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En Vadrouille 2...Sud
This podcast leads you to the South region of France, especially in the big city of Marseille! Did you know about this terre de cinéma?
En Vadrouille 1- Normandie
Let's return today to the History of France with a commemoration of the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944.
French Gastronomy
In 2011, after the inscription of the repas gastonomique des Français (gastronomic meals of the French) to the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage, the Fête de la Gastronomie
La Semaine des Médias sur Culturethèque
A great way to practice reading French, learning vocabulary, and finding out what’s going on in the world is to read the news in French. The short story news format along with the engaging photography and graphics can make it a great alternative to reading complete novels.
M. Georges Vieux
Black History Month
Black History Month celebrates the contributions of black culture throughout history and in many fields - political, literary, scientific and more.
World NGO Day
"It is only right that, on just one day, the world should celebrate NGOs and thank them for the tremendous work that they do." - Andris Piebalgs, European Commissioner for Development
Michel de Bedoya
Michel de Bedoya specializes in French education for non-native speakers. For over 25 years he has taught students of all ages and all
levels. Whether it’s children who are just beginning their language studies, teens preparing for their Bac, adults hoping to develop their
conversational skills, or seniors preparing for a holiday in French wine country—Michel has the skills and techniques to advance their
French language knowledge. No matter where you are in your studies, Michel believes that learning French should be fun! By incorporating
games, music, film, literature or current events, when students can open their minds and let down their guard, it opens the language centers
of the brain and allows their language mastery to flourish. If you attend one of his classes, you can expect good conversation, good times,
and good progress with your French learning!
When he’s not teaching French at AFSF and other Bay Area Schools, Michel is the master of sound design behind Gringo
Starr Productions.
With many years of experience as a producer, sound engineer, composer and touring musician, Michel has the musical chops to create the
perfect soundtrack to any multimedia piece. He is currently working on the production of “Mister Michel”, a musical/animated project to
teach French through original songs.
Noemie Herail
Executive
Director
Olivier Walty
With more than 10 years of teaching experience in education of FLE (French as a foreign language), learning is focused on grammar, vocabulary and a lot of cultural content. I also encourage active oral comprehension and participation in the classroom. I believe that even beginners can gain the means to strike up a conversation in French within the first 24 hours of tuition and that you can only learn a language by learning the culture of the country and its people. I was born in Champagne but studied cinema in Paris and British/American History and Literature in Nice. I have a passion for cinema, literature, music (electronic and jazz) and painting. When I am not teaching, sending emails to students to perfect their French or prepare my classes, you will see me composing music, drawing, reading or even working on my needlepoint (it soothes me). Gardez l’esprit ouvert et tournez votre coeur vers l’autre!
Emmanuel Nado
Frederico Fellini once said “A different language is a different vision of life”)
Originally from Cote d’Ivoire, I lived in Lille, where I studied photojournalism at the Ècole Supérieure de Journalisme de Lille. I returned to Cote d’Ivoire where I worked for the country’s major daily newspaper Fraternité Matin for 10 years. then I moved to the United States to Antioch University in Yellow Springs where I studied business management and communication. Upon graduating I moved to California to study broadcast journalism and worked in radio media in Cupertino and San Jose as producer and host of a bilingual (English French) international radio program for several years. I have been living in the bay area since the mid 80s. The bay area has many awesome places with beautiful landscapes, the air is clean, so much to do and see. I took on an education career to teach social studies and French and for 15 years I taught in Sunnyvale Public School District.
In 2005 I founded a French club in the south bay cities of Sunnyvale and Cupertino because I am a strong believer in international education and firmly believe in the power of language to change the world and help people find common ground. I have retired now from public school teaching, but my passion for teaching French remains one of the most fulfilling things I love to do. Because I believe that people who speak two of more languages perform better educationally and the acquired language skills translate into opportunities in the business world and in private life. It is exciting to see students of diverse nationality and cultural backgrounds at the Alliance Française of San Francisco thriving. Whether you are a beginner,intermediate or an advance speaker, French is a beautiful living language and it is a lot of fun. I was a member of the teaching team at the Alliance Française of Santa Clara and the San Jose International Language Institute. Beside my work as an educator, I produce and host a world radio program here in San Francisco for NPR affiliate radio KALW. In my spare time I like to go for a promenade in various cities of the bay or go for a drive faraway from the cities. I love playing tennis,(always 2 rackets in the trunk of my car) I enjoy outdoor activities, dancing, travels and I am an avid reader of mystery, science fiction, all that deals with arts and literature.
Have great fun!
Arya Kamangar
A lifelong Francophile, Arya nurtured his reverence for French literature at Middlebury College, where he earned a doctorate in modern languages. He wrote his dissertation on characterization through body language in Proust’s In Search of Lost Time. Now in his seventh year of teaching at the Alliance Française, Arya’s always happy to suggest a book for you to read.
M. Alex S. Rohrbach
Mme. Dori Bonn
M. Patrick Patterson
Treasurer
M. Sina Tabesh
Secretary
M. Jorge Jaramillo
Vice President
M. Tom Aden
President
