Laura Emmer from Ashland University to Teach in France Next Fall

Related Media

Photo of Laura Emmer in France during her study abroad experience.

ASHLAND, OH (03/31/2011)(readMedia)-- Free travel sounds pretty great these days, but free airfare and housing in France is even better. Just ask Ashland University student Laura Emmer who has been chosen to participate in the 2011 Franco-American Teachers-in-Training Institute (FATITI) Program. Emmer will be traveling to France in September to live abroad for 15 weeks.

Emmer of Bay Village, Ohio, is a senior French Education major at Ashland University. She is the fourth Ashland University French Education student to be chosen for this program in the last three years. The program is administered by the University of Akron.

Emmer will travel to France in late-August and stay until mid-December. This is not her first time being abroad. She studied in France Fall semester of her junior year and is excited to return.

"I am excited to go back and experience the teaching side of things rather than being a student this time," Emmer said.

Emmer has been studying French since middle school and realized in high school that she wanted to be a French teacher.

The FATITI Program includes free airfare and housing in France along with a monthly stipend for living expenses. FATITI is funded by the U.S. Department of State in collaboration with the Franco-American Commission for Educational Exchange.

Emmer sees this opportunity as a chance to spend more time in the French culture and to gain better understanding of the French school system.

"It is always important to bring culture into the classroom. So experiencing it first hand, I know that I will be able to bring back my experiences from the FATITI program and use them in my French classroom in the U.S.," Emmer said.

Students will participate in a daily seminar that provides French langue training and French educational system courses during their first three weeks abroad. During the following twelve weeks, the teachers-in-training will teach classrooms in their respective disciplines. They will also complete a research project and present their report.

Emmer says she is also hoping to improve her French language skills through this opportunity.

"Being immersed in the target language is the optimum way to master it, so I look forward to greatly improving my French skills just as I was able to do the last time I was abroad," she said.

As of right now, Emmer does not know where in France she will be teaching. For the first part of the trip, all the American teachers are together to help familiarize them with the culture and new environment. Once settled, the students will begin teaching with local French teachers in their area of study. In Emmer's case, she will be teaching English in French classrooms.

After learning about this program through her college advisor, Emmer said she knew this was the ideal opportunity to go abroad and learn about the French education system. This trip will help her with her career goals as a French education major.

"I knew for a long time that I wanted to be a teacher. Then, after all of the positive experiences that I had with French, it was obvious that French was the subject area that I wanted to teach," she said.

While the FATITI Program seems to deal mainly with French Education students, it is open to teachers-in-training in a variety of fields, according to Dr. Lisa Bansen-Harp, assistant professor of French at Ashland University. There is a minimum language requirement that students with a minor in French will typically meet.

Dr. Bansen-Harp feels confident that Emmer will make the most of her time in the program because of her motivation, openness and adaptability to new situations. She finds FATITI to be an invaluable experience.

"One of our goals in French at Ashland University is to train the very best teachers who will pass on their skills and passion about French language and culture to their students," said Dr. Bansen-Harp, "FATITI helps our best students get even better."

Ashland University (www.ashland.edu) is a mid-sized, private university conveniently located a short distance from Akron, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. Ashland University values the individual student and offers a unique educational experience that combines the challenge of strong, applied academic programs with a faculty and staff who build nurturing relationships with their students.