In Mayenne, BTS students visit a factory while speaking English

How can students improve in English? A teacher may have found a solution. Olivier Blanchard is an English teacher at Rochefeuille High School in Mayenne and for 15 years has been organizing company visits every year for his students in BTS ACSE, Agribusiness Management and Strategy, so they can learn the language and ask questions. This Thursday, five 2nd year BTS students went to Somca in Ambrières-les-Vallées, north of Maenne, a company specializing in the production of molds, especially automobile parts, to visit the campus, but only in English. .

Lots of student participation

One of the staff members, Felix, looks after five students. Everyone goes around the owner English descriptions. “Let’s get started”, we can begin, he says after the presentations. The small group plays different pieces and some students don’t hesitate to ask questions. “These pieces never broke, Ruby? (sic)“Kiryan Tabernacle, “some times”, sometimes Felix replies. Other questions flourish and all five students do not hesitate to ask questions. We go to Dominic Machine, who doesn’t like English much. “I don’t know the language, I’m not fluent in it, so I’m not going to try too hard”, explains the employee. The programs are in French, but everyone knows English.

We come to see Nicolas, another employee who is not a friend of the language. English teacher Oliver Blanchard asks him how long it took him to drill a piece. “It’s going to be complicated for me.”The worker smiled. “How long did it take you?”Felix asks him in French, “eight o’clock”, Nicholas continues. He takes it well and laughs as he leaves with his drama.

The students then meet Jean-Michel Sablé, director of the company, and he also has the right to speak in English. “Already, it is important to know some technical words, but even on a personal level, young people are called to speak English from one place to another, it is important for them to exchange, so for me yes, it is important to have a deep understanding of the language”The manager explains.

Everyone did well

Finally, after two hours of visit, all the youngsters understood everything about the visit. “I found it good”Guillaume explains, “I also like everything mechanical and machining, and suddenly I like it very much. We don’t understand everything, but we can imagine in more detail how it works.”. For their part, Perrin and Wendy admit that starting out isn’t always easy. “You don’t suddenly understand, it takes time, but it helps to see the machines working”.

Professor Oliver Blanchard, who was behind the visit, thinks they did well. “Once they feel they’ve reached their goal, you can feel a smile on their face and a sense of confidence to keep going.”, he adds. Now the next step is to talk about this visit again in an oral exam in the coming weeks and above all to set aside the rest of their trip.

Customs Company Exports 90% of its productionThis shows that speaking English is important for future employees.