Rockwood School District: Marquette French Students Learn From Alumnae Teaching In France

Press release from the Rockwood School District:

May 18, 2021

​Kristin Blake remembers the big concepts she learned in her French classes at Marquette High: the arts, the culture and the history. She also remembers the more foundational parts of the language that came across during lessons: how to ask for directions, searching for food at a grocery store and translating apartment listings.Now that she has spent the past six months living in Marseille, France, she has a bit of a different perspective on those experiences. "I remember sitting in Chesterfield, thinking, 'I am never going to use this. That is never going to be me,'" Blake said. "But I'm literally that person now. Here I am, five years later, and every day I'm thinking, 'We literally learned this in m​y French class.'"Blake and Claire Green are both 2016 Marquette graduates and former students of Della Thompson. They are both coming off half-year stints teaching English to students in France – Blake to elementary-aged students, Green to 15-18-year-olds – and both had the opportunity to impart some knowledge to Thompson's current French 2 and 3 students via Zoom in April.Green and Blake gave presentations about their experiences in France, then opened up the meeting for questions and answers. Most of the dialogue, of course, was en français. "I am hoping my current students can see some of the things they're be able to do with their language skills when they graduate," Thompson said. "I'm hoping it expanded their horizons a little bit about what they can do when they finish at Marquette and also to show them the value of learning the language."Blake first started taking​ French on a whim to fulfill her language requirement. Green had taken Spanish, German, French and Chinese at Crestview Middle, so she had a basis in those languages when she arrived at Marquette.She chose French for a fairly practical reason."I couldn't really roll my r's at that time," Green said, with a laugh. "It was probably the best decision I've ever made."Both students used their time at Marquette to cultivate a love for the French language and culture that carried them through college and into post-graduate programs that placed them in the country as English teachers. Blake majored in magazine journalism and French at the University of Missouri. Green studied international relations, French and political science – as well as German and Spanish – at the University of Indianapolis and hopes to go into international diplomacy.Both graduated from college last spring and looked for teaching opportunities in France. Despite pandemic-related restrictions, they both made the journey overseas last fall and taught into April."Learning multiple languages never hurt anyone," Blake said. "It truly opens the door, careerwise and relationally. I'm able to connect with so many people. That's huge, to be able to reach people in a language that's more comfortable to them. A lot of the reason people don't stick with a foreign language is they get s​o bogged down by making mistakes. I still make mistakes every day, and I speak French 80 percent of the time here. French speakers here don't have their notebook and a red pen out looking at me and seeing if I conjugate a verb right."While in France, Blake and Green met up in Lyon to share their experiences. Their time in country was different – Blake was in France's second-largest city, Green in the small mining town Montceau-les-Mines in Burgundy; most of Green's students had at least a baseline of knowledge in English, and some of Blake's students could not even repeat "Hello, my name is…" back to her when they started.They both developed a deeper appreciation for France and French, as well as the Marquette teachers such as Thompson who started them down this path."Madame Thompson would do mostly French speaking throughout the course, and that was probably the most helpful thing she did," Green said. "When I headed to college, we didn't even speak that much compared to what I did in high school. That made a big difference on my actual retaining of the language. Her students now should continue a language and study abroad, if they have the resources. The best way to get perspective is going places and challenging yourself."

​Kristin Blake remembers the big concepts she learned in her French classes at Marquette High: the arts, the culture and the history. She also remembers the more foundational parts of the language that came across during lessons: how to ask for directions, searching for food at a grocery store and translating apartment listings.Now that she has spent the past six months living in Marseille, France, she has a bit of a different perspective on those experiences. "I remember sitting in Chesterfield, thinking, 'I am never going to use this. That is never going to be me,'" Blake said. "But I'm literally that person now. Here I am, five years later, and every day I'm thinking, 'We literally learned this in m​y French class.'"Blake and Claire Green are both 2016 Marquette graduates and former students of Della Thompson. They are both coming off half-year stints teaching English to students in France – Blake to elementary-aged students, Green to 15-18-year-olds – and both had the opportunity to impart some knowledge to Thompson's current French 2 and 3 students via Zoom in April.Green and Blake gave presentations about their experiences in France, then opened up the meeting for questions and answers. Most of the dialogue, of course, was en français. "I am hoping my current students can see some of the things they're be able to do with their language skills when they graduate," Thompson said. "I'm hoping it expanded their horizons a little bit about what they can do when they finish at Marquette and also to show them the value of learning the language."Blake first started taking​ French on a whim to fulfill her language requirement. Green had taken Spanish, German, French and Chinese at Crestview Middle, so she had a basis in those languages when she arrived at Marquette.She chose French for a fairly practical reason."I couldn't really roll my r's at that time," Green said, with a laugh. "It was probably the best decision I've ever made."Both students used their time at Marquette to cultivate a love for the French language and culture that carried them through college and into post-graduate programs that placed them in the country as English teachers. Blake majored in magazine journalism and French at the University of Missouri. Green studied international relations, French and political science – as well as German and Spanish – at the University of Indianapolis and hopes to go into international diplomacy.Both graduated from college last spring and looked for teaching opportunities in France. Despite pandemic-related restrictions, they both made the journey overseas last fall and taught into April."Learning multiple languages never hurt anyone," Blake said. "It truly opens the door, careerwise and relationally. I'm able to connect with so many people. That's huge, to be able to reach people in a language that's more comfortable to them. A lot of the reason people don't stick with a foreign language is they get s​o bogged down by making mistakes. I still make mistakes every day, and I speak French 80 percent of the time here. French speakers here don't have their notebook and a red pen out looking at me and seeing if I conjugate a verb right."While in France, Blake and Green met up in Lyon to share their experiences. Their time in country was different – Blake was in France's second-largest city, Green in the small mining town Montceau-les-Mines in Burgundy; most of Green's students had at least a baseline of knowledge in English, and some of Blake's students could not even repeat "Hello, my name is…" back to her when they started.They both developed a deeper appreciation for France and French, as well as the Marquette teachers such as Thompson who started them down this path."Madame Thompson would do mostly French speaking throughout the course, and that was probably the most helpful thing she did," Green said. "When I headed to college, we didn't even speak that much compared to what I did in high school. That made a big difference on my actual retaining of the language. Her students now should continue a language and study abroad, if they have the resources. The best way to get perspective is going places and challenging yourself."

This press release was produced by the Rockwood School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.