Language Learning Experience

My passion for French began in 8th grade when I enrolled in a required French class.  Learning a language came very easily to me, so I continued pursuing French all through high school.  I was active in the French club and helped plan trips to Montreal.  But it wasn’t until my freshman year of college that I felt the calling to become a French teacher.  One day in the middle of my Intermediate French class as we were singing a song, I noticed that I couldn’t stop smiling.  I realized that many of my fondest memories involved French or French class, so why not pursue a career that would allow me to share that joy with others?  (Not to mention built-in vacations and summer break!)  I quickly changed my major to French, and the rest is history.

Following my undergraduate years, I was accepted into the Teaching Assistantship Program in France (TAPIF), a program for English-speakers who would like to teach English to French citizens.  For seven months spanning 2008-2009, I worked as an English assistant in Lyon, France at Lycée Saint-Just.  Although my time in the classroom involved speaking English, the rest of my life there was conducted entirely in French, an immersive experience that greatly benefitted my language proficiency and cultural insights.

Following my time in Lyon, I returned to my home state of Vermont where I began my French teaching career.  I have twice returned to France on school trips; I chaperoned a trip to Normandy and Paris in 2016 and then led a trip to Paris and Provence in 2019.  Additionally, given Vermont’s proximity to Quebec, I have also striven to familiarize myself with Quebecois language and culture in order to infuse more local French into my classroom.  I have traveled to Montreal, Quebec City, and other small towns in Quebec many times, both for pleasure and on trips with students.  In the summer of 2018, I participated in a week-long institute for French teachers in Quebec City, a professional development opportunity that furthered my familiarity with our northern neighbors and provided me with rich experience and material on Quebecois language, history, music, and food that I now incorporate into all levels of my French classes.