Teaching on an island in the Mediterranean was such an exciting experience that Grecia Nandin ’24 is already making plans to go back. “I learned so much going abroad,” she says. “I love going to other countries and fully experiencing them, not just visiting. It’s why I got into languages.”
The island in question is Corsica, a territory of France known for rugged hiking trails, megaliths, wine and cheese, and a rich history influenced by the Romans, French, Genoese, and North African Arabs who controlled it over the centuries. Nandin taught English in the port city of Bastia. In between classes, a five-minute walk brought the UNC Greensboro alumna from her house to the beach.
An eagerness to travel is something she shares with her fellow students in UNCG’s Department of Languages, Literatures, and Culture (LLC). As the program name suggests, classes involve more than vocabulary and sentence structure.
“It is not limited to technically learning a language,” says Nandin. “There’s so much you can learn about yourself and about working with other people.”
Beyond Words
Before coming to UNCG, Nandin became an interpreter in the health sector. She learned Spanish as a child, but she realized she needed more education if she wanted to advance in that area of work.
“Interpreting isn’t just being a little bilingual,” she says. “I went back to school to learn more about Spanish history, Spanish colloquialisms, and other things.”
She added French classes to fill the required credit hours for her bachelor of arts in Spanish, but she was so impressed with the program that she decided to pursue an additional degree with a concentration in French and Francophone studies.
Nandin was impressed by how much the faculty cheered on the students. “Monsieur Peter Dola was the one who told me, ‘You should consider teaching,'” she reflects. “Never in my life had I thought I would be a good teacher. Dr. Catherine Viano Laughon inspired me to do a double major in languages. And Cybelle McFadden encouraged us a lot. She would tell us, ‘You should take this course before you go abroad. It’s really going to benefit you.'”
It was McFadden who introduced her to the Teaching Assistant Program in France (TAPIF) when Nandin asked about French study abroad. She applied and was invited to spend a year living in a French community.
Corsican vs. American Classrooms
TAPIF places Americans in France’s elementary and secondary schools (the equivalent of middle and high school) as teaching assistants. The placement requires an intermediate proficiency in French, enough to carry out daily tasks, converse with the teachers, and manage the classroom.
Like Nandin, her students are learning other languages. They speak French, but the island is trying to preserve its native language, Corsican. Nandin supplemented that with English vocabulary lessons. There, she saw that the children, ages six to 11, were just as curious about Americans as she was about them.
“It was a little break for them from their bilingual program where they learn Corsican,” she says. “They asked me a lot about American popular culture and sports.”
Naturally, there was some culture shock. She relied on trains, buses, and ferries to get around. School days followed different schedules with longer holiday breaks. Corsican students spend fewer days in school compared to Americans, so Nandin got time to explore and travel, but leaving the island was difficult due to the distance and cost of plane fare. The local teachers, however, graciously stepped up to help their TAPIF assistants.
“They took us on hikes to the other side of the island and organized dinners,” she says. “They taught us a lot about their culture.”
Ready for More
Back in Greensboro, Nandin still works in interpreting, including for the Center for New North Carolinians and the agency CAP. French lessons find ways of creeping into her job. “It really helps you so much,” she says. “I’m often surprised while on the medical scene when I see a word and realize that it’s got a French root.”
Many TAPIF participants pursue jobs in education, international relations, and political science. Nandin now has the confidence to continue interpreting or teaching. She already intends to apply for another year with TAPIF in 2026.
From the beginning of her time at UNCG, Nandin knew a degree would improve her prospects, but she did not expect it to take her as far as it did. “Now, when people ask me about my future plans, I might say, ‘I don’t know if I can do it.’ Then they tell me, ‘You went across the world and started a job in a different language!’ I’m so glad I did it. I would tell other students to be prepared to be open to the challenge. It really helped me grow.”
Story by Janet Imrick, University Communications
Photography courtesy of Grecia Nandin
