Laura joined the faculty of L’Ecole Française du Maine in 2008 and has been a valued member of the School ever since, teaching in several classrooms and ultimately leading the school’s DELF Program that helps our graduates maintain their proficiency in French beyond EFDM. Laura was born in Aubagne, in the south of France. She grew up in Castellet, a small village in the Var County. After earning her Baccalauréat Degree (French High School Equivalent), she went on to complete an Associate’s Degree in business. Her cultural awareness and understanding were reinforced by her travels around the world, to the US, Canada, Australia, New Caledonia, and France. Laura got her first taste of teaching when she tutored middle school students in their homes and realized right away this was to be her vocation. She enrolled in a teacher preparatory program and concentrated her studies on speech therapy where she worked individually with several children of various ages. Laura finished her Bachelor’s of Science degree in education at L’Université d’Aix en Provence. She continued on for one year to the IUFM (teacher training school) in Avignon. Anxious to put her newly acquired skills to work in the classroom, she began working as a long-term replacement teacher for private schools in the area. She taught many grade levels in several schools throughout the Bouches du Rhône area through this position and was assigned full responsibility of a class almost immediately. Laura worked diligently to follow the French national curriculum closely and respect each child’s learning needs. Finding her pleasure in teaching, Laura decided to combine her two favorite things, teaching and cultural exchange, which, to the good fortune of EFDM, ultimately brought Laura to the teaching team at L’Ecole Française du Maine.
What’s next? The question then becomes: “Where do they go from here and how can they maintain their French beyond their time at L’Ecole?”
DELF: That is where our DELF program comes in, providing our students, with their advanced abilities in French, to continue speaking and writing French, to continue to progress, at their level, something not available elsewhere in the area. Our DELF certified staff guide the students through the achievement of diplomas issued by The French Ministry of Education. EFDM has also become an official testing Center for DELF, alleviating the previous need to travel to Boston to take the DELF exams. Our program is the only accredited DELF program north of Boston!
For more information on our DELF Program, please contact Laura Piehl at DELF@frenchschool.me