CONTENT

INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................2

I. PRE- LEARNING ACTIVITIES................................................................................................3

1. TRAVEL PREPARATION.................................................................................................................3
2. EFFECTIVE TRAVEL......................................................................................................................4
3. FIRST IMPRESSIONS ABOUT STELLENBOSCH................................................................................5
II. WHILE-LEARNING ACTIVITIES...........................................................................................6
1. FORMAL LANGUAGE STUDY ENVIRONMENT...............................................................................6
2. COURSE CONTENT AND TEACHING STAFF..................................................................................7
3. INTEGRATING SOCIAL ACTIVITIES...............................................................................................9
4. IMPRESSIONS ABOUT LEARNING IN STELLENBOSCH.................................................................11
III. AFTER-LEARNING ACTIVITIES..........................................................................................12
1. INFORMAL LANGUAGE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT....................................................................12
2. INTEREST FOR SUCH A PROGRAM...............................................................................................12
CONCLUSION...................................................................................................................................13

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 INTRODUCTION

Since more than 40 years, the ESCA students accomplish a 2-month study trip in
Brighton, UK. If it wants to be internationally recognized as a top Business School, ESCAE may
have to encourage such mobility program. However, this year, due to a number of factors, the
destination of the stay changed: we moved from Brighton to Stellenbosch.
Indeed, this trip, more than a language stay is the occasion for us, young Ivorians from
INP-HB to discover and learn much from others culture, and as future managers, expand our
worldview in this globalizing world.
In the following paragraphs we will discuss the importance of such a trip given the
experience and activities realized all through the travelling period which will be analyzed in
three steps: Part I about pre-learning activities while Part II will be addressing while-learning
activities and finally Part III discussing the after-learning activities.

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I. PRE- LEARNING ACTIVITIES

1. Travel preparation

The different steps of this preparation were the constitution of our travel folder, the
completion of administrative formalities and the meetings for travel advice.

 Constitution of the travel folder

This first part of the trip was conducted by the administration of ESCAE and us students,
organized within a travel commission. We had meetings in order to discuss the major points of
our trip.
We had to gather identity files, schooling papers and other documents such as vaccination
card, insurance certificate and authorization of leave.

 Completion of administrative formalities

While the travel commission was in charge of gathering the up-mentioned individuals
travel documents, and the Administration providing guarantees such as Ambassy letter of
recommendation, the travel quotation, etc, we had to provide a valid passport and vaccination
card for achieving the last formality: the visa application procedure. Hopefully, we all were
given the visa.

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  Meetings for travel advice

We had some meetings for advice. The pieces of advice were about discipline
requirements and mostly academic objective of our trip.

2. Effective travel

We travelled on Monday 8th May 2023 from Felix-Houphouet Boigny airport with the
company Ethiopian airlines. We were almost all present for the flight registration 1h30 before,
following the customs checking and having our luggage carried on the plane (We were allowed
2x23 kg + a hand luggage per person). After saying goodbye to our relatives, we were taking-off
for Addis Ababa Airport.
At 7h GMT the following day, we were on board for 4h flight to Cape Town airport in
South Africa. Our contact from the Embassy were waiting for us outside. Then, we were driving
on a bus to Stellenbosch University.

3. First impressions about Stellenbosch

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 Stellenbosch is a city offering a beautiful landscape as well as a balanced architecture
between modern and old buildings. The city contains places such as the Eikestad Mall, the
Botanical Garden, Museums, etc, all wonderful places. The streets were overall clean, and the
roads well designed with enough space for bicycling. The people seemed nice and disciplined
(on the road, in the coffee shop…). We were lucky enough to visit the city and see some
beautiful sights.

II. WHILE-LEARNING ACTIVITIES

1. Formal Language Study Environment

As students, our school was the Stellenbosch University. We were taking our courses in
the Education Gebou. The room was equipped with video projectors, what made learning easier
and more interactive. We also had access to different learning places such as the University
Library, a computer room offering computers and printers. With our student card we were also
allowed to experience other campus workplaces and buy food. Another important thing to
mention is that the Wi-Fi was free and fully available. The documents used in class were printed
by our teachers before the starting of the course what limited interruptions.

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 2. Course Content and Teaching Staff

We had 2 tutors Eppie McFarlane and Fatima Halday who designed the learning program. The
program mostly aimed at improving our speaking and writing skills. The curriculum was well-
structured and covered various aspects of the language, including grammar, vocabulary,
reading, writing, listening, and speaking. The instructors were highly knowledgeable and
experienced in teaching to non-native speakers. They used a communicative approach, which
greatly enhanced my language acquisition and fluency. The teaching methodology employed
by the instructors was effective and engaging. They incorporated interactive activities, group
discussions, role-plays, and multimedia resources to make the learning experience interactive
and dynamic. This approach fostered a comfortable learning environment that encouraged
active participation from all students.

We had class every day from 9H to 13H with one 30 minutes break. Here is an
example of schooling week:

- Monday: Grammar and correction of homeworks

- Tuesday: Funny activities and Grammar points

- Wednesday: Discussing activity
- Thursday: Essay or letter writing
- Friday: Oral presentation Assessment

3. Integrating Social Activities

Our spare time was the occasion for me to live new experiences and meet new people.
Later to class, I used to go to the Sport Center for Gym or shopping in the city what was really
important for practicing the English language on a more informal context. After a busy week,
weekends were welcomed for travel, discovery and socializing. For example, I went to Cape
Town and visited places like the Aquarium and the V&A Waterfront.

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 4. Impressions about Learning in Stellenbosch

I appreciated the way teachers made easier our learning conditions by being
close to us, available for personal assistance and paying attention to our concerns and
expectations from this course. The course was really interactive, and I had enough time
for personal research and submission of my assessments since the program was clearly
given in advance.

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III. AFTER-LEARNING ACTIVITIES

1. Informal Language Learning Environment

When socializing with friend from the church or the sport center, I met people from all around the
world: South Africa, France, Burkina, Cameroon, Congo, ...I, therefore, had the opportunity to
interact with English native speakers in order to learn about the correct pronunciation of some
English words and improve my way of speaking English. The language stay program also
emphasized cultural immersion. We had the opportunity to participate in various cultural
activities, such as attending local festivals, visiting historical sites, and interacting with native
speakers outside the classroom. These experiences allowed us to gain an understanding of the
South African culture and traditions, while also providing opportunities to practice our language
skills in real-life situations.

2. Interest for such a program

· Discovery of the South Africa culture;

· Expanding our worldview as future Managers;

· Making new friends (I feel more at ease when talking English to native
speakers);

· Being more motivated for practicing and learning the English language;

· Enriching our CV, as a result, the brand image of ESCAE;

· Developing the prestige of INPHB;
· Etc.

This trip has significantly broadened my view of life. There is, in short, no doubt for me: this
program is a good deal for both students and INPHB.

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 CONCLUSION

The Stellenbosch Study trip, as this report may have suggested, was a very exciting and
enriching program in many ways for us student of ESCAE Business School. I would really
encourage the Administration of our school INPHB to maintain this program that could be
improve by:

- Evolving the package of the training with an introduction to basic Mathematics, Finance
and Marketing vocabulary. Indeed, that would be a more perceptible value-added for us to
know how to read and even present a balance sheet, account of profit and loss, and others
financial statements in English; as well as marketers who could be able to practice selling
pitch and perform sales reporting presentations for examples;

- Having courses jointly with the other foreign students, since the class was essentially
made up of the ESCA students and we were always speaking French among ourselves
during leisure time ;

- Organizing visit of Companies and Organizations for our business culture.

I couldn’t finish without saying thanks to the Ivorian government, and our school
administration for giving me this brilliant opportunity.

YEO Ténédja Laure, 3rd year ESCA student.

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Picture 8: Certificate of attendance

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