Every year, around 120 students of French at the University of Manchester (UoM) prepare to go on their compulsory Year Abroad (YA). They are free to choose between different options: studying in France and the French-speaking world, working in diverse sectors throughout the French-speaking world, or becoming a language assistant. This wealth of choice can make pre-departure decisions difficult. Furthermore, once students are abroad, there seems to be a gap between their expectations and the reality of living abroad. This can result in anxiety and a lack of engagement with the target culture and language. This chapter presents the ways in which the Department of French Studies at UoM is helping students prepare for the YA by including specific activities and topics in its language module curriculum. It first examines the issues students encounter before and during their YA, then the solutions that have been implemented, and finally the impact of this programme. [For the complete volume, "Perspectives on the Year Abroad: A Selection of Papers from YAC2018," see ED603732.]