Elise Vielles, an intern from France for the academic year 2021–2022 at Vytautas Magnus University

2021-12-11

In the course of 2021 the French Institute operating in Lithuania has implemented a special program supported by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. As a result of this program, the Centre of Francophone Countries and Department of Foreign Language, Literary and Translation Studies are happy to welcome Elise Vielles as their new intern.

Elise Vielles is currently a student taking part in the FLE-FLS-FOS Master program of the University of Artois (France). Due to the professional internship at Vytautas Magnus University, she has already started teaching French to the Lithuanian students of the undergraduate program “Language and Culture of Francophone Countries”. In addition to that, Elise Vielles participates in various activities of the Centre of Francophone Countries at VMU. She also gives lessons of French working as a teacher at two other secondary schools in the city of Kaunas.

Originally from Burgundy and more particularly from Bresse, Elise Vielles left for Lille at the age of 18. The northern capital, as dynamic as it is rainy, has been her home for 10 years.

Always passionate about the arts and cinema in particular she began studying the art of cinema at the University of Lille after completing her secondary school. Her academic studies in order to obtain a Bachelor of Arts were extremely rewarding. They not only covered an extensive theoretical training in the history and aesthetics of cinema but allowed Elise Vielles to become more familiar with various artistic approaches. She could also become more open to the history of the arts and the hybridization of images. This training was combined with an introduction to critical writing and scriptwriting. In addition, Elise Vielles took every opportunity to work during the shootings of films.

The lack of job opportunities as well as the precariousness of employment in this area made her to adapt to the situation quite quickly and broaden the horizons in relation to the job search. Thanks to the timely support of a youth advisor from the Local Mission (la Mission Locale), a new adventure in the area of social work begun for Elise Vielles. She has finally obtained a contract as a socio-cultural animator working for the special association operating in the metropolis that welcomes, accommodates and supports homeless people and migrants.

Elise Vielles received additional training alongside her professional activities. On the basis of this 3-year experience, she continued her career in the sphere of social work by working at 115 (Samu Social hotline) During these several years of being in contact with suffering callers, she became fully aware of the importance of a good knowledge of the French language in order to succeed and meet the challenge of integration into French society.

Being an ardent lover of open spaces and adventure, Elise Vielles left for a long trip to Central Asia in the spring of 2019. During her stay in the Caucasus she began teaching French online. After many wanderings, the teaching of French as a Foreign Language appealed to her greatly. It was interesting for Elise Vielles to use the language as a means to promote the encounter between several cultures and bring different linguistic systems into contact with each other. After returning to France, she joined the Master program known as FLE-FLS-FOS at the University of Artois to acquire the skills in the realm of didactics. During her training, she participated in several internships and volunteered to collaborate with different associations by giving French lessons to foreigners on the French soil. Elise Vielles seeks to deepen her knowledge in order to professionalize in this concrete area.

With her M1 in the pocket, Elise Vielles successfully applied to the Campus France FLE program of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. Her goal for the M2 internship has always been to employ her dynamism and practical skills while communicating with a different audience.

Elise Vielles discovered Lithuania in 2015 during a brief stay in the capital Vilnius, which left her wishing for more. This first trip actually made her interested in getting to know the entire country better. Therefore she felt attracted by the presence of Lithuania on the list of host countries for the Campus France FLE program. The detailed research on Lithuania made Elise Vielles very enthusiastic about the city of Kaunas, especially taken into account the academic and cultural dynamism as well as the cultural initiative of Kaunas 2022.

Elise Vielles came to Kaunas at the end of September of 2021. At present, she feels enthusiastic about her internship consisting of unexpected intercultural meetings and exchanges with the local teachers and lecturers.