WALSINGHAM ACADEMY Welcome Back-to-School! Bienvenue! Dr. Georgescu

Why Study a Foreign Language ? Why French?

Communication Cultural Understanding Education and Careers Test Scores

Language learning leads to greater understanding of different cultures. If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart. Nelson Mandela

Le sourire Do you notice a difference in body language between the top and bottom pictures? Nathalie Saysset Prof de fran ç ais ©Frédéric Stucin Christine Deprez Prof de linguistique ©Frédéric Stucin Catherine Henri Prof de fran ç ais. ©Monde de l’éducation Andrew Hamilton. Prof de chimie. ©Yale Alumni Magazine Susan Hockfield. Prof de neurobiologie. ©Yale Alumni Magazine Sylvia Harris Prof de design. ©Sally Minker Note: It might be dangerous to make generalizations about smiling habits in France and the US based on 6 pictures, but it is true that smiling doesn't mean the same thing in France as it does in North America. Sources: 1, 2: Comme la Ville, n°15, sept. 2004; 3: Le Monde de l’éducation, n°334, mars , 6, 7: Yale Alumni Magazine, vol. LXVIII, number 2, Nov./Dec. 2004

Serrer la main While Americans usually only shake hands (serrer la main) when first meeting someone, French men shake hands to say hello and goodbye. As a rule, they do it only twice (one hello, one goodbye) per person per day--so if they run into someone they already saw that day, they don't do it again. Women also shake hands with each other or with men, but usually only in professional situations such as job interviews. In other words, with friends, French men shake hands and French women kiss.

Faire la bise One thing most people picture when they think of France is people kissing each other on the cheek to say hello or goodbye. The French expression for doing this is faire la bise and it’s not the same as a romantic kiss, which is called un baiser. The important things to know about kissing are: Women and men alike do la bise. It is more rare to see a man kissing another man’s cheeks but it happens, especially if they are related. If French people don’t usually kiss strangers in the street, they might kiss someone unknown if s/he’s in a group of friends. It is a nice way to get acquainted. You usually start by putting your right cheek to their right cheek. The total number of times you kiss each other on the cheek varies from one place to another. It can be twice, three times, or four, and you switch cheeks between each kiss. Just keep kissing until the French person stops! Sometimes even French people get confused, with one person stopping before the other does, and then they joke about it.

The skills required in learning a language transfer to other academic subjects and improved performance in those subjects. Language study enhances problem- solving and critical thinking skills. Those who know nothing of foreign languages know nothing of their own. ‒ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Good language achievement enhances a student’s college prospects and opens paths for a wider range of college-level fields of study. The limits of my language are the limits of my world. Ludwig Wittgenstein

Developing proficiency in other languages broadens career options. A foreign language is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere. Chinese Proverb

Credits 1, 2: Comme la Ville, n°15, sept. 2004; 3: Le Monde de l’éducation, n°334, mars , 6, 7: Yale Alumni Magazine, vol. LXVIII, number 2, Nov./Dec < ca dadea26, August 27, 2015 < August 27, August 27,2015