Drowning in French!
By Elaine Kelly | Posted: Monday May 19, 2025
On Thursday 15th May, fourteen senior students of French joined with their counterparts from King's High School, Columba College, and Logan Park High School at the University of Otago for the inaugural French Immersion Day.
This day was conceived to give senior students the chance to have an intensive learning experience in the French language. The aims were to provide:
a language immersion opportunity in French
a networking opportunity between students in different schools
insight into studying French at university
opportunities to speak as much French as possible
opportunities to learn about the culture of la Francophonie
the opportunity for kiwi students to meet more French native speakers
The first part of the day was run by the Languages Department at the University, and we thank Antonie Alm, Head of Faculty, for all of her fantastic organisation. The students were first introduced to young people studying French at the university. Amongst these was our very own alumni and excellence endorsed student of French, Freddie Hore. Freddie was Deputy Head Boy in 2024 and has chosen to go on to study French as a minor subject, having been inspired by his exchange to the south of France at the end of 2023. It was great to have students close to the age of our seniors take the lead in a scavenger hunt in French around the campus. They were joined by several French native speakers who are currently on exchange at Otago University.
After a good warm-up, the Year 11 students went off to learn how to play petanque, while Year 12 and 13 attended a tutorial by Barbara Stone, Senior Lecturer in French. Crepes were a welcome break at this point and students also broke into the groups that they would be cooking in later that day. After researching the dish from the French-speaking world that they were to make, groups gave some fantastic presentations in French. By lunchtime, everyone was already looking forward to dinner!
In the afternoon, teacher-led workshops encouraged students to spontaneously speak in French, including a variation on the game of werewolves, an escape room, and a cultural relay. After that, it was off to the kitchens at Logan Park High School for a Masterchef cooking competition, which provided a yummy spread for dinner. This comprised classics such as ratatouille, gratin dauphinois, chicken fricasee, and chocolate fondant amongst others. In all students sampled ten dishes from various regions of France, Belgium, Morocco, Canada and Mauritius. Miam, miam - as the French would say!
The evening came to an end with a French movie screening of Heureux Gagnants at the Rialto cinema. Through this comedie noire, our students learned that French humour is perhaps just that little bit darker than kiwi humour! We have had very positive feedback so far from the students who participated, and it is hoped that this may become an annual event.
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