Zis. Is. English Class.

This morning at school I gave what I think is has been my most successful lesson of the year. The funny thing is, it’s the fourth time I’ve done this same lesson and never before has it turned out so perfectly.

This morning I clawed my way out of bed at 6am and made the hour-long commute to school, which involved taking two metro lines and saying a little prayer that I'd make the bus in time—much less get a seat for the 40 minute ride. How I survived four years of 6am orchestra during my own high school days I will never know. At least then my commute was better. In any case, usually when I arrive for my 8am Friday class I am not the most energetic language assistant in the world. It’s been a long week, and already a longer morning. But seeing the faces of my 5 female students eagerly awaiting me to say “good morning” (goot mourning) I have to admit, makes it worth it. This class is great. Just the fact that they come without being obligated. At 8am. Friday. They are a special group.

My lesson today involved watching a clip from a Friends episode (high-brow, I know) and then assigning each student a role and reading the script to practice phonetics and natural speech. At the end we dubbed the scene ourselves. Okay so it’s not earth-shattering stuff, but during this lesson not only did I give them the first help they’ve ever received in making the “th-" sound, but we talked about when to pronounce “tha” verses “thee” for ‘the,’ and even digressed into a discussion of the symbols on the American dollar.

I know I’m off on a language-assistant high, but today’s class was kind of inspiring. Sometimes it can feel like I am useless here, as most of my students I see only once every few weeks—not nearly enough to make any lasting impression on their progress. But leaving that classroom, I knew the girls would go home and practice putting their tongue in between their front teeth to say “th-“. And although zat 'zee' sound zey make when speaking English is charming, forming ze ‘th-’ is a big improvement for zem.

I have always known I wanted to work with young people. (Okay that’s not true; I’ve always known I want to be a writer. But I’ve known I want to work with young people since the day I figured out I didn’t want to lead the life of a prolific hermit). But having bounced around from museums to camps to high schools I haven’t yet settled on my exact niche in this field. One thing I know now is that, if the opportunity arises, I would love to teach french in America. Teaching language is not only interesting, but it is one of the most practically useful subjects today. Perhaps it's less relevant for anglophones, but it's probable that over 50% of my students at some point spend time in an anglophone country, for many it could be significant time. And believe me, these kids have no idea the level of competency they'd need to survive in America, which in my opinion is even more intolerant than France when it comes to immigrants or foreigners not speaking the native tongue. That's saying a lot; you should see the way my french roommate lectures me about proper accord concerning irregular present participles... I know, those grammar words confuse me too, especially when he says them in french. But hey, at least I'm improving. 

Without a doubt, the thing I will miss the most about being in France after this program ends will not be the cheese, or the amazing public transportation, or the adorable old houses, or even the baguettes (although they're a close second!). It will be talking about language, even thinking about language, on a daily basis. Learning and speaking french make living here a challenge every day. I think I have a changed view of the world because I have had the opportunity to live in a community that does not share my native language. I hope I can bring this interest and its implications back to whatever I choose to do in America, because we could definitely all use a bit more global understanding. 

Oh, here's a picture of me at the Cathedrale du Sacre Coeur for good measure. I went to Paris 2 weeks ago! Maybe I should write about something like that next time instead of pontificating on the importance of language? ....Hmmm, food for thought.