I am so excited to be starting my third year at Walton ! Student numbers in World Languages classes
are growing, and I am teaching both French and Spanish this year – 8th
grade French I (the high school credit class) plus 6th and 7th
grade exploratory classes in both languages.
Did you know that French is an official or co-official
language in 29 countries and is also widely spoken in several other countries?
These countries are located on five of the seven continents. French I students are doing a project to find
news articles about as many of these countries as possible.
“More than 200 million people speak French on the five
continents. The Francophonie, the international organisation of French-speaking
countries, comprises 68 states and governments. French is the second most
widely learned foreign language after English, and the ninth most widely spoken
language in the world. French is also the only language, alongside English, that
is taught in every country in the world. France operates the biggest
international network of cultural institutes, which run French-language courses
for more than 750,000 learners.” The source for this quote and nine other
reasons to study French can be found at http://www.consulfrance-houston.org/spip.php?article1426.
The goal of the exploratory classes is to introduce students
to the language and culture of other countries.
Thanks to Señora Vinel who loaned us her tortilla press, Spanish classes
were able to make their own tortillas! Over
the next few months, we will study some basic vocabulary while exploring some
of the important customs and celebrations in Spanish-speaking countries.
The French exploratory class is taking a virtual trip to
France, learning the steps in traveling from the flight (on Air France of
course) to getting a hotel room, dining out, shopping and sight-seeing. We will
also study French customs and celebrations.
I am looking forward to a wonderful year with my terrific
students!
Nancy-Lee Kozub
French & Spanish Teacher
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