letter to prospective students

Bonjour!

Welcome to French class! I am so excited to start playing and exploring the French language with you! I wanted to write a bit about myself here and how I hope the next nine months will play out so that we are all on the same page.

My name is Madame Coutarel, although most people call me "Madame C" or just "Madame." I moved back to the US from rural France a few years ago and speak French at home with my family.

I believe that language learning is one of the most difficult and rewarding things we can pursue – when fully immersed in a new language the brain is literally a sponge soaking up new information at all times!

My hope is for classes to be as close to immersion-style as possible, where we speak exclusively in French all the time. Please don’t be intimidated or nervous that you won’t be able to handle it! You will! I just wanted to give a warning that the first week or two might seem a bit intense as your brain works overtime to make sense of it all, but this is completely normal! It will get much easier with time as your proficiency develops.

I also wanted to ask that each of you purchase a notebook for class. In France all work is done in a composition notebook similar to the image above. Bound on the left (please no spiral bound), lined or graph paper, at least 100 pages. This notebook is where we will do activities in class together, where you will take your notes, do your homework, write your reflections, and self-monitor your grades. The notebook will come home with you on weekdays and on most weekends will stay with me for grading purposes. If we are working on any projects that need to be finished at home, or there is any homework or notes to be read by your parents/guardians they will be pasted inside, will come home with you, and will need to be signed and returned to me. Please do not hesitate to contact me if finding a notebook will be a problem and we will find a solution; it is essential to the learning process!

I cannot wait to get to know you over the next few weeks and am thrilled about your interest in French language and culture! I encourage you to discuss the things you are learning with your peers, friends and family as much as possible throughout the week and am excited to see where the next academic year takes us! Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns at any time!

Merci!

Mme Chelsea Coutarel  / madamecoutarel@gmail.com