"La parole humaine est comme un chaudron fêlé où nous battons des mélodies à faire danser les ours, quand on voudrait attendrir les étoiles."
--Flaubert, Madame Bovary

Poor Emma would love to move Rodolphe to tears, but her words are utterly insufficient, poorly digested clichés that she has learned from reading and believing too many romance stories. If only Emma had learned to read critically, to find her own words, she might have been able to rewrite her plot and escape the destiny of so many nineteenth-century French heroines. Language is power, after all. But how does one find one's own words? Colette located the source of her writing in her avid reading of Balzac and Zola. Flaubert, of course, worked with words assiduously, often taking an entire day just to rewrite a single sentence. Samuel Beckett, however, took an original approach. A native English speaker, he is reputed to have said that he wrote in French because it widened his lexicon. By writing in a foreign language, Beckett found new words and expanded the possibilities not only of what he could say but also of what he could mean.

As a teacher of French language, literature and culture, my broad aim is to provide students with the tools to expand their own possibilities: to move them from Emma Bovary to Samuel Beckett. This goal is based on the premise that language and literature always occur within the context of culture, and that these three are intimately intertwined. At the foundation of every French course I teach, these premises underlie my main goals in teaching: to teach students to be able to speak, read, write and understand French; to encourage students to understand and think about how language works; and to lead students to be critical readers of literature and culture, especially their own culture. The last is the most difficult but most rewarding task. When students can express ideas about language, literature and culture in written and spoken French, I would say they have successfully learned French; but when they can also see their own language, literature and culture in a new light, then they have learned to be critical thinkers. Critical thinking, one of the cornerstones of a liberal arts education, is not only a portable skill that students will use in other academic endeavors, but is also necessary to cross-cultural understanding. As the world becomes a smaller place, our students need to be able to engage meaningfully with other peoples in every field. Effective language and analytical skills will guide and enrich those experiences, opening doors to new possibilities.

It is a privilege and a joy to be someone who helps widen possibilities for others. My students describe my teaching as enthusiastic and engaging, and I enjoy the dynamic aspects of teaching French, from leading students through language mechanics, to allowing them to discover their own voices in French through conversation, discussion and games, to fostering insightful analyses of poems, essays and stories. I am excited about exploring any new activity or technique that might enrich the learning experience. One of the first French instructors at UVa to use computer technology in the classroom, I now routinely design and incorporate video and web-based activities in my classes in order to hone students' growing language skills and to expose them to the diverse and complex French-speaking world. I find that my students not only enjoy experiencing French through technology but that they also engage with the material more effectively. Activities that use authentic French language web sites spark students' curiosity: they return on their own time to peruse the virtual collections at the Louvre, read about traveling in Morocco, or look up the current number one song in France. I believe that new media technology is a powerful tool that both students and teachers of foreign language should be encouraged to explore. To that end, I give frequent workshops on the usefulness of instructional technology to my colleagues in French and in other foreign language departments. I see my role as a teacher expanded beyond the realm of my French classes. I share my experiences with other teachers through formal presentations, as well as through the various administrative and leadership positions that I have held. These are all connected in my mind: teaching students to be critical thinkers and communicators in French, assisting my colleagues in their own development as teachers, all while challenging myself to improve, learn and grow.

In the end, teaching French has opened new learning opportunities for me in both my scholarship and my teaching. I am constantly learning from my colleagues, from my students and from my own experience. This is what fuels my enthusiasm for teaching in French: each class, each interaction presents new opportunities for mutual growth in how we understand language, literature and culture. Teaching French has been one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. Unlike Flaubert, I believe that we can get a pretty good sound out of that kettle, and every now and then, move the stars to tears.