TOWAMENCIN – With the retirement of Mrs. Anita Sapalidis last year, many wondered who was going to be the next AP French teacher at North Penn. Interviews were held, resumes evaluated, and positions considered, leading to a final decision to assign Mrs. Eileen Burner as the new AP French teacher.
“I used to teach at Haverford middle school for two years, and then last year I taught in France, and I taught in a middle school there,” Burner explained.
Throughout her life, Burner loved the French language and culture. Her passion for the language continued on for her middle school years, as she began studying French in 7th grade. In high school, she was a very active student, played plenty of sports, took part in school council, hosted an exchange student, and taught in a church on weekends.
“I taught at my church which has a church school, so I taught there on the weekends to try and see if I would like it, which I did, ” Burner stated.
Teaching at Sunday School was a pleasant experience for Eileen Burner, it helped her realize her second passion: teaching. After high school, she went to Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia to pursue her double major degree in French and Secondary education.
“[Studying French] is a lot more intense when you’re studying language in college, and they really push you to study abroad, so since I was going to be a French teacher I was required to study abroad, but I was planning on it anyways, and I studied abroad my junior year.” Burner said.
Studying abroad in Paris was difficult, Burner had to adapt to a completely different culture, and not speak English in schools. However, it greatly helped improve her skills of the target language, which was a boost of confidence that Burner needed to apply for a Teaching Assistant Program In France (TAPIF), and she was accepted into it. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, she was unable to attend this opportunity, and moved to work in Haverford Middle School.
“I started working in Haverford for a couple of years, but then I just knew that I really missed that opportunity that I wanted to do, so I applied again, and I got in a second time,” Burner stated.
Burner taught at a middle school in Bourg en Bresse, France for one year, where she taught French Students English. The method of teaching a language in France was different than in the United States. They try to not translate anything, and let a student figure out the words on their own, which in turn helps the student memorize vocabulary better.
“In terms of teaching a language, they try to not translate anything and let the student figure out everything that they’re saying. At first, the students seemed completely lost, but eventually it’s a really great thing for them. I’m trying to do that a lot more this year,” Burner explained.
Throughout her relatively short career of teaching abroad, Eileen Burner learned a lot of strategies and teaching techniques that she aims to incorporate into her classes, helping provide a more authentic and linguistically enriching experience for her AP French students.
“A lot of [students considering AP French] are worried of how different it’s going to be from French 4, it is a little bit more intense because we mostly speak in French, we’re watching and listening to a lot of French, and obviously preparing for the AP French exam at the end of the year,” Burner stated.
So far, North Penn has been a dream, and a place where Burner could be happy teaching at, providing authentic teaching strategies and a modern outlook on the French Language, helping shape the North Penn students into confident and prepared speakers of French. Only time could tell how many great accomplishments and improvements Madame Burner can provide to the North Penn community.