In 2004, I started my French teaching career at Wilson
Central High School. At that time, I had one Latin and 2 French classes for only one semester.
Since the schools was new, I did not have enough classes for both semesters, I
was the only French teacher at the school. I learned quickly that if I wanted
to have more students in my French classes, I needed to have a plan for enrollment. That year I
charted out a plan to increase the enrollment in my French classes. This plan
can work for any new foreign language teachers.
Step 1 - Appreciate
your students
This step describes what every good teacher does every
day: caring about your students, learning about their school activities,
their future plans. I treated all my students with kindness and consideration.
1. I sent weekly positive emails to parents congratulating their
student .
2. I displayed
student's work in my classroom and in the hallway.
3. I created a "Tableau d'honneur" that is displayed in my classroom.
I chose a student of the month to be honored for
each level of French, I also included students' pictures.
4. At the end of each
semester I will give out certificates to my
students who received "A" in my French classes.
5. I asked my students to promote French to
their friends and to their younger siblings.
Step 2 -
"Registration Fair"
At my school, in
January we have a "Registration Fair" for the eighth graders.
This recruitment event takes place shortly before the students register for the
following year. During the event I will have 2-3 students who are the type of
students who are admired by the others.
They will help me passing out to parents and students a handout "Why Learn French?" that I
created before the event.
Step 3 - Collaborate
A. It is very important to talk to your guidance counselors about
encouraging students to sign up for a second foreign language as an elective. I
asked for their help in encouraging eighth graders to sign up for French.
B. I was surprised to find out that the culinary teacher at
my school loved French culture and she
understood my interest in promoting French in my school.
I asked the culinary teacher to teach my students how to
make a King Cake for Mardi Gras, while I was teaching her students the history
of the King cake and Mardi Gras.
Step 4 - Recruit from
foreign language department
As an European, I had to study 3 foreign languages starting
with fifth grade until I graduated from high school. During our PLC meetings, I
encouraged all my colleagues in the department to promote the study of more than one foreign
language with their students. I emphasized all year how easy and fun
the second language will be. Most students are unaware of how the first foreign
language can help in learning the second foreign language. I always give my
background as an example, I am a Romanian native speaker, teaching French
through English.
In my French classes, I had students who took Spanish before
or they were Hispanic native speakers. I gave them a lot of attention to these
students asking them in class to compare and contrast the languages studied. I
also told my students how much better it looks on their transcripts and college applications to have 2
foreign languages instead of some other electives.
Step 5 - Create a
French atmosphere
It is very
important to surround students with French. I
filled my classroom with posters, realia and students' work. I asked the
librarian to showcase my students' projects. In March, for the past 5 years, I
prepared my students for the National French Contest. All the contest winners'
diplomas are displayed in my classroom for students' recognition.