I was born and bre(a)d in the beautiful city of Strasbourg, France. Growing up, my mom was always playing the popular American songs of the time and we would both try and sing along, barely even knowing what we were saying. That and a devout obsession with Harry Potter books, blossomed into my personal motivation to learn English.
I don’t want to go too much into my high school career, but let’s just say it can be summed up in one sentence my English teacher said to me: “Vous n’allez jamais réussir votre baccalauréat” (click here for a translation). Despite her image of me, I ended up passing with honors.
After high school, I attended the University of Strasbourg and earned a dual major in English and Dutch. Here, I discovered my interest in creating media content in French and English. This led to me pursuing a Master’s degree in bilingual web journalism from the University of Paris 8. I worked fervently and with passion towards my goals. My mentor and professor recognized my efforts and recommended me for a lecturer exchange program with UC Santa Barbara, California. It was one of the most magical years of my life, because I discovered my two great loves. One was my future husband, and the other, was teaching French and sharing my culture with my students. After my visa expired, I went back to France for a year and taught English in high school in my hometown, Strasbourg. I also tutored private students with their English. Then, I finally moved back to the US to be with my husband in South Orange County.
The past few years, I’ve taught French, as well as the French curriculum (programme de l’Education Nationale) in international elementary schools while also tutoring American and French native students every week, helping them, either learn it as a foreign language or as their first language (through the CNED program for instance).
Learn French with Marion 