Leilani: First, could you tell me about your background and how long you’ve been speaking French?
Vincent: Yeah! I first started taking French classes in high school, and then I placed into second-year level French when I came to Reed. I lived in the French House last year, and I’m living in Farm House this year. So those are the French experiences I’ve had here.
L: What has your experience been like as a French tutor?
V: It’s been pretty interesting to get a sense of how other people learn a language in ways that are different from what I’m more used to. And I think that’s a way of helping me to understand the language better and get more practice with it by working with other people.
L: I know you’re also a writing tutor. Do you have a different method when you’re tutoring for different subjects?
V: Yeah, I think in writing tutoring, it’s a lot more of looking at someone’s finished project or ideas that they already have. It gives me places to go based on that. I think a lot of times with language tutoring, it’s more about working through the whole process together with someone. It’s about practicing things that are a little less structured than with writing tutoring.
L: Are there certain strategies or resources that you recommend to your French tutees?
V: One of my favorite things is the Bon Patron grammar checker, which is helpful for writing assignments a lot of the time. And Word Reference is my favorite French dictionary, as well. It’s helpful for providing vocabulary and more options. With vocabulary, that can be helpful for putting sentences together.
L: I agree! Both are very great. I know that you’re very involved with French House and the French-speaking community here. Do you have a favorite French event that you’ve been to?
V: One thing that was really cool was that last year, one of the language scholars had an event. It was with the French department and the language houses going to a theater and watching some older French short films. I thought it was cool to get a sense of the cultural background that’s a little bit more niche.
L: Speaking of French media, do you have a favorite book, movie, or music in French?
V: This is such a hard question. This is a basic answer, but the movie The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. I like it a lot, it’s a musical and very colorful. Very aesthetically pleasing.
L: What’s your favorite French class that you’ve taken at Reed?
V: I think my favorite French class was French 301, conversation with Ann. It gave me such a different sense of the language, because it was learning more about French media and culture, and not just the grammar and the literature. I felt that it was more refreshing.
L: Yeah, I had a lot of fun in that class, too! Do you have a favorite word or expression in French?
V: I always have one. I like the word coquelicot, for “poppy.” I think it looks and sounds cool.
L: OK, last question. I know you’re studying abroad next semester. Are you looking forward to studying abroad? And how are you preparing and mentally preparing for that transition to living in a French-speaking country?
V: For one thing, I am super excited about it. I’m definitely looking forward to it. As far as being prepared, I’m trying to still keep up with the language, even if it’s not as intense. I do live in Farm House and do the French events for that. So I still practice the language that way. And also, I’m trying to watch more French shows to keep up with the language and have it be something that is in the background of my head, even if I’m not studying it. Hopefully, that will get me more used to the language for when I’m there. Otherwise, I’m not stressing it. It’s going to be fine.
L: I believe in you! I think that Pause Café is a good way of forcing me to speak in French all the time. Classes are so different from chit-chatting
V: I feel like when I’m in class, it’s very structured. It’s just going through and answering questions. I can be really on top of that. Whereas with a more natural conversation, there are way more random things where I’m like, “What is the word for that?” or “How do I even say that?”