Allison Tutor Interview

Allison (inactive) Tutor Interview

Q. Hi Allison! Please tell us a little bit about yourself.: A. Hi Cafetalk! I’m American, but today I live in France. I was born in Oklahoma. Most people don’t know where that is, but I always tell them it’s right above Texas! I moved to France 4 years ago. Today, I have many different occupations. I’m a literary translator, a professional jazz singer, an English teacher, and a student of opera singing. I live with my husband and my five cats in the south of France, just 10 minutes away from the Mediterranean Sea!
Q. We’re interested in your lifestyle in Provence, France. What is the most difference between the U.S. and France?: A. Wow, there are so many differences! I’m not sure where to start! In my opinion, the biggest difference between France and the US is each country’s size, which actually is responsible for many smaller cultural differences. For example, the US is a very large country, much bigger than France. France is about the size of Texas! Americans have much more space to move around. This affects their attitude toward others and their idea of polite behavior. Americans are very considerate about other people’s physical space. They try to avoid bumping into people. However, they are less considerate about “intellectual space”. This is actually a topic I covered in my seminar. American people pollute intellectual space much more than physical space. They are very talkative. They often talk louder, sometimes to the point that everyone else can hear their conversation. Sometimes, they tell their life’s story to complete strangers! However, France is just the opposite. Since it is a smaller, more densely populated country, France has very little space. French people are used to being crowded, on the street, in traffic, on the subway or the bus. Physical space is a luxury to which they often don’t have access. So it’s less important for them to be considerate about physical space. But French people are very considerate about intellectual space. They talk very dicreetly in public. It is considered rude to talk so loud that everyone around you can hear your conversation. In fact, I think since they are so crowded physically, they try not to crowd other people’s minds. This is why I call it “intellectual space”.
Q. According to your profile, music is your passion! Could you tell us about you and music more?: A. I was born into a very musical family. My father is a professional jazz musician and he plays the clarinet and the saxophone. Many of my ancestors were also professional musicians. I have been singing ever since I can remember, but I was very shy as a child and afraid of criticism. I didn’t become a professional singer until I moved to France. France is a very free and open-minded country, so I felt more freedom and more confidence to pursue my passion. I work with a group of professional jazz musicians in the south of France who have taught me many new things about music. I’m not shy anymore! I love performing on stage. I talk to my audience in French!
Q. As we know, you can speak French such as your native language. How did you study French?: A. I started studying French in high school. I studied it for 3 years. I stopped studying French for 4 years when I was in college working on my degree in Psychology. I still remembered some of the basics, like grammar and verb conjugations, but I had no idea how to really speak it. I think most foreign language students know what that’s like! Learning the technical parts of a language, like grammar, vocabulary, and verbs, isn’t enough to know how to speak a language. Learning to speak a language comes with lots of practice. There is no shortcut! When I moved to France, I was completely lost! I didn’t know how to communicate. I couldn’t understand anyone when they spoke French to me! Fortunately, the French people that I met were very patient with me. If I didn’t understand something right away, they repeated it several times until I understood. They explained words and expressions to me with simple French words. I quickly got over my fear of making mistakes. I made many mistakes in the beginning, but I learned that it’s much more important to try to communicate than to speak without mistakes. Once you learn to communicate and express your ideas, you can work on improving your mistakes. It took me about 6 months to a year to become comfortable with speaking French, and about 2 years to speak with very few mistakes. I still have an accent of course! But French people say it’s a small accent, so I’m happy!
Q. What do you think the most important thing to learn non-native language?: A. There are two very important things: 1) Speak it as much as possible. In English, we say, “practice makes perfect”, and it’s absolutely true! However, many people often don’t know anyone else in their city who speaks that language. That’s why Cafetalk is such a wonderful place, because it gives people many opportunities to practice their foreign language. I am so proud to be a part of this organization! 2) Read the language. Listen to it. Watch movies and TV shows with subtitles. Consume the language in any way you can! Reading news articles or “young adult” books is a great way to build vocabulary, (especially if you read with a dictionary next to you!). Listening to radio shows or TV shows in English is a good way to get the “music” of the language in your ears. It helps pronunciation and intonation.
Q. I’d like to ask about your lesson, “French Food and Culture”. What is the feature of this lesson?: A. It’s basically an open conversation class about one of my favorite subjects: French food and the culture of eating. Meal time is “sacred” in France, meaning it is very very important. French meals are influenced by each regions natural environment. In the North, oysters and mussels are very popular, because they grow fresh along the North coast. Seafood often tastes best with white wine, so they drink a lot of white wine in the North. In Bordeaux, the red wine is an important part of any meal, and since beef tastes best with red wine, they eat a lot of beef and vegetable stews. You can learn a lot about French culture just by looking at what they eat.
Q. Finally, would you like to leave a message for our students.: A. Yes. This is what I tell almost all of my students: When you are learning a foreign language, do not be afraid to make mistakes. Many people avoid speaking a foreign language because they are afraid of being judged harshly if they make a mistake. You will not be judged harshly! In fact, you will be admired for your courage! Also, how can you expect to improve without ever making mistakes? If we never make mistakes, how on earth could we fix them?!