Our 10-week immersive program provided a dynamic and fun learning environment for kids (ages 3-12) and teenagers (13-17) from beginner to advanced levels to improve their French language skills and explore different facets of French and Francophone culture(s).
Singing, reading, cooking, baking, playing at the park, learning how to share, building relationships with peers and our caring French teachers…this is what a typical day looked like for our students in our immersive Summer in French program! Each week, students explored different themes such as superheroes, animals and their habitats, and comics. New and returning students had access to wonderful resources including our new state-of-the-art smartboards, arts and crafts supplies, our kitchen’s gadgets and tools, and our collection of library books. Creative expression and French language activities allowed our students to learn how to articulate their feelings and thoughts, improve their French vocabulary and gain a better understanding of the complex world in which we live. At the end of each week, our students displayed or performed their weekly projects that ranged from wearing the items they hand-crafted in a fashion show, to preparing and performing a play. They also cooked a variety of sweet and savory dishes that they were able to take home for their parents to try!
For La semaine du cirque (Circus week) students created their own costumes and stage decor where they performed their unique talents and acts!
Teachers and assistants Nora, Nate, Zelda and Patricia bring their students together at the end of the week to share their weekly project.
Evelyne and Margot are off to the local park with their students.
Our 3-5 year-olds show off their personal style during their fashion show!
Summer in French Teens
Teens both local and international also joined us this summer to start learning or improving their French skills in the morning class. In the afternoon, they were able to practice their French in a more relaxed and conversational way through cultural discovery activities. With our return to 53 Marlborough Street, I was excited to have the opportunity to relaunch and create partnerships in the area, in order to offer new and enriching experiences for our teens that would complement their morning class. Some notable afternoon activities were when students painted and learned techniques with local visual artist “A’Key” (Agbokey Denis Abounan). They also enjoyed a guided visit to the Wang Theater, a tasting of traditional French food at the restaurant La Voile on Newbury St., a visit of the Museum of Fine Arts in French, not to mention all of our wonderful in-house workshops that ranged from a treasure hunt in the Boston public gardens to designing and creating French fashion mood boards, and taking part in cooking workshops.
Teens visit the Wang Theater which has architectural influence from the Opéra Garnier and the palace of Versailles with teachers Alan and Margot.
Students learned about A’Key’s art, explored the genre of the paysage (landscape) and painted their unique interpretation of un coucher de soleil through A’Key’s techniques.
At the MFA’s Art of Africa gallery, students reproduce their favorite masks and describe them in French.
Students prepare a French grated carrot salad during Nora’s cooking workshop.
Students enjoy tasting their salade niçoise, quiche lorraine, cake aux olives while the crumble aux fruits rouges and moelleux au chocolat finish baking in the oven.
Three-legged race during the treasure hunt with teachers Liz and Alan at the Boston Gardens.
Alan's recap
These are the unique and thoughtful collaborations and projects that make our summer program and location in the heart of Back Bay an exceptionally unique and welcoming environment to learn, practice, gain confidence and improve French while fostering new friendships.
I want to thank all of our Summer in French teachers and assistants (Patricia, Evelyne, Nora, Margot, Nate, Liz, Glennie, Zelda, Anja, Julien) for their hard work, dedication, planning and preparation and ability to adapt, be creative and supportive to each of our students. I also want to thank our staff members, notably our education administrators, Clare and Liz, and our receptionists who work hard behind the scenes to ensure the program runs smoothly. Finally, I want to extend my thanks on behalf of the team to all the parents for their collaboration and communication. This was my first Summer in French, and it was certainly a memorable and fun one. I encourage our students to continue their French journey by taking classes with us in the fall, winter and spring sessions!
Summer in French Kids
Singing, reading, cooking, baking, playing at the park, learning how to share, building relationships with peers and our caring French teachers…this is what a typical day looked like for our students in our immersive Summer in French program! Each week, students explored different themes such as superheroes, animals and their habitats, and comics. New and returning students had access to wonderful resources including our new state-of-the-art smartboards, arts and crafts supplies, our kitchen’s gadgets and tools, and our collection of library books. Creative expression and French language activities allowed our students to learn how to articulate their feelings and thoughts, improve their French vocabulary and gain a better understanding of the complex world in which we live. At the end of each week, our students displayed or performed their weekly projects that ranged from wearing the items they hand-crafted in a fashion show, to preparing and performing a play. They also cooked a variety of sweet and savory dishes that they were able to take home for their parents to try!
For La semaine du cirque (Circus week) students created their own costumes and stage decor where they performed their unique talents and acts!
Teachers and assistants Nora, Nate, Zelda and Patricia bring their students together at the end of the week to share their weekly project.
Evelyne and Margot are off to the local park with their students.
Our 3-5 year-olds show off their personal style during their fashion show!Summer in French Teens
Teens both local and international also joined us this summer to start learning or improving their French skills in the morning class. In the afternoon, they were able to practice their French in a more relaxed and conversational way through cultural discovery activities. With our return to 53 Marlborough Street, I was excited to have the opportunity to relaunch and create partnerships in the area, in order to offer new and enriching experiences for our teens that would complement their morning class. Some notable afternoon activities were when students painted and learned techniques with local visual artist “A’Key” (Agbokey Denis Abounan). They also enjoyed a guided visit to the Wang Theater, a tasting of traditional French food at the restaurant La Voile on Newbury St., a visit of the Museum of Fine Arts in French, not to mention all of our wonderful in-house workshops that ranged from a treasure hunt in the Boston public gardens to designing and creating French fashion mood boards, and taking part in cooking workshops.
Teens visit the Wang Theater which has architectural influence from the Opéra Garnier and the palace of Versailles with teachers Alan and Margot.
Students learned about A’Key’s art, explored the genre of the paysage (landscape) and painted their unique interpretation of un coucher de soleil through A’Key’s techniques.
At the MFA’s Art of Africa gallery, students reproduce their favorite masks and describe them in French.
Students prepare a French grated carrot salad during Nora’s cooking workshop.
Students enjoy tasting their salade niçoise, quiche lorraine, cake aux olives while the crumble aux fruits rouges and moelleux au chocolat finish baking in the oven.
Three-legged race during the treasure hunt with teachers Liz and Alan at the Boston Gardens. Alan's recap
These are the unique and thoughtful collaborations and projects that make our summer program and location in the heart of Back Bay an exceptionally unique and welcoming environment to learn, practice, gain confidence and improve French while fostering new friendships. I want to thank all of our Summer in French teachers and assistants (Patricia, Evelyne, Nora, Margot, Nate, Liz, Glennie, Zelda, Anja, Julien) for their hard work, dedication, planning and preparation and ability to adapt, be creative and supportive to each of our students. I also want to thank our staff members, notably our education administrators, Clare and Liz, and our receptionists who work hard behind the scenes to ensure the program runs smoothly. Finally, I want to extend my thanks on behalf of the team to all the parents for their collaboration and communication. This was my first Summer in French, and it was certainly a memorable and fun one. I encourage our students to continue their French journey by taking classes with us in the fall, winter and spring sessions!
Alan Gómez
Youth Programs Manager
Alan Gómez presently serves as Youth Programs Manager in the Department of Education. Alan holds an A.M. in French Studies from Brown University and an M.A. in Francophone Studies from CSU, Long Beach. Alan has also lived and studied in Paris, Corsica, and Perugia. He is trained in 2nd and 3rd+ language acquisition, FLE, foreign language pedagogy and literary studies.
Prior to joining the French Library, Alan was a lecturer of French and Spanish at Bryant University where he taught language and culture, critical thinking, and writing and composition. Co-author of the innovative textbook, Juntos: French for Speakers of English and Spanish (2015), his recent scholarly contributions include the chapter Intercomprehension of the Romance Languages in the L3+ Classroom [...] (2020).
