On Saturday, January 27th, 12 members of the French club in addition to moderator, Madame Florence Floris, gathered at the Coral Gables Art Cinema to enjoy a classic french movie: “Driving Madeleine.”
“I was inspired to take students to watch a French movie because I wanted to introduce them to french culture, to introduce them to the beauty of the city of Paris, since that’s where the movie takes place, and to give them the opportunity to recognize all the places we always speak about during class or at the meetings,” Madame Floris said.
While the french club is not exclusive to french speakers or students enrolled in one of the french classes, but in reality open to any member of the student body interested in the subject, the club is composed of french students and students who are either not enrolled in a language program or are currently taking Spanish classes. The one thing that all these students have in common is their eagerness to learn French and submerge themselves in French culture.
“I think this movie was the perfect representation of what the french club is all about,” Floris said. “The girls in the club became members because they wanted to learn more about the French language, not by studying a book and learning more grammar, but by actually living it.”
According to Madame, when her students are having trouble with the comprehension aspect of the language, her number one tip is to watch movies and tv shows in French and to listen to music in the language as well.
“I decided to go to the movies because being in AP I’m struggling a little to understand the four minute audios we have to listen to, and I thought that I would try to practice in a different way,” club member senior Isabelle Alfonso said. “Watching the movie in French with English subtitles really helped me to get more familiar with the expressions that are commonly used and with the language.”
Madame Floris is satisfied with Saturday’s success and plans to take the French club to another classic French movie, “The Taste of Things,” next month.
“I want to keep showing students why it’s fun and why it’s interesting to learn a new language and to instill in them that sense of wonder for other languages.”
