Last week, Amador Valley had its annual celebration for National French Week, hosted by the Amador club, French Honors Society. The event ran from November 9th to the 13th, and consisted of three meetings on Monday, Thursday, and Friday, each focusing on a specific French related topic.

About National French Week

National French Week is a weeklong celebration all over the United States that honors the French language and culture. The goal of National French Week is to learn about new aspects about the language and culture, as well as obtaining a better appreciation for both.

In years past, the event would have taken place in-person during lunchtime. With online learning, some changes had to be made as to how the celebration would be run, which came with its own set of challenges. However, that didn’t stop the French Honors Society from making the experience any less enjoyable.

“Over Zoom, we can also make it fun by utilizing breakout rooms and using online games like Kahoot. We can still make it fun for all of the members and we can still get the point across,” said Pranav Subbaraman (‘23).  

Meetings throughout the week

The first meeting on Monday was about learning to speak like a native, specifically French slang. There was a presentation about different French slang sayings, and after the presentation finished, members could choose between conversing between other members using the new sayings they just learned, or a Kahoot to quiz them on information in the presentation.

“My favorite part of the meeting was being able to put those words in the comprehension of the words of the language to the text, when speaking with my fellow members,” said Zoe Wagner (‘24). 

Everyday life in France was the focus of the second meeting. Some members of the French Honors Society made a presentation detailing the daily life of a French person, and how it differs from Americans lives. It was followed by a Kahoot about information found in the presentation.

“My favorite part was learning about the differences between American and French teens,” said Alena Gagnon (‘23).

In the final meeting, members learned all about French cuisine and etiquette. After a presentation describing the aforementioned topics, there was a video tutorial on how to make a French dish called a croque monsieur, an oven-baked sandwich consisting of ham and cheese.

“I didn’t know anything about how intricate the table setting was and I learned about it through the research. It was interesting to see how much liberty each person could take and also the history behind the table settings and why it was created in the first place,” said Suhani Singhal (‘21), one of the presenters during the meeting.

Overall, these meetings provided useful information about French language and culture. In addition, they helped both French and non-French speakers alike to gain a better appreciation of both the language and the culture.

“I hope that people will gain an appreciation for the French culture and language. I also hope that they will learn some new skills that will benefit them in the future if they travel to a French-speaking country and I also hope that they just have fun in these meetings and they become more passionate about learning the language in the future,” said Subbaraman.