Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, February 2, 1991                   TAG: 9102020147
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV2   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: BECKY HEPLER SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Long

FRENCH CLASS OFTEN LOST FOR WORDS - IN QUEBEC

You become quite adept at pantomime.

You end up with escargot for lunch, a totally new taste treat, because that is the only thing you can pronounce on the menu.

You spend two hours with a dictionary to express three sentences.

You have an absolutely wonderful time.

At least, that is the assessment of the 42 students from French classes at Blacksburg High School and Radford High School. The students spent part of their Christmas vacations in Quebec, working on language skills while trying to adapt to a different culture.

The students left on New Year's Eve, reaching Montreal the next day, where they toured and explored the city for a day and a half. Then it was off to Quebec City for more exploration. The highlight of their 2 1/2 days there was staying with Quebecois families with whom the students had to communicate in French.

"It's one of the most effective ways for students to become more proficient in the language," said Joan Campbell, French teacher at Blacksburg High School. "And because it has to do with real life for them, rather than just assorted sentences in a French class, there's a greater incentive."

The students agree. Tehshik Yoon, a junior at Blacksburg High School and a third-year French student, enjoyed the challenge of trying to communicate in another language. "I thought I was more fluent than it turned out," he said. "It was tough for me at first, but by the time we left, I felt a lot more confident, and I was still ordering in French at the restaurants in the states after we left Quebec to come home."

For Amy Worley, a freshman at Blacksburg and a first-year French student, Montreal was easier because more people spoke English and would help out when her French began to falter. "We could communicate, we just had to use our hands a lot. But you really do learn the language when you're in a place where you have to speak it," she said.

David Buck, a senior at Radford High School, has had three years of French, but that was two years ago, so his first attempts were rusty. "There was a lot of miscommunication and a whole lot of silence, but after a while, it didn't matter," he said. "I was embarrassed about my grammar."

Blacksburg student Virgil Wong has had three years of French, which is his third language, after English and Chinese. "The most difficult thing about learning French is the grammar. Chinese grammar is simple, but the characters are very difficult," he said.

Robin Myers is a senior at Blacksburg with two years of French and four years of German, but that didn't help him. "There's even less German spoken there than English," he said. He found other differences, too. "It's a lot more relaxed up there and the pace is not so fast. The people are more culturally oriented and not so money oriented," he said.

Heather Calfee, a sophomore at Radford High School and a second-year French student, was most impressed by the architecture. "The hotel was wonderful, like a castle, and the cathedral was even more beautiful," she said. Her new goal is to save enough money to travel to France.

There was not much interaction with Quebecois teen-agers, unless they were members of the host families. While there was a sense of different cultures, the students found some interesting similarities. "You'd hear little things slip into their conversations, like Nintendo or Mario Brothers," Myers said.

"Basically, Quebec teen-agers were really curious about the U.S.," said Yoon. "They'd heard of Virginia Beach, but not Blacksburg or Radford." Other things that caught their attention were the "McPoulet" sandwiches at the McDonald's restaurant in Quebec (poulet is French for chicken) and the weather.

"I don't think we were prepared for how cold it was going to be," said Yoon. Others found the snow and frozen rivers a delightful difference from the New River Valley. In fact, one of the most popular side trips was to the Village des Sports, where students enjoyed tobogganing, ice skating and inner-tubing on the snow.

The students - American and Canadian - shared concerns about the world, with events in the Persian Gulf dominating the headlines. "We tried to have a conversation about it with our host, but he talked so fast it was hard to understand what he said," said Wong.

Myers found the issue of debate at his host family's home was Quebec separatism, although, again, discussion was limited somewhat by the language. It seemed to him that Canada was free of several problems that plague America. "You didn't see as many homeless people wandering on the street," he said. "Their economy seems stronger, too."

From a teacher's point of view, the trip was a success. "Having the students stay with host families means the chaperones can get some sleep," said Pam Pappas, French teacher at Radford High School who has taken several trips to Quebec and France.

For her, one of the most gratifying aspects of such trips is when the students realize that French is not a code for them to decipher, but that they will depend upon it to communicate with the people. "Once they take the initiative to express themselves in French, they gain a lot of confidence."