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With more than 700 professors, including 175 permanent professors-researchers, IÉSEG offers to its students a high-quality learning experience, based on 4 key elements: an active, interdisciplinary learning process, focused on the acquisition of competencies, offered through customized curricula.

Each month, “Faculty in the spotlight” invites you to meet one of the School’s professors who presents their vision of teaching, their methods for transmitting their expertise and passion to students and shares their best memories and stories at IÉSEG.

This month, we are meeting Laure Ayosso, Professor of French as a Foreign Language (FLE) at IÉSEG.

Laure, what was your background before coming to IÉSEG?

I studied Language Sciences and French as a Foreign Language at the University of Nice.  Then I went to live in England for 15 years where I worked as a teacher of French as a foreign language, first in London, then at the language center of Oxford University. There, as part of my activities as a teacher and program coordinator, I had the opportunity to continue my studies. I obtained a Master’s degree in applied linguistics and foreign language acquisition. After this period in England, I returned to France where I had the chance to join IÉSEG.

What course(s) do you teach at the School? In which program?

I teach French as a Foreign Language (FLE) and intercultural skills to students in the Grande École and Master’s programs as well as to academic exchange students at IÉSEG. I coordinate the advanced level in which we offer a program to facilitate their integration into the job market and their settlement in France.

How has your subject evolved over time?

Language learning methodologies are constantly evolving. When I was still an intern at the University of Nice, we used an audio-oral approach based on behaviorist theories. We used repetition and imitation techniques aiming at grammatical accuracy. These rather rigid learning methods left little room for the learner’s initiative. I then experienced the development of the “communicative” method: the aim was to improve the skills needed to communicate in a given day-to-day situation, a method still widely used today. Then, the approaches evolved towards more autonomy and adaptation to the needs of the learners. It is no longer a question of knowing how to speak the language alone, but also of understanding the codes specific to the society in which one lives. Finally, we can add that digital development now tends to favor a pedagogical scheme either entirely online or in hybrid mode, by integrating informal learning acquired outside of language classes.

How do you integrate the School’ s Vision through your courses?

We are observing societal changes that mean that the diversity of a society must be taken into account. This approach can be worked on through interculturality, by going to meet the others, and this starts at the School, through contacts between local and international students on campus. I always advise my students to get out of their homes, to go to the less touristy areas to see French society as it really is. As an anecdote, I had students from Kazakhstan join a boxing club in a working class neighborhood near Paris. At first, people were amused and intrigued to see them there, but their look changed when they saw them almost daily at the training and got to know them over the months. This is a good example of how people get to know each other better.

According to your students, what are your strengths as a teacher?

I take into account the individuality within a group. Students also emphasize my ability to assess their needs based on their learning motivations and my ability to support them even after class. In fact, many of them keep in touch to inform me of their professional and even personal progress. I get news about weddings, births, new jobs… I create a bond and connection. It’s exciting to meet new cohorts every semester.

How do you pass on your passion to students?

I try to transmit this passion by making them feel confident all the time. I remind them that when they go to a job interview, they have a real added value to bring to the company beyond their language skills. I also evaluate the students without focusing only on their mistakes. I put myself in their shoes and that helps me a lot. I have studied other languages myself, and I understand the difficulties they may face in learning French!

Overall, I present the language without taking it out of context and I always link it to its sociocultural aspects, because let’s not forget that French is not only practiced in France!

How do you get the international dimension at the School?

Internationalization “at home” seems essential to me, which is why I teach a course related to this topic that we will continue to develop in the years to come. This course welcomes both students from the campus and international exchange students.  A wide range of topics are discussed based on the questions and observations of the participants: the cultural diversity of metropolitan and overseas France, popular culture in the media through current societal issues. I also see the international aspect of the School with my fellow professors who come from very different backgrounds. So there is a great richness.

Apart from classes, how do you take part in the School’s life?

I am a member of the ICIE Center of Excellence at IÉSEG and I participate in and organize events around intercultural meetings with several experts in this field. Thus, I have animated round tables on multilingualism at work or on cultures and identities in a volatile and complex world..

Do you have a special memory of your experience at the School?

I remember a student who failed a recruitment interview because, according to the recruiter, her level of French was not good enough. She was crying when she told me this. A few weeks later, she got an internship in a company in the same sector, and now she holds a position with responsibilities. Since then, I regularly invite her to my classes to talk about her experience. In short, she explains that in the end, it is possible to find an internship in France since she succeeded!

How has the School evolved since your arrival?

In ten years, IÉSEG has changed tremendously. Back then, we were only two professors of French on the Paris campus, today there are many more! At the same time, the number of students and programs has increased considerably. It is definitely a source of pride to have seen this School evolve and to have contributed to it!