MAFLT Portfolio

I began my language learning journey in the library of William S. James Elementary School, where a parent who spoke French offered weekly lessons to interested fifth grade students. I was immediately hooked on the French language. I studied French in high school and added Spanish as well. I chose to pursue my love of the French language in college. I earned a Bachelor of Arts in French, with minors in Spanish and history, from Salisbury University in 1998.

I raised a family before working at my local library, where I taught on-the-fly technology lessons daily and interacted with teenagers who needed homework assistance. When an opening for a French teacher arose at a local public high school, I was able to return my love of the French language and culture. I rebuilt a French program that had been dormant for over ten years and began the first local chapter of the Société Honoraire de Français, a national program which recognizes outstanding students of French. Several of my students have chosen to pursue French at higher levels, including majors and minors in French or International Studies.

In December of 2022, I will graduate from Michigan State University with a Master of Arts in Foreign Language Teaching. Through this program, I have become a reflective, research-informed practitioner with a passion for helping teachers do the same for themselves.