Stephanie Carbonneau

I did not grow up speaking French, but I am ¾ Franco-American. Hearing my mom and my grandmother keep secrets from me by discussing things in French was a great motivating factor in my language studies. I attended Assumption College in Worcester, MA and graduated with a BA in Foreign Languages and secondary education in 1997 despite being told by one of my French professors that I had no business teaching French. Language learning was hard for me, but I loved it. My first year of teaching was a nightmare and it led me to pursue a Masters in the Art of Teaching Languages with an emphasis in French from the University of Southern Mississippi, 2001. I recently finished a certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies in World Language Methodology and Pedagogy through Idioma Education and Consulting and the University of Pacific.

Having the background in second language acquisition and specific language teaching methods and remembering how I struggled to learn French has helped shape the teacher I am today. In 2020 I was our language association’s Teacher of the Year and was a NECTFL finalist. Although I have not lived extensively in a French speaking area, I have studied at the Alliance Française in Paris, CAVILAM in Vichy, and France Lang in Biarritz. I travel annually to Québec City with my students and struggle to understand the accent, but I’m trying! Michelle is my French sister and all that I am not. We balance each other well and share the same passion for Manie Musicale. She gets me.