Learn French Through Storytelling - Intermediate Level (Ages 12-16)

Hello/Bonjour! My name is Courtney/Je m’appelle Courtney! 
I have taught French, English/Language Arts, and Theatre in the K-12 classroom for 10 years and initially, was nervous to begin teaching online. Now, I've been teaching online for 6 years and loving every minute of it! I have a Bachelor’s degree in French Language & Literature with honors along with two minors in English & Theatre. I loved school so much that I went back to earn my Masters in Teaching (I am state certified to teach French to grades K-12 & English to grades 6-12.) In my spare time, I love hanging out with my husband, our baby boy, and our two dogs. I speak only in French to our baby, so he will grow up knowing French and English. One of our dogs is a certified therapy dog. Before Coronavirus, we took him to schools, hospitals, anywhere where people need a furry, friendly face! We are currently training our second puppy to join the therapy dog team next year. 

My teaching style encourages students to know their classroom is a safe place & our classmates are apart of our community. As an educator, I strive for students to feel comfortable and confident while learning a new subject. While earning my teaching certification, I worked as a professional actor for 10+ years and I use much of that experience in my classroom. I’ve found that using expressions when speaking another language, storytelling, and discussing characters is very effective in engaging students as well as allowing them to be empowered with the knowledge they’ve learned! 

What to expect in my French classes: Learning a second language can be intimidating! I use best teaching practices of second language acquisition to allow your student to comprehend up to 90% of what is happening in French class - even if they’ve never learned French before - isn’t the brain crazy?! We can understand what someone is saying when they are literally speaking another language! I do this by incorporating much of my background in theatre, film, and storytelling into the classroom as well as focusing on using frequently used words and cognates to help with understanding. In class, I will be speaking in French the whole time, (unless English is absolutely needed for clarification/tech issues.) Your child’s French will develop through listening and reading first which will give them the confidence to speak and write independently, just as they learned their 1st language, but a little quicker. 
When I taught in the classroom, my 8th graders who had no prior knowledge of French could collectively read and understand a short story about greetings within the first week of school (around 4 hours of total class time.) After 55 hours of French instruction, they could write a French story ranging from 70-110 words within a 10 minute time limit. This method works!  

**Due to overwhelming response for French classes, theater classes will be postponed.** Please feel free to personally message me if you're interested in theatre classes!

What to expect in my Theatre classes: There are so many aspects of working in the theatre & also on films! Most of my years of professional experience is in front of the camera or on stage, but it’s important to know a little bit about everything so you can work collaboratively. You can expect that I will provide information from the point-of-view of an actress but also sprinkle in some knowledge of other areas to help you best contribute to the team! I have 6 years of experience working with students ages 5-18 on various musical theatre productions. I have worn many hats inside the theatre, [pun intended ;) ] but my strength lies in helping you create believable, wonderful characters. I can coach you for monologues, plays, musicals, and even creating a character while singing! As your teacher, I will ask you questions to get you to really jump into the shoes of your character and how he/she might react to certain situations. I also LOVE playing tour guide and introducing people to the wonderful world of theatre! If you have any hesitations about public speaking, let me know! I’m happy to gently guide you to gain more confidence and use your voice! 

Please contact me anytime to share any classes you would like for me to teach; for classes you really wanted to take, but didn't fit your schedule; or provide any additional feedback here on Outschool!