Teaching Experience

Introductory and Intermediate Courses

FREN 1001, 1002: Introductory classes in French, first and second semester.

FREN 2001, 2002, 2030: Intermediate classes in French, third and fourth semester.

Advanced Courses

FREN 4150 : Business French.

FREN 4080 : The Migrant Experience in France: Short Stories, Comics and Films.

Introductory Topics Courses

FLF 308: Contemporary French Cultures.

FREN 3010: French Conversation and Composition.

FREN 3080: Topics in French Culture and Civilization.

Graduate Seminars

FLF 595: Paris Postcolonial.

FLF 492-592: World Tour & Literature in French.

FLF 520: Literary and Cultural Theory.

“Madame Montlouis-Gabriel offers wonderful enthusiasm and absolutely prompt returns on all coursework with careful responses to both correct and incorrect answers. In class, she respectfully ensures we understand proper pronunciation and sentence structure- and is very aware of common mistakes American students learning French might confuse. Generally, I would really like to emphasize how considerately Madame responds to our attempts. She is always pleasant and positive regardless of how silly we must seem- and she never laughs at us but we do laugh a lot as a class.”

Student in FLF102Fall 2013

“I thought Madame Montlouis-Gabriel did a fantastic job creating an atmosphere both inside and outside the classroom that engendered learning and the comfort to ask questions.”

Student in FREN 2001Fall 2014

“The way that this course was taught, with a lot of in-class discussion, helped me a lot and it was taught in a different manner than my past French classes here at UGA, but this method helped me learn French more practically.”

Student in FREN 2001Fall 2014

“I really enjoyed the wide variety of topics that we went over in class, especially in regards to our addressing recent events. It was interesting to learn about different cultures’ perspectives on different events, and having to discuss them in French helped me to understand French better.”

Student in FREN 2030Spring 2016

“Her greatest strength is her ability to facilitate and stimulate a discussion and knowing when to make a way for the students to speak.”

Student in FREN 4150Summer 2016

 “I like that this course provided us with experiences that are useful in other contexts outside the class. The class has a professional atmosphere so the students were expected to act and speak in such a manner that is acceptable in different situations”

Student in FREN 4150Summer 2016

My Teaching Philosophy

A typical day in my classroom starts with French music from a YouTube playlist that my former students and I put together. This seemingly-superfluous gesture has three concrete objectives. (1) It fits in the realia and cultural components of class. Students get to hear what French people of their age listen to, what a genre they like, such as rap, pop rock, or jazz might sound like in French, creating in them a desire to learn more about those kinds of music. (2) It immerses the student right away in French. The moment they step in my classroom, they step into the French and Francophone immersion, allowing their thoughts to slowly switch gear towards speaking French. This practice has been a successful one, as students have often mentioned it in their evaluations, so did my language supervisors. (3) It is another way to create a sense of community. This playlist is shared from day one on our course webpage and as the semester passes, and as songs get added, students often talk about the new song they listened to while studying. It adds another point of commonality which is not just about homework and quizzes. By the end of the semester, the playlist becomes more cooperative and students suggest more artists, or offer gossips about those artists, en français!

 To learn more about my teaching philosophy, download it below!

Reflective Teaching

As a constantly evolving scholar and teacher, I strive to improve my teaching on reflecting on my lesson’s objectives at the end of each class, my course design and content.

In order to do this, I make a habit of asking colleagues and professors to come observe me and give me informal and formal feedback, I ask for informal student feedback twice during the semester and I take into consideration their end of semester anonymous evaluations.

I also make a habit to attend as many workshops as I can in order to stay and engaging teacher, learn new skills and also refresh on pedagogical tools.

Here is a list of the selected workshops and classes I have attended, which enrich my daily teaching:

  • Classroom Management Strategies (Spring 2017)
  • Effectively Engaging and Teaching Students in Large Classrooms (2016)
  • Cross-Cultural Communication in the Classroom (2015)
  • Threaded Discussions for Hybrid and Online Language and Literature Classes (2014)
  • Second Language Writing Assignments and Grading Rubrics: Becoming Proficient in Writing (2013)

Teaching Awards

In Spring of 2014, I have received the Excellence in Classroom Teaching Award at the North Carolina State University. The award for Excellence in Classroom Teaching provides a grant to the student who has demonstrated exceptional ability in classroom education and preparation. This individual is identified by their outstanding performance in the classroom and their ability to go above and beyond their call of duty. They have showcased an exceptional ability to design, administer and effectively teach college level course work.