Thursday is French day

The students in Lori Finley’s fourth-grade class at Trent Elementary love Thursday afternoons. Not because it’s one day closer to the weekend, but because that’s the day Finley’s daughter, Christy, arrives and gives them a French lesson.

The students clamored for Christy Finley’s attention on a recent Thursday, peppering her with questions on how to say certain words or phrases in French. “How do you say ‘no’ in French?” one student asked.

Since the school year began, students have been learning how to count, say the alphabet and colors in French. Students begged to sing the alphabet song in French, complete with stomps.

Christy Finley reviewed the numbers, holding up her fingers as the students chanted the numbers. “Tres bien,” she said. “You guys rock.” She painstakingly pronounced each day of the week slowly and repeatedly for her new lesson. “Lundi, loon-dee,” she said, giving the word for Monday.

A senior at Central Valley High School, Christy Finley is a third-year French student. She can trace her love to the language back to her time at Sunrise Elementary. “When I was in fourth grade, some girls from CV came to my class and taught me beginning French,” she said.

That memory inspired her to do the same thing. This year she is getting credit for her efforts through a teaching academy class. “Last year it was something I did on my own time,” she said. “It’s mostly for my own fun.”

Lori Finley knows that her daughter’s fourth-grade experience had an impact on her. “She had this little orange notebook” with French words in it, Lori Finley said. “She still has it.”

Christy Finley doesn’t stop at teaching simple words and phrases. Last year’s fourth-graders performed “Cinderella” and “The Emperor’s New Clothes” completely in French. “Everyone had a speaking part,” she said. “I just want to give them an appreciation for another language.”

Lori Finley has been teaching for 31 years, the last 27 at Trent Elementary. French may not be on the syllabus, but she sees a benefit for her students in the weekly lessons. “Because I’m a fourth-grade teacher, so much of my focus is on preparing for the WASL,” she said. “They lose out on a lot of the fun stuff. They need that. If it’s all routine, school gets mundane. I think this is a nice outlet for them.”

Her students look forward to her daughter’s visits and young minds are quick to grasp another language. “They’re more like a sponge,” she said.

While her daughter is a natural when it comes to speaking French, Lori Finley said her command of the language isn’t as strong, even though she reviews the French lessons during the week so the students don’t forget what they’ve learned.

“It comes naturally to her,” she said. “She’ll laugh at me because I don’t pronounce it right. I took Spanish.”