While in-person events for National French Week were off the table this year, the French Club and the Department of Languages and Literatures ensured Geneseo students would still get the chance to be immersed in French culture.
National French Week is the first full week of November every year. The week was created by the American Association of Teachers of French as a designated celebration of French language and culture, according to an email statement from French club advisor and assistant professor of French Kathryn Fredericks. National French Week at Geneseo is sponsored by the Department of Languages and Literatures at Geneseo.
“The faculty in the Department of Languages and Literatures collaborate with students on activities of various types, both on and off campus,” Fredericks said. “Past events have included guest speakers, film screenings, study abroad presentations and group dinners. The activities are promoted to both students of French and the campus community at large.”
This year, National French Week consisted of two events held via Zoom by the French Club: Disney in France Night on Friday Nov. 6 and French Immersion on Monday Nov. 9. French Club President sophomore Julia Grunes noted in a Zoom interview that the French club faced obstacles while planning for online events.
“It was definitely a little bit of a struggle at first because we’re like, oh, if we’re in person we could have food and do a lot more things in person then we would be able to do over Zoom,” Grunes said. “We know people are so tired of being on Zoom all day. We definitely are.”
French Club Vice President sophomore Ashley Kupiec explained in a Zoom interview that the e-board began by asking club members what they wanted to do.
“[We wanted] to have something fun for people to do even though we’re away from each other. We wanted it to be sort of chill-er because we know everyone’s been so busy,” Kupiec said. “We came up with the idea of doing a Disney theme because everyone likes Disney movies and there’s lots of Disney movies that are set in France.”
French Club members voted for the classic Beauty and the Beast to be shown for their first National French Week Event. The movie was played in French with English subtitles.
“The familiar story shown with French audio provided a unique experience for both French speakers and non-French speakers,” Fredericks said.
Grunes said that the chat was left open during the Zoom showing to allow people to comment throughout the movie.
“I haven’t seen it in French personally and it’s a movie that I know pretty well. We both mentioned how ‘Be Our Guest’ became ‘C’est la fête’ instead,” Grunes said. “So, it’s interesting seeing the differences [in the English and French scripts]. We had the chat open so everyone could comment on them.”
While Disney in France night was a fun learning experience, French Immersion Night allowed all attendees to practice their French speaking abilities.
“The French Immersion night provided interactive conversation activities in all different levels of French—beginning, intermediate and advanced. Students were able to show off their language skills and have some fun,” Fredericks said.
Grunes explained that French Club secretary Brandon Joy was in favor of an event like French Immersion Night.
“We love French and we love the French language, but we unfortunately haven’t been able to take classes in it here. We were very involved in high school,” Grunes said. “It wasn’t, like, an enormous showing, but with the people that were there we were able to have a little bit of a conversation and learn some new words.”
Both events provided students valuable experience with the French language that helped them to further understand the culture.
“Watching films and conversing in another language promotes practice and improvement in the four areas of language learning: speaking, listening, reading and writing,” Fredericks said. “These types of experiences broaden cultural understanding.”
Kupiec noted that, while watching the movie in particular, it was interesting to compare how sentences are structured in French and in English. For clarity, translations are not usually word-for-word.
“I think that’s something that a lot of people who start to learn the language don’t really understand. A lot of times you can’t take it verbatim and switch it to the French word,” Kupiec said. “I think the movie was a good representation of that. We’re all eventually getting to the same point, but we each have a different way of getting there.”
Overall, while National French Week was a success this year, Fredericks looks to the future in anticipation for next year’s National French Week.
“National French Week has been celebrated at SUNY Geneseo for over 20 years,” Fredericks said. “The Department of Languages and Literatures and the French Club at Geneseo are excited to plan activities for the upcoming Spring 2021 semester and look forward to National French Week 2021!”
While National French Week may be over, French Club is still hosting events. Kupiec explained that French Club is planning another event for the first week of December via Zoom.
“We’re going to be doing a Kahoot type of thing about holidays in France,” Kupiec said. “We haven’t quite picked a date yet but look out for that. We’re trying to find any kind of idea or game we can do over Zoom.”
Kupiec highlighted that French Club is a great way to learn about a culture different from your own.
“We don’t usually think of European experiences being that much different from ours, but there are a lot of cultural differences that you would have never thought existed,” Kupiec said.
Grunes expressed that anyone can join French Club, even if they do not speak French.
“Don’t be stressed about not knowing French, because you do not have to know the language,” Grunes said. “You’ll learn a couple of interesting things about it and maybe you’ll learn a few phrases, but don’t think, ‘oh I can’t join French Club because I don’t know how to speak French.’”
If you are interested in joining and learning more about French culture, follow @geneseofrenchclub on Instagram and DM for more information!