Hello! I have studied French for 18+ years and am a fluent French speaker. I am highly enthusiastic about French language and culture, both of which interest me immensely. I've had the great fortune of working in Vincennes, France on the outskirts of Paris for a year in 2013-2014, where I taught English to a 6-year-old child. When I arrived, he only knew "Hello" and "Goodnight", and, by the time I left, his skill set and confidence in the language had developed to the point where he understood 95% of what I said, was forming complete sentences, and would regularly ask me (in English) for new words whenever he didn't know how to say something!

I developed a deep love for teaching language through this experience, as well as my prior experience living with a host family in the Southern France city of Avignon when I was in university. These chances afforded me the opportunity to pursue French language by forming several close friends with whom I still remain quite close today and hope to return to visit soon. I also tutored the child's stepfather, brand new to English, and discovered that I equally enjoyed working with adults.

The friendships and experiences I had living abroad have stayed with me, and I continue to pursue French every day. As my friends joke, if a film or television show exists in French, I will find it! I make a point of consuming the majority of my media in French, and, as a huge music-lover, would guess that at least 60% of my music library is French music.

I believe that students learn best when they have a reason to learn. This means figuring out what interests them and providing opportunities to pursue these interests in the desired language. When teaching French at Ohio University as a teaching associate in 2014-2015, I introduced my students to a variety of French YouTube channels, music, television shows, games and websites. I encouraged them to find at least one thing that they found interesting or enjoyable, the idea being that, in order to learn French, you must find something French you wish to incorporate in your everyday life. Music is a particularly successful media form that I stress, as most people enjoy music and will develop good pronunciation and comprehension skills through repeated listenings.

I also encourage students to learn about French culture, in part through personal stories, and to reach out to native French speakers through various interactive media forms. French culture is often misunderstood by Americans, in particular, and students are often very interested in learning about our differences and similarities.

Outside of French, I am also a big writer and regularly participate in persuasive writing discussions as well as creative writing for my own personal entertainment. Additionally, I enjoy photography and animals, spending time with those close to me, and am always up for baking a good batch of chocolate chip cookies with friends!