Immersion Day: A fun French day

Being a new intern at the Alliance Française, I am still learning about the many classes, workshops, and events that go on here, including Immersion Day. For weeks now, we have been gearing up for Immersion Day, and to learn more about what exactly that is, I set out and did a little research. Follow me as I learn more and as I implore you to participate this September 9th. Why not join in on the fun to be had?

With notepad in hand, I head down to the office of Elodie Kaplan, co-director of the school to learn more. “It’s a great day to use the French people know and discover more,” Elodie begins as she describes the day in question. Discover what? Glad you asked. Immersion Day is a special day at the Alliance where we offer trial workshops for advanced beginner, intermediate, and proficient levels. “Woah!” I thought to myself. In my short 1.5 months here at the Alliance, I have very much wanted to join a cooking or language workshop. And to think I could attend those and more on one day had me interested.

Continuing on, she adds, “people can use their French for actual activities… for real life, not just for class.” You see, during Immersion Day, we transform the large Salon into a French vendor’s market called the Petit marché. Local vendors selling French items or who speak French will be selling goods and services. I don’t want to give anything away… but there will be free chocolate samples. Not to mention, the director of the Alliance Française de Chicago will be cooking, so you do not want to miss that.

Satisfied that I got the answers I needed and confident that I know what adventures lie ahead on Immersion Day, I leave her office with a simple merci before heading back to my office. Now that we have the gist of what the day entails, I thought I might clue you in to what workshops are offered. After all, we are all interested in different workshops. Take your time reading these options, but afterwards, don’t wait one more minute before signing up for Immersion Day and the workshops that interest you! You can sign up and see the workshop schedule on our webpage.

A bientôt mes amis !

List of workshops

Conversation:Meet our French staff and talk about their personal experience in the US, and French culture at large.

Phonetics:Practice makes perfect! Work on your pronunciation and learn the, literally, life changing difference between ‘poison’ and ‘poisson’.

TV5-current affairs:Come discover a piece of worldly news by watching and discussing a clip from francophone TV.

The blunder fixer:whether it is faux amis (words that look similar but actually have different meanings) or homophones (words that have the same sound but different meanings and/or spellings) tackle and get rid of the typical challenges any learner of French faces.

Pardon my French-French slang:For once les gros mots (curse words) and informal language are allowed in the classroom, but only for the love of linguistics and to avoid misunderstandings and faux-pas.

Brush-up: Feeling a little rusty? Enjoy the immediate benefits of this grammatical review and enrich your speaking and writing skills.The art of listening:“What was that?” With this class get rid of that sometimes frustrating feeling when dealing with oral comprehension.

Littérature: discover popular and polarizing author Michel Houellebecq. He is without a doubt France’s most contemporary and controversial writer as well as a must-know.

Jouer en français: Play your favorite board games, in French (Pictionary, Scrabble…) and discover new ones, while learning how to use your French in a whole different way.

Improv en français: Build self-confidence and develop creativity while learning to have fun in French. Through improv’ games, you will become even more comfortable speaking French and think on your feet!

Voulez-vous “crochet” avec moi ? – Tricot social: Explore the history of crocheting and how it is used in fashion and the arts today. Learn how to crochet by using basic patterns to make hats, scarves and ornaments.

Wine tasting: Need we say more? This year a focus on lesser known white wines from red country!

Jane Eagleton