Two BYU undergrads and their mastery of the German language were put to the test at the Halloren Chocolate Factory in Germany.
Chocolate factories are the site of fantastical stories and the source of decadent sweets. For BYU Undergrads Bekah Nelson (Dietetics ’27) and Michael Saunders (Applied Math, German ’27), a chocolate factory was also the site of a two-month internship, where the pair not only made chocolate but also practiced their language and formed meaningful relationships.
Working at the Chocolate Factory
During the internship, Nelson and Saunders worked full time in the factory. There, they consistently employed and sharpened their language skills by speaking only in German—no matter the task
In the mornings, they helped with marketing projects, trying to increase visitors and sales. “Their sales always went down in the summer because people would have vacation and didn’t really come inside to a chocolate factory,” Nelson says. So the pair were quickly put to the task of helping plan and set up a soft-serve ice cream bar.
They also proposed ideas for a new exhibit, working to make the experience more interactive for visitors. And, with each proposal, Saunders says they came up with a plan to put it in action, requiring them to work closely with the sales representatives.
In the afternoons, Nelson and Saunders helped the chocolatier make chocolates for summer visitors while also stockpiling inventory for Christmas. Nelson says, “We started on a lot of stuff for Christmas because the chocolatier is all alone when she doesn’t have interns.” The pair then practiced their chocolate making—and their German—by teaching visitors how to make their own chocolate.
Developing the Language and Experiencing the Culture
Before beginning their internship, Nelson and Saunders served German-speaking missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and then continued their language studies at BYU, taking German classes and enrolling in the Language Immersion Student Residences (LISR) to live at the German House. The pair agree the language competency they gained at BYU, both through class study and immersion, equipped them with a solid language foundation for the internship.
In the factory, Nelson would carefully listen for new phrases, pronunciations, or words in all her conversations. “I would try to adopt that into my speaking so I would sound a little bit more native or just speak German more fluently,” she says. By the end of the internship, she could easily describe the whole process of making chocolate in German and she felt that her fluency had improved.
Building relationships definitely helped me gain purpose on this internship.
Saunders noticed his mastery of the language and culture improving as he talked with his coworkers who knew only basic English. They got to know each other and discussed the similarities and differences in their respective cultures. “I think it was important to me that I could communicate with my coworkers and build good relationships that way,” Saunders says. “Building relationships definitely helped me gain purpose on this internship.”
For Nelson, the internship offered her the opportunity to experience culture in a new way. “It’s a different experience living there—not as a missionary—and interacting with coworkers and working with them,” she says. “It was cool to work side by side with people from a different culture, a different country, and with different ideas in a different language—it was eye-opening.”
To learn about internship options, visit German & Russian Department website.