Canterbury Students Know Their French

By Natalie A. Trout
Marketing & Communications Specialist

Parles-tu français?

Canterbury students do, and some of them speak French exceptionally well. Kristina Urberg '21 had the best Level 5 score on the National French Contest exam in the entire state of Indiana.

The multiple-choice exam tests students' listening and reading skills. It's designed and organized by the American Association of Teachers of French, and students compete for the top scores to win prize money and a medal. Aside from Urberg, Canterbury's Joy Chen finished third, and Shaan Patel finished fourth.

"I'm not at all surprised to see how well the students did in Level 5," said Canterbury French teacher Kimberly Summers. "The National French Contest is great preparation for the AP exam as many of the same themes and skills are tested."

Summers said the contest helps to build students' confidence going into AP exams. It's also exciting for the students to be recognized for their strong language skills in French.

French 1 students also participated in the Level 1 contest, with Nina Padmalingam finishing third, Monica Wojewuczki finished sixth, and Jaylasha Starks and Arnav Gupta tied for eighth.

Summers loves that French is a part of each Canterbury students' daily experience 

"I love when students tell me that something they learned in French class, whether it be vocabulary, history, grammar, culture, was also discussed in their History or English class," Summers said. 

Another favorite moment for Summers is when graduates email to say that they feel so well-prepared for their advanced French courses. "There is a lot to love about teaching French at Canterbury!"