Discovering the World Languages and Cultures Department: Mireille LeBreton
You're welcome to NAZ, and you're going to love it at NAZ
by Emily Berardicurti
Mireille LeBreton is the director of the French academic program, La Maison Française, the Rennes study abroad program, and a professor of French in the World Languages and Culture Department at Nazareth University. Her early life was spent in Algeria and France, until joining a graduate student exchange program in the U.S. In the U.S., she attended the University of Delaware, the University of Maryland, and Stanford University. After completing her PhD, she joined Nazareth University.
Q: What can [students] expect from your courses if they were to take one?
A: They can expect to be welcome [...], whatever their beliefs, or nationality [...]. [...] Everybody's welcome to take a French class. [...] They can expect [...] to be taught French in the best of ways. They can expect [...] to practice French [...], hopefully in a stress free way, especially now that we are revamping every class in the curriculum in French [...].
Q: What can students expect from you as a teacher?
A: Professionalism, for sure. Being there for them at all the levels, and rigor without stress. [...].
I want to make sure that they learn [...]. They're here to learn. We're working together towards that goal [...].
Q: Do you have any expectations of the students who take your class?
A: I expect that they come with a big smile, but that's not always the case, right? [...] I expect that they're curious [...]. And when you have this curiosity [...] about the language, or about an aspect of culture, or about [...] a point in a culture that you're discovering [...], you're going to be brilliant.
Q: What would you tell students who are thinking about learning French when they come to Nazareth [University]?
A: You're welcome to NAZ, and you're going to love it at NAZ. [...]. You're going to love being able to take language classes [...] on topics that are dear to your own interest, [...] [and] you're going to be able to connect what you learn in the classroom with outside events through the French house. [...]. So both inside of the classroom and outside, you're going to be so happy at NAZ studying French [...].
Q: Is there anything that you would like the Nazareth community, or the Rochester community, or the national community to know?
A: Learn languages, study abroad, and go to the events that are put together [by] the cultural houses [...], and be open to what is unknown, even if it's tough sometimes.