Michelle Rawleigh: Childhood Inclusive Education Major with a Concentration in French

Michael Kozlowski (left) and Mikayla Rawleigh
(right) at Education Honors Society

Say "bonjour," to Michelle Rawleigh!  Michelle is a childhood inclusive education major with a concentration in French. When trying to decided on a concentration she decided to choose French because she thought that it would be beneficial for her to have a second language. Michelle took French in high school but unfortunately had a bad experience with it. Despite this experience, she decided to try taking French again in college. After taking French at Fredonia, Michelle had a much more positive experience with the language, which inspired her to continue on with learning French. Although, Michelle enjoys the French classes here she finds them challenging and believes that it is because she wasn’t properly educated in French in high school. However, she is working her best to catch with the help of good friends and excellent tutors within the department.

If Michelle could recommend anything to someone studying a language, it would be to stay motivated. She feels that it is incredibly difficult to learn a language if you do not have the desire to do so, which is why staying motivated is so important. Michelle also would like to recommend studying abroad if possible because it will improve your language skills by tenfold.

If Michelle could study abroad anywhere, she would either want to study abroad in Paris or in the south of France. To Michelle, Paris is a grand city filled with history and vibrant culture. However, a small town in southern France is also appealing to her because each town has its own charm.

Michelle’s favorite course for French so far has been French Civilization and Culture. This class is considered a “language” class, which means that people can take it for French or English credit. With this mixed group of people, it is fun to switch back and forth between French and English. Michelle also likes this course because it is a class that has emphasis specifically on French culture. This is a subject that Michelle has been highly interested in and is glad to have the opportunity to learn more about it.

If Michelle could recommend a story in French to read, she would recommend La Belle et la Bête (Beauty and the Beast). La Belle et la Bête is a very popular story in France with countless versions throughout the country. Michelle feels that it is interesting to compare different versions of the same story and see how they change by region.

In ten years, Michelle would either like to be teaching abroad in France or be teaching first or second graders.

For now, Michelle is glad to be a part of Fredonia. To her, Fredonia is a small close-knit community where people are ready to help each other. Michelle is glad that she can be part of such a phenomenal community.