The AFEI Program: Internet Links
DCPS: Distric of Columbia Public Schools:
http://www.k12.dc.us/dcps/home.html
ACTFL: American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages:
www.actfl.org
CDF Music Legacy, LLC:
www.cdfmusiclegacy.com
Humanities Council of Washington, DC
www.wdchumanities.org
Opera Lafayette:
www.operalafayette.org
Honfleur Gallery:
www.honfleurgallery.com
AFEI in the Media
Article published in The Washington Diplomat, March 2010 (http://www.washdiplomat.com/March%202010/b3_03_10.html)
Francophile Fulfillment
Washington lives La Vie en rose
with Alliance française
by Rima Assaker
When French teacher Alice Rousie walked into a Southeast Washington elementary school several years ago, she didn’t know what to expect. Most, if not all, of the students there had never been out of the metropolitan Washington area, let alone the United States — and none had exposure to another language. But the native French speaker was delighted with what she heard.
“They were really interested in knowing about different places,” Rousie remembered. “They asked me questions like, ‘What are French children doing right now?’ and ‘What do French people eat?’ and ‘Do they have TV in France?’”
Rousie said she used common tidbits about France to lure and capture their imaginations. “Of course, I used some interesting facts like, ‘Did you know French people eat snails?’ and asked, ‘Have you eaten French bread … French toast … French dressing?’”
Rousie showed her students where the country was on the globe and explained the differences between the two cultures. “I told them, ‘When you guys are going to bed, the sun is shining in France,’” — things to help them grasp what life is like in other parts of the world.
“Every time, I learn something new in French class,” said Alicia Nash, a fifth-grader at Burroughs Elementary School in Washington. “I can go home and teach my family.”
“Every Tuesday, I love to go to school because we have French,” said Nydia Cooper, a fourth-grader at Ketcham Elementary School. “We sing in French, and sometimes we eat — we always have fun.”
Her principal, Joyce Grimes, agreed. “The French classes have been a priceless gift over the years,” she said. “They serve to enrich the lives of the children by giving them a wonderful learning experience that they never would have had in elementary school” had it not been for the alliance, she added, referring to the Alliance Française de Washington, the local chapter of the largest network of French language and cultural centers in the world. In fact, there are 1,300 alliance chapters established in 112 countries, including 140 chapters in the United States, serving 400,000 students.
Please read the rest of the article on http://www.washdiplomat.com/March%202010/b3_03_10.html.
Article published in the magazine, News from France on December, 17th 2008. (Vol.0810)
DC-Area Children Bring La Fontaine's Fables to Life
"On December 9, the Alliance Française in Washington DC, hosted a production titled "12 Fables de La Fontaine", allowing underprivileged children of the Anne Bujon Educational Initiative (ABEI) to play the roles of the animals in the tales of French fabulist and poet Jean de La Fontaine. Directed by Geneviève Brunet Smith and in cooperation with the Histrio French Theater, the play is an initiative to offer these young people in DC area a tangible connection with the French language, culture and way of life.
La Fontaine, one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century, is French and Americans alike for his concise, witty poems and colorful descriptions of animals. His fables, read universally, were first published in 1668 as a six volume collection titled "Fables choisies".
Founded in 2002 in honor of Anne Bujon, wife of former French Embassador François Bujon de l'Estang, ABEI is an expression of the Alliance Française de Washington's enduring dedication to the local community. The Alliance Française-sponsored organization works with almost 300 third, fourth and fifth graders in six high-need public schools in DC, sending native French speaking teachers to them each week.
The Histrio theater, established 20 years ago by a group of teachers from the Lycée Rochambeau, a French international school in Bethesda, MD, reveals the world of French comedy and fantasy. Geneviève Brunet Smith, who became Histrio's artistic director in 1993, continues to introduce French plays and playwrights to the Washington audience." For more information, please visit: www.histriotheater.com