A French-English Connection in PVCC
Some people fascinate others in the first moments of an encounter and some teachers grab their students’ attention at the very first lecture. One such person is Dr. Manon Ehrlich, assistant professor of English at PVCC. Her unique style and friendly French approach to helping students succeed in her class is one which fosters a comfortable classroom environment, allowing new ideas to flourish and minds to be changed.
Ehrlich spent her youth living in the southern French countryside, in a small village called Sainte-Terre where most people prioritize their sense of place and community. She continued to study in France, at Bordeaux Montaigne Université where she received a master’s degree in English in 2013. Only a year later, she moved to the U.S. with her husband in pursuit of a way to put her new skills into practice.
Ehrlich describes her experience as she began to adjust to her new life in Maryland. During her first years living there, she studied to obtain her Ph.D. as a graduate student instructor and began teaching English for the first time, saying, “That first year, I was very homesick, but it was worth it. It was definitely an adjustment, but gradual. I had a support system who was there for me while I finished my studies and found a job.” The move was a challenge but it paid off as she began her career.
Ehrlich then spoke about her biggest writing triumph, her doctoral dissertation, which was a year-long incremental research project while studying for her Ph.D. at the University of Maryland. The dissertation analyzed several works by some of her favorite French authors, those of which she had printed copies on her shelf in her small, but cozy glass-walled office. The tight, personal feel of the office resonated with how I imagine the Southern French countryside. Among the books were family photos, sticky notes with reminders, and magnets written by a co-worker with fun little phrases like “BRB!” (Be right back!) to put on her door while she was out teaching, an extension of her friendly, playful nature as a professor.
Ehrlich finds the use of her French cultural aspects to be her biggest challenge teaching her students, having been self-conscious of her accent, even though 99% of her students find that to be more of a charming quirk than any sort of hindrance to her teaching.
She said that in her first semester at PVCC, her students were overwhelmingly supportive and kind about her struggles warming up to American life. “I think that in my experience, my students have been very kind about my accent and when I stumble, and when the words come out, they have been very understanding and made me feel good about it.”
She could only recall one instance where someone said anything negative regarding her accent, other students were very quick to step in and defend her. “There was one student during my first semester who made one comment in a group discussion, which was clearly disqualifying because of the accent, but another student at the same table actually jumped in to defend me, which was very touching. I understand where the first student came from, but I try to not take any of that personally,” she said.
As she has continued to teach at PVCC, her outlook on her own unique upbringing has shifted from trying to hide the French accent, to incorporating bits of French culture and language into her lectures.
Her classes teach students how to craft personal narrative essays, write persuasive, argumentative essay formats, and use the MLA format and scholarly databases to find correct sources for papers, which doesn’t only translate to the next English classes, but also the entire PVCC curriculum. She offered advice regarding the importance of what she teaches, “All these ideas, like critical thinking and organizing paragraphs and research tips, are skills you can take into every class.”
