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During the first week of the Eurocampus 2025 program at Inalco (Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales), Paris, France, from September 1 to 5, students were welcomed into an intensive and engaging academic and cultural experience. The opening day began at the Maison de la Recherche, located just a few steps from the Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay. The session was introduced by Professor Anastassia Zabrodskaja, Executive Director of the EMICC, alongside Professor Mylene Hardy, who coordinates the Eurocampus at Inalco. They were soon joined by representatives of Inalco’s International Office, Claire Jeannet and Yasmine Salak, who introduced the institution and distributed student cards and welcome gifts to the participants. After a lunch break, the group moved to Inalco’s PLC campus in the 13th arrondissement, where they toured the facilities, met with staff from the International Office, and received their first introduction to French language and intercultural communication.

The following three days were dedicated to the course Linguistic Landscape Studies led by Professor Zabrodskaja. The classes, held at the Maison de la Recherche, provided students with an intensive exploration of how languages appear and interact in public spaces, combining theoretical discussions with methodological training. Paris serves as a living laboratory for studying how the linguistic landscape reflects negotiations between institutional authority and everyday creativity. Each day was structured around morning and afternoon sessions, giving participants ample time to immerse themselves in this key component of the EMICC program. In Professor Zabrodskaja’s course, students examined how the presence of different languages in public spaces reveals patterns of cultural diversity and the ways societies function together. The classes introduced them to recent theoretical approaches and methodological tools in Linguistic Landscape Studies, highlighting how these perspectives contribute to a deeper grasp of intercultural communication. A core component of the course was hands-on mini-ethnographic fieldwork in Paris.

Students conducted observations in neighborhoods such as the Goutte d'Or, which features a visible blend of French, Arabic, and African signage. In the Jardin du Luxembourg, students explored a variety of signage reflecting both the park’s cultural heritage and its contemporary role as a public space. At both the Musée d’Orsay and the Louvre, students observed a wide range of signage illustrating the interplay between national heritage and international tourism. Together, these museums demonstrated how linguistic landscapes can reveal cultural policies, visitor orientations, and the negotiation between local identity and international accessibility. The 13th arrondissement of Paris offered a particularly rich site for a Linguistic Landscape study, as the district has gradually been transformed into an open-air museum of monumental murals. For students, this juxtaposition provided an opportunity to analyze how different actors—municipal authorities, global artists, and local residents—use visual and linguistic resources to claim space and communicate messages.

Paris projects itself as both a cosmopolitan and culturally rooted city. This practical experience enabled students to apply theoretical concepts such as super-diversity, linguistic ideology, and the sociolinguistics of globalization. The Parisian field sites vividly demonstrated how multiculturalism and linguistic diversity shape communication in a global city. The final session of the course brought students together to discuss their fieldwork findings in relation to the theoretical frameworks they had studied. By examining Paris’s linguistic landscapes through both theoretical and empirical lenses, students were equipped to critically assess the role of language in shaping intercultural encounters in one of Europe’s most diverse capitals.

Professor Zabrodskaja’s course offered students a solid foundation in Linguistic Landscapes Studies while highlighting its significance for research and practice in intercultural communication. This approach aligns with the EMICC program’s Eurocampus mission of fostering nuanced, culturally informed perspectives among Europe’s emerging intercultural communication professionals. Professor Zabrodskaja contributed to the EMICC program as part of the Erasmus+ teaching exchange. Two students from the MA program in Communication Management will participate in Eurocampus 2025 at Inalco during the autumn semester, funded by an Erasmus+ student grant.

The week concluded with a second welcome day, this time centered at the BULAC library, one of Paris’s major research libraries for languages and civilizations. Students toured the library and then had the opportunity to meet Léa Savarieau, an Inalco alumna, president of the Inalco Alumni Association, and a former EMICC student, who participated in the Tallinn Eurocampus in 2016 and shared her experiences and insights. After a lunch break, the group reconvened for cultural activities, which provided a more informal setting to explore Paris and strengthen bonds within the international student community. Altogether, the first week at Inalco combined academic rigor with cultural immersion and institutional support, ensuring that students not only began their studies with solid foundations but also felt welcomed into both Inalco and the city of Paris.

The text is authored by Dr. , Professor of Intercultural Communication, Head of the Master’s Program in Communication Management at Tallinn University Baltic Film, Media and Arts School, and Executive Director of the European Masters in Intercultural Communication (EMICC).