Monolingual to Bilingual

Mrs. Arnold’s journey to becoming a French teacher

By Hayden Bates
March 31, 2025

St. Ursula Academy French students have a fun day in class while enjoying a cookie cake.
Photo Courtesy: Anna Nungester

TOLEDO, OH - Upon entering high school, students across the country are tasked with picking a foreign language to learn. In order to be eligible for graduation students at St. Ursula Academy must complete two credits of world language classes.

St. Ursula Academy offers two world languages: French and Spanish. Students are allowed to choose between the two and some students even mix the two.

Mrs. Julie Arnold, World Language Department Chair, and French Teacher

Photo Courtesy: St. Ursula Academy

French and Spanish are world languages, meaning multiple countries in the world speak them allowing for more connections to be made after learning a single language.

The Ursuline took a closer look into the French program and spoke with Mrs. Julie Arnold, the World Language Department Chair who also teaches all levels of French.

Mrs. Arnold has been teaching at SUA for 21 years. She began taking French classes in high school in order to be different from her older sister who was enrolled in Spanish classes. Mrs. Arnold immediately fell in love with the language.

In fact she loves it so much, she actually lived and studied in France for a time. She has been to the country a total of 13 times. 

“I think I learned French best by just making friends,” said Mrs. Arnold. 

According to Mrs. Arnold, one of the biggest advantages to taking world language classes is the ability to connect with outside cultures. This allows for better understanding of different places in the world and makes it easier to travel and communicate. 

This is why Mrs. Arnold focuses many of her lessons on these topics.

“It allows you to connect with other cultures in a deeper and more meaningful way than just being a tourist,” Mrs. Arnold said.

The French classes participate in plays and projects, while also reading stories. Most of the French stories that SUA French students read are written by Mrs. Arnold herself.

Mrs. Arnold’s favorite part of French is the ability to have fun with it and make learning the language fun.