Bridgewater-Raritan High School AP French students were paid a visit on December 14 by two Bridgewater-Raritan residents who recently immigrated from France.
The two guest speakers, Mr. and Mrs. Tettekpoe, are parents of a Bridgewater-Raritan High School student.
Madame Kostis, who teaches AP French, invited them to speak to her class.
Currently, Madame Kostis’ AP French students are learning about immigration, racism, assimilation and cultural differences in class.
Madame Kostis says it was the “perfect” time for Mr. and Mrs. Tettekpoe to come and share their own immigration story with her students.
The couple moved to the United States from France to work here. Mrs. Tettekpoe works for Sanofi, a global healthcare company.
Madame Kostis shared the additional benefit of having Mrs. Tettekpoe talk about her experience in the global healthcare industry.
“Also, since Mrs. Tettekpoe works for Sanofi and many of the students want to pursue careers in the healthcare industry, this was a great opportunity for students to see that French is and can be useful no matter what career path they choose,” she said.
Students prepared questions for the guests before their visit, but students also asked many questions during the conversation. This happened all in French to give students more exposure to talking with native speakers.
Madame Kostis shared her excitement about her students’ ability to communicate well with the French speakers.
“I was so proud of my students and how well they were able to speak with our speakers in French! The speakers were equally impressed and complimented the level of French of this class,” Madame Kostis said.
Some questions asked during their visit included questions about cultural shocks that they experienced when moving to the United States and the less competitive climate of college in France.
The speakers brought the students prizes for those who asked them questions in French. They also brought gifts for everyone from Sanofi.
