As LangLabbies, we want to make sure Reedies know what resources are available for learning languages. Language tutors are here to help you with your homework, or as Holden, a French tutor states, they’re also here if you want to just talk in French about anything! So we’re going to be interviewing the language tutors to hear their thoughts on language communities at Reed, as well as to see if they have some good books and movie recommendations. The first tutor I interviewed is Holden, a French tutor. You can find the interview below! The interview was edited for length purposes.
Patricio: What do you study?
Holden: I’m a Biochemistry major, but I specialize more on the chemistry side. And I’m a French minor. I really like the Enlightenment Period and early modernism.
Patricio: How long have you been speaking French and what made you want to learn it?
Holden: I’ve been speaking French for a long time. Longer than most people who aren’t native speakers. I was enrolled in a French immersion school in preschool, and by the time I hit elementary school most of my education was in French. I maintained that in middle school, then I moved, but I kept taking French classes throughout high school. I never really had a choice to start learning it, I suppose, but I’m very glad I did, because it’s a very beautiful language and it opens up a lot of doors.
Patricio: Have you lived in any French speaking countries?
Holden: Yeah, I studied abroad in France in the fall semester of my Junior year. I was in Paris with CUPA, and I had a host family who was really lovely. It was a really kind and wonderful experience, even if the classes were less academically rigorous than Reed’s classes.
Patricio: So now being back from France, is it hard to not forget the language here at Reed?
Holden: Yeah, I would say I grew very confident and seamless in my level of French while I was there. It got to the point where very rarely would people pick up on the fact that I was a foreigner, unless it came to the gender of nouns, which I always get wrong. But unfortunately I proceeded to not speak French for about four months upon returning. So now there’s a lot of vocabulary I’ve forgotten, but I try to practice it a lot.
Patricio: How do you practice it Reed?
Holden: I love going to the Pause café, which happens every week, as well as going to other French House events. I also try to befriend the language scholars so I can talk to them in French. And I’m in contact with all of my study abroad friends, so we all try to speak in French when we hang out. There’s also an excellent collection of French literature at the library, and I’ve taken a lot of French classes at Reed.
And finally, this is very difficult, but when I hear someone speaking French out in the wild, I leap on the chance to speak French with them. I encourage people to do this because they will almost certainly be excited by it. The more confident you can get on entering a conversation like that, the more chances you’re going to get at speaking French. For instance, I recommend going to a French bakery called St. Honoré to practice ordering in French.
Patricio: That’s great advice, I’m going to have to try that. Have you taken any cool French classes at Reed?
Holden: Time and Narrative, with Ann Delehanty. That class was incredibly cohesive, it was like watching a huge academic essay unfurl in front of me. And we read some incredible works. I’m also currently taking The Uncanny Modernity with Catherine Witt, which I’m really enjoying.
Patricio: Have you found a good French speaking community here at Reed?
Holden: Yes, the FRENCH HOUSE! I highly recommend applying to live there. And If you are living there, insist on speaking in French, because everybody there typically speaks enough to at least tell you they don’t know what you’re saying. Nobody will feel bad if you pressure them into speaking French, because that’s the reason the house exists.
The French teachers have office hours, and if there’s nobody in there you can just chat about your day. And you should come to the French drop-in tutors! We can help you with your homework, but also if you just want to practice French, you can show up and we can talk about anything.
Patricio: Do you watch any movies or TV shows in French? And if yes do you have any recommendations?
Holden: Okay, so my favorite movie of all time -English or French- is Anatomie d’une Chute, which you should go into completely blind. It’s a Phenomenal film. It has some German and a lot of English, so if you’re not that good at French you’ll fend off with the English that’s spoken. In fact, one of the main themes of the movie is doing things in bureaucracy in translation.
Other than that, anything by Éric Rohmer. Wild Reeds is my favorite of his movies. It’s about some gay boys in the south of France.
Patricio: That movie is up on the Language Lab recommendations board!
Holden: That recommendation is in fact from me.
Patricio: What about books and songs?
Holden: In terms of books, the works of Marguerite Duras are very good and accessible and quite short. I would also recommend reading anything by Annie Ernaux. She won a Nobel Prize, and when you read one of her books you’ll know why. They’re non-fiction, but they read like fiction, and they’re also very short and easy to read.
I have also been reading some Victor Hugo. His books are long and incredibly dense, but also really really good. I’m halfway through Les Misérables and I now know why it’s so famous.
And there’s plenty of good French graphic novels. It’s a great way to read in French while also not having to muddle through the denseness of all the letters on a page. You can download those for free on your computer, as long as you’re not worried about accidentally downloading a virus on your computer.
Patricio: I’ll add a warning about that. **This is the warning
Patricio: Is there anything you find particularly difficult about the French language?
Holden: Gender nouns are impossible for me to keep together. And the pronunciation is difficult for everybody, and the French will not hesitate to correct you, which can be a huge barrier to entry because there’s shame tied into not speaking like a “native speaker”.
Slang is huge in French too, and you don’t learn it in class, so it can feel like you didn’t learn anything, because you’re talking to a younger native speaker and you have no idea what they’re saying! But it’s also incredibly rewarding to learn new slang and employ it successfully.
Patricio: Do you enjoy being a French tutor?
Holden: Yes I really enjoy helping people and speaking in French. It’s like a puzzle to me, so it’s almost not a job, because it gives me this opportunity to speak French more. That being said, sometimes nobody comes down and hangs out with me, so it would be more fun if people started doing that.
Patricio: Well thanks a lot Holden! It was great hearing from you.