French singer, songwriter stops at Palmetto High School as part of National French Week
PALMETTO -- In English, you need a different word to express different emotions and describe different things. In French, one word can mean many different things, which makes the language great for writing.
"French is really a great language," Eric Vincent, a French artist said to a packed Palmetto High School auditorium on Monday, as part of the National French Week celebration at the school.
For more than an hour, Vincent performed his songs for students, with messages of peace and love. There was a song for Haiti, which Vincent said the French pronounce as "High-Tea," and a song for Mexico. Throughout the performance, Vincent involved the students, teaching them refrains and tidbits of songs so the students could sing along.
Vincent's performance was part of Loridia Urquiza's plan to elevate the foreign language program at Palmetto High School to be the premier language program in the county.
She's been at the school for nine years and has been the head of the French program, and the sole French teacher, for the past two years. A Spanish-speaking native from Cuba, Urquiza earned a degree in French and her husband is from Italy, making English her fourth language.
Palmetto offers French 1 and French 2, enrolling about 180 students this year. The class sizes are growing and Urquiza is hoping to build the program up to be a part of the Cambridge Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE) program, where students can earn a special diploma. Spanish is offered as an AICE program at the school now.
Bringing Vincent to campus was a way to help engage more students and show them the beauty of language, she said.
"I'm always looking for new ideas for my students," Urquiza said. She met Vincent at a conference last year.
Vincent's concert wasn't just for the French students, but students throughout the high school were invited to come.
"Music is universal," Urquiza said. "The themes he touches on in his songs are universal themes."
In the past two years, Urquiza helped establish a French club at the school, as part of her mission to help elevate the program. In March, she took some of the French club students to a Congress of French Culture competition in Orlando, where students competed across the state in a number of competitions focusing on French language, culture and government.
"You take the whole year getting ready for it," said David Chalfant, a 16-year-old junior and a French 2 student at the school. Chalfant said he has some French history in his family, which is why he originally wanted to study the language.
"It's also an interesting thing to learn, in general," Chalfant said.
Interest was what French club president and 16-year-old junior Kelsea O'Reilly was hoping to create with Monday's concert.
"This really gets the word out," she said. "It really can help open people's awareness."
O'Reilly said she was interested in studying French because of the rich culture.
"The language is also really pleasant," she said.
O'Reilly said technology is helping cross barriers and create a global marketplace, making it even more important to study other languages and cultures.
"It's good to have an open mind to other cultures," she said.
Meghin Delaney, education reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7081. Follow her on Twitter@MeghinDelaney.
This story was originally published November 9, 2015 at 1:23 PM with the headline "French singer, songwriter stops at Palmetto High School as part of National French Week ."