Introduction In this paper, we describe how one experiment in internationalizing the business curriculum has created a unique learning experience both for students and faculty. After describing the historical context and the educational background within which 'International Week' was developed, we explain why we set up the program and how we expanded it into its current structure. We will then discuss the pedagogical, logistic, and financial problems we encountered, as well as the catalyzing effect this effort has had in accelerating the internationalization process with numerous unforeseen and unplanned outcomes. Finally, we consider what we have learnt and how we can build on this experiment in the future. II. Historical context and background ESC Clermont has been part of the "Grandes Ecoles" system since 1919 and ever since, has been in the forefront in promoting the international dimension of its programs. Learning two foreign languages has also been an integral and compulsory part of the graduate management program. Like other institutions, the school has provided students with the 'classic' opportunities to gain international experience : internships or study programs arranged with partner institutions abroad. <1 By the early 90's, more than 70% of every class were obtaining significant experience abroad as part of their management education. Language learners were indeed being educated to become international managers. <2 However, it had also become clear that internationalization involved more than just providing study abroad opportunities. While over one third of the full-time faculty was of foreign origin, few had ever taught abroad. Neither had visiting foreign professors been integrated into the mainstream teaching program. Furthermore, the student body had always been essentially French, due mainly to the complexity of the national recruitment procedures based on a competitive entrance examination. The only exceptions were the foreign exchange students who accounted for approximately 15% of the total number of students. As a result, the international component of the students' educational experience relied mainly on their experience outside of France. To accelerate the internationalization process the foreign experience needed to be brought into the home based classroom. Students who went abroad had obtained a real international business experience - being taught management subjects in a foreign language. Still others had actually worked for extended periods in foreign firms. But what about those who had stayed at home ? How could this essential experience of conducting business in a second language be extended to all the students, and to their teachers, in a cost effective way ? This was the challenge being faced. An initial breakthrough came from an unexpected origin: the students themselves. Those studying abroad had encountered new styles of teaching and learning, and in certain cases were stimulated by exciting, innovative pedagogy. On returning home, they wanted to introduce some of these ideas into their own institution. <3 One student, who had studied for a year in the United States - convinced the ESC Language Department to invite a faculty member (the second author) to give a short intensive course in a subject which, at the time, had not been included in the curriculum. The class which was successfully offered in both 1995 and 1996, led to the idea of organizing a one-week, intensive business course called 'International Week, for all students in their final year. III. International Week: setting up the program International Week was based on a simple basic structure : business professors from partner institutions around the world (initially from Britain, Germany, Spain and the United States) offered courses in a language other than French (to date - English, German and Spanish). All students were required to attend one such intensive course in their final year. Before launching the first International Week, a number of issues had to be addressed. On one level, the organization needed a competent administrative assistant to deal with logistic matters such as the travel arrangements, hotel accommodation, and dissemination of course materials. On another level, linguistic and cultural issues had to be identified. For example, the visiting faculty were made aware of the expectations and " accepted " learning practices of French students who are younger and very different from more experienced, older MBA students in the United States or the United Kingdom. Advice was given on tackling class management problems common in France such as background talking, and reluctance on the part of many students to participate in open discussions. Finally, not all the students were fluent enough in their command of the language to understand fully the lectures. Visiting faculty learnt to re-phrase and repeat, to use simpler language. Students returning from one year of study abroad were keen to interface with their classmates and the visiting professors to facilitate understanding. These students gave brief summaries in French at specific intervals to ensure that the linguistically "weaker" students did not fall behind ; they also translated for students who had difficulty expressing themselves in the foreign language. These activities were also part of a well defined policy of helping to re-integrate students returning from abroad. <4 In order to highlight the importance of International Week as an "event", particular attention was given to coordinating "extracurricular activities". Evening lectures were organized with a keynote speaker on themes of international relevance to which outside visitors from the educational, corporate and political community were invited. During the round table discussions ESC Clermont faculty were able to exchange ideas with their visiting counterparts. Finally, dinners, visits of the region and other extracurricular activities were organized. Reactions were extremely positive. Students appreciated the opportunity to attend business courses in a language they had been learning for several years. They enjoyed being challenged by new styles in teaching; visiting faculty reacted most enthusiastically to the students' motivation and desire to learn in a new way. Initial success led to further development. International Week was extended to include the second as well as the final year students. The number of visiting faculty was increased from six to twelve ; thus, teachers from Mexico, Peru, Scotland and Wales were added. Executives from companies in the region were invited to attend the courses. Some visiting faculty included company visits in their courses to gain insights into the way French businesses operate, and to compare and contrast this with practices in their home country. Language instructors served as translators at the faculty round table discussion, attended classes to improve their own knowledge of business, and organized German and Spanish "cultural" evenings, which focused on music, food and drink from those countries. IV. Assessment The second year's experience highlighted even more sharply some of the unplanned outcomes of the internationalization process. From the outset, budget constraints had meant that only small stipends could be offered in addition to covering expenses. And yet visiting professors were keen to return, recognizing this experience as part of the responsibility of partnership. Their enthusiasm helped to develop additional academic and institutional cooperation: International Week was also providing an ongoing forum for visiting faculty to exchange ideas with each other. Away from their home context and all the related pressures, academic and administrative, they could create new links which led to unexpected and unplanned cooperation. During the mixed faculty round-table discussions which were held at the end of International Week, the idea of launching a new range of courses within the curriculum - International Graduate Certificates-emerged. These three-week long intensive programs required core-course construction and teaching on a joint faculty basis. As a result, in the year 2000, students are being offered 12 specializations, in business areas corresponding to the strategic concerns of companies operating in a global, multicultural environment. These International Graduate Certificates are taught partly in a foreign language, usually English, by visiting faculty. International Week has also considerably improved the standing of language learning within the institution. Languages are no longer considered apart from management education, nor are language faculty seen as junior partners by the management faculty. International Week, in a very real sense, was the developmental and experiential bridge that the language instructors had been preparing the students to cross from the beginning. The course work for the International Graduate Certificates was the end result - professional communication in a foreign language on advanced business issues by all students. Here was genuine content integration of language and curriculum, an outcome of International Week wherein faculty propose topics which they and the students find so motivating that the language barrier becomes easier to overcome. As D.A. Wilkins, a leading linguist from the University of Reading has stated : "...it would be a major contribution to language learning if we could tap or stimulate the pupil's interest in the communicative activity itself so that in their desire for successful communication they become largely unaware of the linguistic forms that are being used". <5 One of the key objectives of any internationalization process was being achieved through the International Week program. In this experiment, the international learning process for the student was inverted. Students who had not gone abroad for part of their studies were able to have a meaningful foreign language, cross-cultural business experience. The foreign classroom came to them, and challenged them with new teaching and learning methods. The process of internationalization had taken a significant step forward, closing the gap between those who had had the opportunity to study abroad and those who hadn't, making it possible to build courses and learning experiences that included all while moving across borders, cultures and languages. V. Conclusion and future developments In our striving to internationalize our curriculum, we have started to realize some of the dynamics involved in learning organizations. As David A. Garvin has pointed out: " How, after all, can an organization improve without first learning something new ? Solving a problem, introducing a product, and reengineering a process all require seeing the world in a new light and acting accordingly. " <6 During the International Week students are confronted with a challenging 'foreign' learning experience, but in working together with their foreign counterparts, faculty are also required to call into question the objectives, the content and the methodology of their teaching. Peter Senge describes learning organizations as places " where people are continually learning how to learn together. " <7 As positive an experience as International Week may be, it can never actually replace the experience of studying abroad in our opinion.As many students as possible should participate in exchange programmes preferably remaining abroad for one full academic year of study. As next steps for International Week, we are currently focusing on bringing the course selected more in line with the overall objectives of the curriculum, all the while maintaining a wide range of topics. We are also incorporating course prerequisites so that the content can be pitched at the appropriate level, and we are working on ways to include first year students in this exercise. Finally, International Week must not be viewed by the students as an isolated, stand alone event. Content-based language courses, offered throughout the year, can help to maintain the momentum generated by International Week, especially when language instructors have been able to participate in the experience, integrating what they have learnt into their weekly classwork. In future, we intend to extend the International Graduate Certificates and involve more visiting foreign faculty in the academic program in general. This movement is already challenging some of our basic assumptions about teaching methodology and learning styles. In the coming years we will be assessing in what way and at what pace we can introduce new ways of teaching and learning. When confronted with such differences we cannot remain indifferent. Bibliography 1. Michael Bryant. The Integration of Foreign Languages into Management Education : An Evaluation of Trends in France, Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom. (Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches, Groupe ESC Clermont, 1993) 2. Daniel Shanahan. From Language Learner to Multicultural Manager. (European Management Journal Vol. 14, No. 3) 315 - 320 3. Michael Bryant and David Sheehan. Transcultural learning processes : re-integrating students after study abroad. (4e Biennale, Paris, Sorbonne, 1998). 4. Craig Storti. The Art of Coming Home. (Yarmouth, ME :Intercultural Press, 1997) 5. A. Wilkins. Second Language Learning and Teaching (London :Edward Arnold, 1974) 84 6. David A. Garvin. Building a Learning Organization. (Cambridge, MASS : Harvard Business Review, July-August 1993) 78 7. Peter Senge. The Fifth Disciple. (New York : Doubleday, 1990) 1