What better way to learn French than by chatting with a native French speaker?
Mac students taking French can do exactly that, thanks to a program run by France Education International, which arranges for university students in France to travel to 27 different countries, including Canada, to teach French. (McMaster students can travel to France to teach English through a similar program run by the French Embassy.)
If 2020 had been a regular year, Manon Eguren Pernia and Anaïs Messaoud would both have been living in Canada, interacting with students studying French at Mac and learning a little about Canadian culture. Instead, they’ve both been working from their homes in France, running tutorials to help students practice their oral French – focusing on speaking, hearing, and responding.
Pernia lives in Toulouse and was a student at Université Toulouse Jean Jaurès. She has a BA in Spanish Language and Civilization, and one in English. She also has a master’s degree of Didactics in French as a Foreign Language (FLE).
Messaoud lives in Gennevilliers, a suburb of Paris. She’s a student at Université Paris Nanterre studying English with a major in American History focussing on African American history.
We sat down with them via Zoom to chat about their experiences in what’s been a strange but rewarding year.
Q: What do you teach?
Anaïs: Good question! With us, our students really practice their oral French. So they have to speak all the time. Oral comprehension: they watch videos, listen and talk about it and answer questions about it. They do presentations. They do a lot of research regarding French history and they have to talk about it in class.
Manon: We work with them on their communication skills – so they have to talk with us! They need to be able to just talk to someone in French. And sometimes that’s the hardest part, to be very spontaneous in French.
Q: How have you adjusted to working with students virtually?
Anaïs: Since it’s been my first experience it came pretty naturally. But I still struggle a lot, I miss human interaction. I would say that this is the part that I miss the most because when I was in Nanterre, I was a teacher as well. I had a few students, but we were still in class. With Manon I’m lucky because we work well together. It’s been easier to cope with the situation with her because we understand one another and we’ve managed to organize ourselves really well. So, it’s been easier with her. If I’d been alone, it would’ve been different because I would feel even more lonely.
Manon: For me, it was really hard at the beginning because I’m not used to talking to a computer. I miss being with the students a lot and seeing them and being in the same room, but as Anaïs said, we were trying to cope with the situation and it became easier.
I remember that it became easier when I started working with the students in smaller groups, in breakout rooms or when we had individual interviews with them. I felt more connected with them, it was easier to talk to them.
Q: Do you have a stand–out moment or highlight from this year with your McMaster students?
Anaïs: At first the students didn’t know each other at all, and now they have started to make acquaintances, talk to each other through the chat and respond when someone speaks, remember each other’s names.
I felt really happy for them because I know it’s difficult to study at home with no real human relations or contact with your teachers or with your friends. University is an experience where meeting new people is really important and they were able to do that in my class and I was happy.
And they’re really nice, they are so nice to me! On zoom you can send a heart, and they all did that to me at the same time one day. I didn’t expect it, I didn’t see it coming – they all sent me hearts! It was just so cute and I didn’t see it coming. I was overwhelmed but in a good way. I will remember that moment.
Manon: For me, I think it’s not one moment but moments. I really like it when they just talk, and it’s just a normal conversation. They’re just chatting, but it’s in French. And they’re laughing and they’re joking and I’m just like yes, we did it! That’s how a language should be used, to communicate, to talk. And then the other type of moment I appreciate is when they talk about something important to them in French, and I always feel so lucky to hear about that. Even if it’s hard, even if they make mistakes, they do it. And that’s what I want to see. It makes me feel good.
Anaïs: We’ve noticed that they’ve been feeling more and more comfortable with us. At the beginning of the semester some students never talked and now almost toward the end of the year, as Manon said, some of them will just spontaneously answer and participate in the conversation and they’re really involved. Something on a daily basis that really makes me happy is the way students are involved in the French department and in our classes. They email us whenever they have questions, they send us homework before the due date, they ask for thorough corrections and reviews, they ask us for book recommendations, TV show recommendations. They are really into it, really involved. They really want to progress and improve, and we are proud of them.
Q: What differences have you noticed between France and Canada?
Manon: Our students are way more interested in things we don’t talk about here in France. They talk about social things, political issues, social issues, in a way that we don’t in France. They think about stuff and just talk about it and in France we are more, I don’t know…
Anaïs: By the book.
Manon: By the book. Also, the whole university is different in the way that it is more empathetic. People just try to encourage you, to make you feel comfortable, the teachers want the students to succeed, and they care about the students. So nice!
In France, it is really competitive. In Canada, we have office hours dedicated to our students: if they have questions, if they need help, they can come and we’ve got time for them. You have to have time dedicated to your students and it’s so nice and I really appreciate that.
Anaïs: At Nanterre in the English department, the teachers that I’ve had really look like those in McMaster. They’re available for us, they answer our emails really quickly, they remember our names, they spend time with us outside of class like if we run into each other in the hallways they ask if we’re ok, if we have questions, how we are doing basically. I know I’m lucky and my experience at Nanterre is a blessing.
Manon: Something that’s really different here at McMaster is that you can write an email to any teacher in the department and he or she is going to answer and – wow! They’re so nice to us.
Anaïs: At first, it was a little disturbing! We didn’t really know how to react because we’re not used to that. In France, you have a hierarchy and people keep a distance when it comes to work and here it is a friendlier kind of atmosphere. At first it was weird but it’s good. We feel at ease and we feel comfortable to talk about our ideas or things we didn’t really understand. We are not afraid to ask questions and discuss. We appreciate it a lot!