Can I help you?

I am an American who has been teaching English as a foreign language to French speakers since 1967.  I have taught in Quebec, in Cameroon, in France and in Switzerland.  Since 1995 I have been teaching in a French lycée in Agen and I passed the French Agrégation in 1997.

Throughout my career I have tried to keep up with innovations and use the most effective methods to help my students master English.  In 2005 I first heard talk about the method called TPRS, Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling.  At first I was merely curious, convinced that while it might work in American high schools, it wasn’t adapted to the French educational system.

Yet, as I began dabbling with a few techniques I saw better results in my students.  I was able to attend a workshop in St. Louis in 2006, then a National TPRS conference in Minneapolis in 2009 and another in Chicago in 2011.  The more I learned about the method, the better I was able to apply it in my classes.  I began seeing students who produced correct language without thinking about it, who improved vastly in comprehension and writing ability.

In 2009 a friend who teaches English in Switzerland asked me to do a workshop for her and her colleagues.  I spent three days in her lycée.  The first day I demonstrated the method in four different classes at four different levels.  The second day I explained the method and helped volunteer teachers to prepare a class using TPRS.  The third day I observed four teachers in class and then we had a debriefing.  The teachers were very enthusiastic about the experience.

I would like to continue to share what I have learned with other teachers.  If you are interested, I will come to your school and demonstrate the method with your students and help your teachers to adapt the method to their needs.

Judith Logsdon-Dubois