Hosted by the University of Adelaide, the 2020 ‘French Day Out’, which usually takes place on campus, was a virtual experience for our Year 10 French students this year. With the aim of promoting the university, as well as the study of French, three of the its most prominent professors of French facilitated the experience, with the focus this year on ‘The French Revolution’. Students prepared for the session prior to the day in class and were confident to participate in the live session joining hundreds of other French students from around South Australia.

A fascinating time in French history, our students were amazed to learn about the French monarchy at the time, their life of luxury and excess, compared with the majority of French citizens whose experience was vastly different.

They were also surprised to discover that the French we study today was not widely spoken in France before the revolution, which united regions across the country and forced the emergence of the language with which we are all more familiar.

During the Q and A session, a range of questions was posed to the professors about the French Revolution and studying French at Adelaide University. Our students were very interested to know if Dr John West still remembered the French teacher from Renmark High School who he taught in 1992 and they were overjoyed to hear that indeed he did!

Looking forward, we hope to be able to return to the campus in 2021 for an authentic experience and meet the professors in person.

Jasmine Sotiroulis - French and Spanish Teacher