Languages Other Than English (LOTE)
I created this portion of my site to share how I became so enamored with foreign languages, which are a big part of my life. I knew from a very young age that I would be taking
French in high school. My mother took French in high school, and she occasionally peppered her English with French sayings when I was young. Since I wanted to be just like her, I would no doubt be taking French, and I could not wait to learn enough to have a conversation with her! When I was about seven,
my parents bought me a children's book (which is now out of print, sadly) called "My First French Vocabulary." In seventh grade, I finally got to begin taking French classes in school. I soon realized that I really found the process of learning a language (even the so-called "dry" grammar components) fascinating, so I spent a lot of time outside
of class and with teachers advancing my studies. I also took Latin and Spanish in high school. To my delight, I realized that once you learn one Latin-based language, the
rest come much more easily. My peers in high school and college knew me as "that girl who loves French," and subsequently, "that girl who loves languages." I was very
fortunate to have such a wonderful experience with my teachers both in high school and college, which compelled me to pursue foreign language education as a career. I got to
test the waters as a teacher when I was in high school through an after school enrichment program with elementary school students where I assisted French and Spanish teachers
in their lessons. I am so grateful to all my language teachers and professors who have made my learning experience so enriched! Having this experience made it so easy for me to choose a career
path.
My international travels thus far have brought me to France several times, Canada several times, once as a chaperone of a high school trip, and the UK. Getting to use your language abroad is a very satisfying
and exciting experience! Most of the native French speakers I have encountered abroad have been very kind and happy to let me practice my language with them. Knowing the language
of the country you're visiting can also come in quite handy when you're lost on the commuter train or having electrical problems in your hotel room (okay, I admit, European
electricity confuses me!) I have also had the
benefit of, in a sense, having the travel come to me, as a resident of a Global Living and Learning Community for 4
and a half years in college. This GLLC, for short, is a dormitory which houses about three quarters American students, and one quarter international students, either studying
abroad at the university for a semester or pursuing their whole degree there. I have made some very close friends from all over the world, and learned about some cultures I
had never heard of before. Certainly this does not take the place of traveling in terms of its cultural impact, but living here had a much more profound effect on my world
view than I ever though it would.
So that's how I became so interested in languages. Today I am certified to teach secondary French and Spanish in New York State, where I live, and I am a French teacher at my alma mater middle school. I am a 2009 graduate of the State University of New York College at Oswego (BA in French, BS in Adolescent Education), and I received my Master of Science in Education from SUNY Plattsburgh in 2011. During my penultimate semester at Oswego, I created a logo and website for the college's French program, as well as a Ning community and Twitter handle, under the guidance of one of my professors. Click here to explore the website! You may have read my blog, The French Corner, which I started as a static webpage in 2003, when I was in high school, as a grammar and vocabulary resource for French students. It became a blog in 2007 and is now a resource for French learners, teachers, and enthusiasts. Please visit the blog to learn more about it and subscribe! You may also be interested in visiting the blog I keep for my students, Le monde parle français, which features photos and student work from my French 7 classes.
Social media is a two-way street. Today the internet isn't just about putting information out there and leaving it, it's about sharing and collaborating. I am taking advantage of many of the resources available to teachers today on the internet. I have learned some incredible things from people I have never met in person. Some of the blogs I find invaluable (all by foreign language teachers to boot!) are Box of Tricks by José Picardo (about technology in the classroom), Integrating ICT into the MFL Classroom by Joe Dale (ICT being Information and Communication Technologies and MFL being Modern Foreign Language), Les Chevaliers du Château des Champions by Andrea Henderson (a great resource for French teachers), and My Languages by Isabelle Jones (a great resource for language teachers). There are so many other great blogs too, many of which you will find by visiting the ones I have mentioned. With new information being shared each day on the internet, I often feel like I am attending a professional development conference for free from the comfort of my home! All this, and I have barely begun my teaching career! I feel very fortunate to have come of age in an era where information technology is so quickly evolving.
À bientôt ! ~ ¡Hasta luego! ~ Arrivederci! ~ Vale! ~ Auf Wiedersehen!