French III students sing one of their favorite songs...

Portraits Chinois

Portrait chinois maureen from Sarah Shackelford

Portrait chinois de janelle from Sarah Shackelford

Portrait chinois de megan from Sarah Shackelford

To view all our Portraits Chinois, go here

Period 1 Reader's Theater : La Légende des écrevisses Our recordings are here.

Winter Fun in French Classes

After studying French Québec and Carnaval, students enjoyed creating edible "bonhommes" (en guimauves) on a snowy Friday.

Bonjour ! C'est la rentrée (beginning of school)! This is my second year at Finneytown, an outstanding school with amazing parent support for an incredible group of students! I am proud and honored to work with this community, and am looking forward to a fun and productive year in French classes. Information about classes, including syllabi, can be found here. I will periodically add sample student work and updates about classes on this blog. Please check back regularly. All homework will be posted in Progress Book and in itslearning. The French Class Wiki , constantly a "work in process", contains numerous resources to be used by students throughout the school year. Finneytown French also has a Facebook page. "Friend" us to regularly receive links of interest and small news items!

As we begin a new school year, you may be interested in a number of recent articles that highlight the benefits of language learning in general, and French in specific.

Speaking to Le Monde - French is the most practical language to learn!

Which is the best language to learn? (Robert Lane Green recently wrote this piece on language learning, saying: "If I was asked what foreign language is the most useful, and given no more parameters (where? for what purpose?), my answer would be French. Whatever you think of France, the language is much less limited than many people realise.")

Bilingual Benefits - is it worth learning French anymore?  (You bet it is !)

Why bilinguals are smarter

Bilingual brains are more healthy 



Wishing everyone a fantastic , successful year !

Sarah Shackelford
sshackelford@finneytown.org

Valentine's Day in French Classes

French Students enjoyed a "Mend a Broken Heart" activity in classes as well as the crepes we made and served for friends at lunchtime. We are hoping that a few of them will take French, next year!

Why Finneytown Students Like French - some student testimonials

Here are a few pictures from our day.

Epiphanie et le Gateau des Rois

Gâteau des rois or galette des rois ? It depends whether one is from the north or south of France. Our classes enjoyed the gateau des Rois - the brioche type cake which is typical of the south. Since the video clip is in French, here is a link showing the two types of cakes.

Gâteau des rois ou galette des rois ?

Want to know more about Epiphanie and the "King Cake" tradition in France? Ask a French student ! Below are a few of our MANY "kings" this year....The cakes contained MANY feves rather than the typical ONE;-)