you give or receive something in substitution for something else. The exchange can adopt various forms: economic (work exchanges, exchange of goods, trade…), cultural (education, customs, ideas…) or by movement of people (immigration, student exchanges, gap years…). Nowadays we can say that the different spaces of the world are very connected to each other and this makes exchanges very simple.  

        I have chosen to illustrate this notion through the gap year. So very simply, the gap year is a year off, usually after college or high school and before going to university, during which a student can experience the world and discover other countries.

        This can lead us to think about the following question: to what extent can a gap-year become a life-changing experience?

To attempt to answer this question we'll focus on the two beneficial aspects of the gap year, that is to say what we learn about other people, other countries but also what we learn about ourselves while helping. Then we'll focus on the limits of the gap-year.

I. Learning about others while helping

        Taking a gap year is a real opportunity for those who are very curious because during a gap year you help while learning about your host country and the people who live in there. The gap year presents advantages because, as we saw in the video “Which project is for you?” in which some students were talking about different projects of gap year, there are very different options so you can choose the way you want to spend your gap year. Indeed, a gap year can mean community project, building project, teaching, sport, conservation, work experience etc. You can choose the one that better corresponds to your tastes. You are free to choose how you want to learn.  

        This experience is very rewarding because it is concrete learning. While doing, helping, you learn how a community live, work, spend its time off etc.  That is the case of Jennifer Davies, a gapper, as we saw in a document entitled "Postcard from the edge". So, the gapper spent her gap year tutoring in local schools in Aklavik in the Canadian Arctic Circle. Right there she discovered the Inuit and learned a lot about this community (customs, culture) and their way of life.  

What ?

II. Learning about ourselves, compare

        Indeed, we saw with the text "Postcard from the edge" that a gap year can lead us to reconsider the choices we've made for our future. In this text, for example, the gapper had first applied for a law degree but she changed her mind, realizing from her experience in Canada that she wanted to become a doctor. So she decided to study medicine. So in that case we can say that a gap-year can have a big impact on your life. And it can make you realize you're on the wrong (career) track. 

        In addition to this, such an experience is likely to bring you essential insight on your own life. It helps you reorganize your priorities. Maybe making money is not so important as taking care of people for example.

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