Parlez-Vouz English?: Student Teaching in the French Education System

Abstract

When I first decided to student teach in Martinique, a French department in the southern Caribbean, my idea was greeted with skepticism and confusion by those around me. After all -- why Martinique? In most Americans' minds, Martinique is a lush tropical paradise reserved to the jet-set elite or to those who have saved their pennies to pay for that once-in-a-lifetime Caribbean cruise. Besides, they don't even speak English down there! This latter point made a good starting place for my explanations, since the major reason that I chose to student teach in Martinique was due to the fact that French is the official language there. I am currently completing requirements for a bilingual/bicultural endorsement on my Michigan secondary teacher's certificate, which requires coursework in intercultural communications, sociology, linguistics and ESL (English as a Second Language). In addition, the final requirement - the experiential component - stipulated that I student teach either in a bilingual school in the United States or outside of the country, in an area where my second language, French, is the language of instruction.

Administrator only due to personally identifying information in case study.