Yale Bulletin and Calendar

October 24, 2003|Volume 32, Number 8

New center will enhance teaching
of French in Connecticut schools

A new Resource Center for the Teaching of French has been established at Yale by the Yale Center for International and Area Studies (YCIAS) in collaboration with the Connecticut State Board of Education and the Embassy of France.

The mission of the center is primarily to support and enrich the teaching of French language, literature and culture at the elementary, middle and secondary (K-12) levels, as well as at the college level in the State of Connecticut. The Resource Center for the Teaching of French is part of YCIAS' Programs in International Educational Resources (PIER). Its newly appointed director, Mireille Dechelette, will be housed in the Teacher Preparation Program (TPP) at Yale.

The Resource Center will encourage the use of the best pedagogical practices, disseminate innovative curricular models and material at all educational levels in the state, and contribute to the development of curricula and methods for the professional development of teachers. The center draws upon the University's extensive resources and those of the French government to develop and implement programs and services designed to advance the understanding of France and French-speaking areas of the world through outreach to education.

Additionally, the center will promote educational and cultural relationships and school exchanges and partnerships between Connecticut and the Academie de Toulouse in France.

"The Yale Center for International and Area Studies is very pleased to welcome the Resource Center for the Teaching of French to Yale," says Gustav Ranis, YCIAS director. "It will serve to further strengthen the teaching of the French language and culture in the New Haven community, as well as in Connecticut generally. Hopefully, it will also strengthen frayed relations with France through the partnering of schools here in Connecticut with schools in France."

Mary Ann Hansen, the state's world language consultant for the Department of Education, says that the enthusiasm over the center and its potential for collaboration "bodes well for the overall success of the Resource Center.

"Already, 70 schools in Connecticut have requested a partner school in France for e-mail, video-teleconferencing and the exchanges," she adds.

Chantal Manes, director of the Educational Department at the Embassy of France in Washington, D.C., says embassy staff are "very enthusiastic" about the Resource Center.

"The approach it advocates to training teachers is in tune with our own mission, as it brings together culture, language and international relations," she says. "We believe our partnership with this interdepartmental team -- which includes PIER, TPP, the Beinecke Library and the French department, to name a few -- will provide the right mix to make the Resource Center a successful tool for the promotion of French in the State of Connecticut."

Dechelette brings French and English language teaching experience to her new post as the director of the Resource Center. She holds a B.A. and M.A. in French language and literature from the University of Lyon, France. She received her teaching certificate from the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. She completed research and pre-doctorate didactic studies in world languages and cultures at the Université de la Sorbonne Nouvelle -- Paris III. She has taught French in the Netherlands and English in France, and has developed teacher training plans, as well as supported several exchange projects between schools in the United Kingdom and Bulgaria while she served as attachée de cooperation pour le français at the University of Cyril and Methodus in Bulgaria, and later at the French Institute in London. Prior to coming to Connecticut, Dechelette worked for the past three years as a teacher of English in a junior high school in South Burgundy, France.

"I'm delighted to open the Resource Center for the Teaching of French at Yale for the educational community in Connecticut," she says. "The response from teachers to the announcement reveals a great demand and high expectations to find new materials for their classrooms. Films, videos, CD-ROMS, CDs and pedagogical reviews, as well as magazines for children and teenagers of the francophone world, will provide current and authentic perspectives on a variety of subjects, such as art, archaeology, language, literature and science.

"The Resource Center will offer a wealth of workshops and outreach programs," she continues. "Teachers are welcome to make this their Resource Center!"

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Campus Notes