English Essay by Brian Southwick
25 Learning French ＲＥＡＤＩＮＧ (slow ver.) 　(fast ver.)　

　　Many essays ago I wrote a little about French culture in Louisiana.  In some places in Louisiana people speak French, and there are many cities and towns in Louisiana with French names.  Baton Rouge, my hometown, is one of them: its name is French for “Red Stick”.  Louisiana cooking is famous for French-style dishes.  We also celebrate Mardi Gras, a French festival whose name means “Fat Tuesday” in English.  With all of this French influence, it is not surprising that many schoolchildren in Louisiana learn French.
    I had my first French lesson when I was a first grader in elementary school.  We learned how to count and how to say the alphabet in French, and we sang French songs.  We studied simple French expressions to talk about daily life and to introduce ourselves.  We played games and did fun activities, but in elementary school we didn’t study French grammar.  I don’t remember the teacher’s name, but I do remember what she looked like.  I also remember the day she sent me to the principal’s office for talking in class.
    In junior high and high school I continued to study French.  The teacher, Ms. Harris, was American, but she spoke French very well.  She sometimes traveled to France, and she loved talking about her experiences there.  There were many posters and pictures of France in her classroom.  In junior high we studied grammar, and learning French became more difficult.  But we practiced French conversation, too, and we had many speaking tests.
　　　I think that the pleasant atmosphere in Ms. Harris’s classroom made learning easier, and French became one of my favorite subjects.  I decided to join the French Club, and I took part in speech contests and other events.  The summer after I graduated from high school, I took a short trip to France.  When I was there, I enjoyed talking with French people, and I visited some of the places I learned about in French class.  I was very happy for the five years I studied French with Ms. Harris in junior high and high school.

＜注＞　
Louisiana（ルイジアナ州），Baton Rouge（バトゥン・ルージュ市），hometown（生まれ故郷の町），
French-style（フランス式），dish（料理），celebrate（祝う），Mardi Gras（マルディグラ），
whose（関係代名詞・所有格），fat（太った），influence（影響），surprising（驚くべき），schoolchild（学童）
count（数える），alphabet（アルファベット），expression（表現），daily life（日常生活），
activities＜activity（活動），grammar（文法），do（"remember"を強調するための語，意味なし）　，
principal（校長先生），travel（旅行する），experience（経験，体験），poster（ポスター），
conversation（会話），pleasant（楽しい），atmosphere（雰囲気），subject（教科），
took＜take part in〜（〜に参加する），contest（コンテスト），event（行事），
graduate from〜（〜を卒業する），took＜take a trip（旅行する）




Question and Answers:  Please answer the following questions in English in a complete sentence, with a subject and　a verb.

Q1. What is a French festival celebrated in Louisiana.

A1.

Q2. When did Brian have his first French lesson?

A2.

Q3. Who enjoyed talking about her experiences in France?

A3.

Q4. Was Ms. Harris from France?

A4.

Q5. Where did Brian go after he graduated from high school?

A5.



＜解答例＞

A1. It is Mardi Gras.

A2. When he was a first grader in elementary school (, he had his first French lesson).

A3. Ms. Harris did.

A4. No, she wasn’t.  (She was from America/USA.)
　　　　　　                              =American

A5. He went to France.
　　　　= took a short trip