fandomhigh | Functional French, Tuesday, Period 2

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Functional French, Tuesday, Period 2

Henry had planned a straightforward first week of classes. Bonjour, ca va, je m'appelle..., all of that.

What he had not planned on was the big pug-bear-yak thing that was firmly in the middle of the classroom when Henry got there, wearing a beret and a scarf and looking like he was about to order brie on a croissant.

He was, of course, the anticipated Alot of bad French grammar.

Henry made a few attempts to shoo it out the door. The creature didn't move, and finally Henry gave up and stepped forward, hands in his pockets.

"Hi," he said. "Bonjour. Salut. I am Henry DeTamble, call me Henry or Mr. DeTamble or 'hey, library guy,' whatever works. Welcome to Functional French, which is my attempt at teaching a language class at this school, you lucky, lucky people. Here is the syllabus, and here is your textbook for the term."

"I'm not going to ask you to speak a lot of French this week" -- the creature perked up at its name, but looked disappointed that Henry had not summoned a friend for it -- "but I'd like for you to start by introducing yourselves in this format: 'Bonjour, je m'appelle Henri' -- or whatever your names actually are, and bonus points if you say it with a French pronunciation -- and your answer to the question Ca va, which is 'how are you doing.' You might just say 'ca va' back at me, to indicate everything is fine, or 'ca va bien,' -- I am doing well -- or 'pas mal' -- not bad. I'd also like to hear, en Anglais, if you've ever studied French or another language before and how good you think you are."

He gestured randomly into the group. "Commence."

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Frenchly.

Effy Stonem

Emma Frost

Rilla Blythe

Clark Kent

Jonothon Starsmore

Peter Bishop

Listen! Take notes! Contemplate petting the Alot!

Rilla was just going to be staring. A lot. At the Alot.

Clark was concerned by the creature in the beret and praying Mr. DeTamble didn't make them dress up for this class. Speaking another language was already complicated!

Jono... had mostly taken this course because the professor had managed to pique his curiosity over that weekend where most of the island's population had become children.

This wasn't going to stop him from taking notes, of course. This course could very well prove to be useful someday, in spite of his reluctance to do things like communicate.

Bonjour, je m'appelle ..., ca va bien times six, plus whether you've studied non-English languages before.

"Bonjour. Je m'appelle Effy." Fairly sure there wasn't a French pronunciation of Effy, but her accent was actually decent. "Pas mal," she added with a brief non-committal shrug.

"Learned French since I was seven." The last year aside, anyway. She was a little out of practice. "And did a year of Latin." Ah, posh school.

//Welcome to class, Effy.// If Henry had read the register a bit more closely, she probably would have been Elisabeth. //I hope this calss isn't too basic for you.//

"It's all practice, right?" she replied in English. "Been about a year out of that." But, if she hadn't come here when she did, French was going to be one of her A-Levels, so she was likely to have a stronger grasp than most.

At least she hadn't tried to tell him about the creepy French aristocrat she was related to. Small blessing.

"I haven't had to use it for work since the start of the year," Henry admitted. "We'll refresh together."

Sadly, he probably would have been fascinated about the creepy aristocrat.

"Bonjour, je m'appelle Rilla," she said shyly. Her pronunciation was that of a beginner. "Pas mal," she added. "I've learned a bit of French in school," she continued in English, "and Mother has books of French poetry at home."

"What writers does she like?" Henry asked, following her lead by speaking in English. "And welcome to class, Rilla."

"Voltaire," Rilla replied, "and Victor Hugo. Oh, and Charles Baudelaire."

"Your mother has good taste," Henry decided with a smile.

"She'll be pleased to know you approve," Rilla said, giving him a smile.

"Bonjour, je m'appelle Emma," she said, and while her accent wasn't perfect, it was still acceptable. "Ca va bien, merci."

"I had three years of French at my previous school, but it's been a while."

//It's like riding a bicycle,// Henry assured her in French. //It'll come back. Welcome to class, Emma."//

Edited 2010-05-11 16:03 (UTC)

"Uh," Clark stared around at the people capable of pronouncing all this stuff so well. "Guh maple Clark?"

It was sad.

"My foreign language credits are pretty slim."

Henry managed not to say he'd gotten that impression. "You're getting off to a good start," he lied. "Soft j, though. JUH mappell Clark."

Jono kind of sank down into his seat a little when his turn rolled around. Not that he was completely bloody paranoid to introduce himself around new people or anything, honest. But maybe if he lucked out, nobody would be able to figure out which British boy with no mouth was projecting his words into their brains.

Sure.

//Bonjour, je'mappelle Jonothon,// he said, the accent coming fairly easily, considering he didn't have to worry about little things like wrapping his tongue around the new words. //Pas mal.//

Honest. Totally not bad.

//What I know of French is more or less what I've picked up in books,// he admitted. //So, I don't have anything in the way of formal training, but the interest is there.//

"All we need is interest," Henry said, glancing around the other students t see if any of them had anything to say about how Jono expressed himself. (He hadn't forgotten their conversation when he was seven. He was, however, hoping Jono somehow had.) "I can teach anything else, but I can't make you care. //Welcome to class, Jono//."

///Merci, mate.//

See, Jono could almost relax long enough to reply to people who were speaking to him! That was progress, damn it.

As for forgetting about that conversation? No such luck. Sorry, Henry.

"Bonjour, je m'appelle Peter," he started, his pronunciation slightly rough but obvious that he was picking up fast. "Pas mal."

He thought for a second. "Three years of German at my previous high school, and I've been learning Latin and Spanish in my spare time."

Overachieving bastard.

"Merci, Peter. Welcome to class," Henry said, then -- because, honestly, how often did he get to show off? -- switched to German to add, //What do you like about learning languages?//

//Knowing what other people are saying//, Peter replied in his own German, smirking a little. It was basic, but it was the truth. //And knowing how to get your point across//. Every language had their own little nuances and idioms and particularities. Each provided a new challenge.

"Very good," Henry said, with a genuine smile. "Thanks again."

He is around! And watching for anyone he could Shanghai into TAing.

And we are out!

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Functional French, Tuesday, Period 2

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