Francais made fun

Modern technology makes a traditional subject interesting - and more easily learned - for kids at Tarpon Springs Middle.

By LORRI HELFAND, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published January 14, 2003

Elizabeth Hutchens sashayed down the catwalk wearing a pale rose blouse, a blue-jean skirt and matching denim slides.

Speaking in French, the emcee rattled off the 14-year-old's ready-to-wear ensemble, calling it "tres merveilleux."

When she finished her promenade, the audience cheered.

One by one, youthful models took her lead and strutted their stuff.

This French fashion show took place at Tarpon Springs Middle School.

The chic models were Ruth Vinson's French students.

It was all part of a class project.

For several years, her students have videotaped conversation drills and scripted French fashion shows.

But last year, she started something new.

She decided to have them turn their assignments into movies.

"I've been teaching 35 years, and you just come up with new ideas for the kids, something to make it seem real, lifelike," Vinson said.

Thursday, Vinson's French I and French II classes were recording conversation drills in front of a backdrop of a French cafe. Throughout the year, they will work in groups to tape and edit an assortment of exercises.

With the help of Apple iMovie software and jazzy transition tools, they'll blend digital scenes of France with their dialogues to create coherent stories. And they'll mix real runway footage and French music with their class fashion shows to make Paris-style fashion productions.

"I'm kind of excited to see how our show turns out," said Elizabeth, a French II student who ran a digital camera for Vinson's French I class.

The kids are in charge, from the storyboards to the final cut.

They like it.

"It makes you look forward to going to class," said Amanda Thompson 13, one of her French II students.

"We can relate to it better," said Amanda's dialogue partner, Andrew Fontaine, 13.

Plus, the mixture of sights and sounds helps them learn, Amanda added.

Vinson, 56, has never been afraid of technology. She got hooked back in the '80s when her son brought home a Commodore VIC-20, an early home microcomputer.

Even though she's been an educator for more than three decades, she just started teaching French five years ago. That's when Tarpon Springs Middle wanted to incorporate French into its foreign language program. Vinson was a natural fit because she minored in French at Indiana University.

Despite the high-tech assignments, Vinson said, her students are rarely intimidated.

"The kids are so used to the technology that they need to see it in the classroom and use it in the classroom," she said.

But some do get freaked out their first few times in front of the camera, reciting dialogues like soldiers at attention or bursting out laughing after a minor faux pas.

But eventually, most progress to lively exchanges at Le Petit Pont cafe or the Eiffel Tower, which become scenes in their final production.

And for the piece de resistance, they get to bring home video portfolios of their masterpieces at the end of the year.

-- Lorri Helfand can be reached at (727) 445-4155 or lorri@sptimes.com .

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