French Master of Arts student, Sandrine Zhao was awarded a scholarship from the Eugene Vance Endowed Fund which enabled her to participate in the Summer in Paris study abroad program this past August. While in France Sandrine went on field visits with undergraduate students, assisted the Program director Hélène Vilavella-Collins, and conducted research in the field of French textual studies. Sandrine reflects that she was grateful for the opportunity “explore the luminous city, to immerse in the French culture and to have access to valuable resources for my research project.”
At the UW Sandrine works as a Pre-doctoral instructor of undergraduate French language courses. From her training in teaching French she “learned how to integrate online platforms and applications with traditional textbooks.” From this she became interested in the field of textual studies and how the “materiality of textbooks change in accordance with different space and time.” One of the central questions of Sandrine’s research is “how these changes can inform us of the adaptation language textbooks need to take in an increasingly digitized and globalized age.”
During her stay in Paris, Sandrine was “able to research on different versions of FLE (français langue étrangère) textbooks and to browse research on FLE theories focused on the history and adaptation of textbooks.” Sandrine says her time in Paris “was extremely helpful” and the project will be ongoing during her Master’s studies.
Sandrine would like to thank the donors and pay homage to Professor Eugene Vance, “not only was this opportunity greatly beneficial for my studies, but it is also one of the most wonderful experiences in my life.” This scholarship allowed her to have an extended stay in Paris and the ability to explore not only the tourist sites but also to take advantage of “Paris’ rich cultural events and to appreciate the city’s beauty without hastiness.”