Brisson's life as a polyglot
Claire-Marie Brisson, graduate teaching assistant in French, recently delivered a TEDx talk at the first-ever TEDx Wayne State U event, where she talked about her life as a "polyglot," or speaker of many languages. Brisson arrived at Wayne State in 2013. Of French-Canadian origin, she received her Bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan majoring in French and education, and is currently pursuing her masters's degree in romance languages - French at WSU.
Brisson grew up in a household where both French and English were spoken with some German and Italian. "As I entered college, I knew that I had always loved two things, languages and learning, and so the language instructor was born."
In 2011, Brisson moved to Ottawa and became a bilingual intern in the Senate of Canada. "Living and working in a bilingual environment had a profound impact on my life, being able to see politicians fluently banter in both French and English. I was able to see the inner workings of language policy first-hand, something I otherwise would have only read about."
In 2014, Brisson won one of two available spots dedicated to graduate students in the National Endowment for the Humanities in Avignon, France during their summer theatre festival. "Words alone cannot express how grateful I was and continue to be for that experience. Theatre pieces that I had loved came to life firsthand as I learned under theatre scholars and interviewed actors and actresses."
Brisson plans to return to France this summer with additional stops in Germany and Switzerland. Upon returning, she will continue her work with eventual plans to pursue a doctorate in Modern Languages. She admits enjoying her teaching experience. As the German poet, Rainer Maria Rilke once said, 'I live my life in widening circles that reach out across the world.' As a language instructor and avid traveler, this quote could not be more true for me. Life has given me opportunities to reach out beyond the borders of where I live to participate in global perspectives and help transfer these to all I meet, whether in a classroom setting or in a cafe."