Time to Expand French Offerings? Oui!

By Dylan Gallagher ’19

For many years Immaculate Heart High School has offered Spanish and French courses. There is currently only one French teacher employed here. Is there any desire for more French teachers here at IH? Student opinions vary.

At least one student has commented that having been taught by Ms. Sophie Fung for three years, she is comfortable with her as a teacher. Being used to her teaching style has been a big academic help over time, the student said.

However,  with only one teacher, Ms. Fong needs to teach all four grade levels by herself. Some students wish the school offered AP French, but this is not possible with only one teacher — as the class is demanding. Even though more students at Immaculate Heart opt to take Spanish as opposed to French, there is still enough demand for French classes. However, while there may be a large enough demand amongst the student body, there are not enough periods for these classes. Having another teacher in the French Department would help to evenly distribute the teacher workload of the classes and allow for more AP and advanced language courses to be offered.

One Honors French 3 student pointed out how both Honors French 3 and regular French 3 classes are held in the same classroom and during the same period. Teaching one class already has its difficulties, but two different classes during the same period produces even more challenges, on both the teacher and student’s part. Each class at Immaculate Heart should be taught in separate rooms and at separate times — this makes it much more simple for the student and teacher, while ensuring enough time is devoted to each student’s academic struggles.

Should Immaculate Heart hire another French teacher? Among those students asked, there is no concrete consensus, but many believe that having another teacher would enhance the language department and create new learning opportunities for students.