Students of French 2 walked into class this year waiting for proctor to come in and start their online lecture, when Lauriane Guihard walked in ready to start off the year. She had reignited their interest in French and the students gained a newfound passion for the subject.
LOTAs said the transition from completely online to in-person classes to be a notably positive change, and the interactions were beneficial.
“As a hands-on learner, having someone physically present significantly accelerates my understanding and ability to grasp information,” sophomore Addison Swell explained.
Although the workload changed, A LOTA explained that it did not particularly affect Sewell regardless of the medium of the knowledge being online or from a book, what matter hor her was that learning remained consistent.
“I don’t observe significant variations in my learning based on the delivery method,” Sewell said.
Going into the second year the class size had decreased and can be a more hands-on approach, as well as a more generalized approach for the entire class.
“Despite this, she excels in conveying complex connections, effectively explaining intricate topics, and breaking down challenging material for enhanced comprehension,” Swell explained.
Sophomore Phylicia Martin, in the same class, has found that there is a change in learning French by someone who is a native French speaker. Martin is explained that she has learned a lot more because Guihard is a francophone speaker.
“It’s more immersive because she is fluent, she implements French into daily activities expanding my vocabulary,” Martin described.
Martin shared that Guihard repeats things in English if needed, which has helped her learn a lot more than the previous year, with both languages integrated into the class.
Martin noticed that there are captions in French phrases around the room, and that the sentences on the wall had helped her a lot. Martin could pick phrases off the words to add them to her vocabulary, though some did not help without translation cues.
Part of the new caliber of the class are new projects and assignments. Martin explained that projects had been more than just projects, they were a way to grow and excel in vocabulary.
“A way to show our strength unlike a test which is all based on memorization and does not allow room for creativity,” Martin said.
Guihard shared that this is a new teaching environment for her, especially with students at different levels.
“It was a challenge to get students where they need to be, I had to build a heavy foundation,” Guihard explained, but that overall the French classes are very positive.
Swell and Martin stated that Guihard takes advice and recommendations from the students, like the ballerina movie unit as an intro to life in France.
Guihard teaches French 2 and honors French 2, co-seated. She worked on evening out the levels of the classes and had to build a foundation for the classes.
“Since they are co-seated some of the students thought that the whole class should just be honors or vice versa and just on-level,” Guihard said.
As she gets to know the students Guihard sees how they all learn differently.
” I don’t think everyone could benefit from the honors class,” Guihard explained. “When I arrived sections had already been composted so because of this, in some cases it benefited students being in honors because of the difference in the learning pace.”
Guihard also appreciates the new experience for colleagues as well. She explained that the Academy is a good community.
“You can feel the staff, faculty, or students; you can feel the sense of community,” she shared.
Guihard plans on taking the French students on field trips to the museums for French 4 and AP class for example. Guihard plans on building the French community at Holy Cross and for the new students in the upcoming classes.
“My plan is to test and improve my curriculum for this new class. It builds a great foundation and encourages a passion and love so they may truly love French,” Guihard shared.
