Meet Rachele DeMeo | multilingual author & educator | FLAM San Diego French school director | presenter / speaker | YouTuber

We had the good fortune of connecting with Rachele DeMeo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rachele, as a parent, what have you done for you children that you feel has had the most significant impact?
In short: teaching them different languages! You see, I was born in Nîmes, Southern France, but I was raised in a bilingual, multicultural environment. My father is an American-Italian, and my mother is British. At home, we only spoke English and had a mix of cultures (American, Italian, and English), even if the Italian culture seemed to dominate. I learned English from a young age, so I had no problem speaking and understanding it. Additionally, my mother exposed me to English and American Literature and provided me with ways to attain a rich vocabulary.

When I moved to the United States at 19 to continue my studies, I realized the gift my parents had given me. I had no problem following college classes and writing essays in English. I became interested in how some parents succeeded in raising children with several languages, while others didn’t. Outside of my personal experience, I spent about a decade doing post-graduate research on the topic to best understand how to raise bilingual/multilingual and multicultural children.

When I became a mother, I decided to follow in my parents’ footsteps but with French, as we live in the United States. Therefore, I only speak French to my children and provided them with formal French lessons several years before opening up FLAM San Diego, a French school (www.FLAMSanDiego.com where they now take classes. Although I have also taught them some Italian, I wouldn’t consider them trilingual, as they only have basic knowledge. Nonetheless, my children are completely fluent in French and English, without any noticeable accent in either language.

I wrote a book about my research, expertise in the topic and experience entitled “How to Successfully Raise Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Children,” which is available on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/successfully-bilingual-multilingual-multicultural-children/dp/B085HHMGG5), iTunes, and Audible. My children, who are now ages 12 and 10 1/2, are aware of the gift of being fluent in English and French. It’s truly one of the most important things I’ve done for them, and it will open doors for their careers and personal lives.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
As an author, I’ve published six books, all geared towards education and language learning.

The first two books I wrote are college textbooks aiming to help students learn French and provide content to French instructors. I spent eight years on post-graduate research and field experience to write these textbooks.

Readers discover French pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary (including slang and everyday words not usually taught in textbooks), culture, music, French cinema, a discovery of the French-speaking world, an introduction to French philosophy and literature. Videos with short lectures are accessible online, and interviews with other francophones are also included. Other learning tools and tips are provided.

“Le Français for Everyone I” (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GRGJQ1X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B07GRGJQ1X&linkCode=as2&tag=racheledemeo-20&linkId=7cb7e5d03413d45e7b834f760725a607) is for beginner-intermediate learners, whereas “Le Français for Everyone II” (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1718060610/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1718060610&linkCode=as2&tag=racheledemeo-20&linkId=662958ee93a332d4e71126ceb6176918) is for intermediate-advanced learners. An eBook of the two books combined is also available (https://www.amazon.com/Fran%C3%A7ais-Everyone-Beginner-Advanced-Mastering-ebook/dp/B07G5JVQQQ/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=RACHELE+DEMEO&qid=1598486557&sr=8-3).

I’m proud of the time I spent teaching college French to understand students’ needs in order to write these books. It was quite a lot of work, time, and effort. It helped to have others proofread my work and tell me what I should potentially change. I’ve learned that getting students’ feedback is key when you’re writing a book for students to learn French.

I’m passionate about language learning and teaching, and most importantly, my native language: French, as it is so useful and used worldwide.

The other books I wrote go hand in hand. For instance, what inspired me to write “Fluent in French” (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QQX3HQJ) was my students. I saw students retake French classes because they had lost their French. I was determined to help them master French and retain it for a lifetime. That’s where the book idea came from, where I provide them with tips on how to stay fluent and give them resources to immerse themselves in French regardless of where they live.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
It all depends where they are from. If they are French speaking, I’d want to have them have a taste of the most American things, such as: – In ‘N Out
– Yellow Deli
– Balboa Park
– Fred’s Mexican Restaurant
– Chipotle
– Rubio’s
– Oceanside Pier
– La Jolla
– Petco Park

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to dedicated this shoutout to. my parents and thank them for raising me bilingual and with not only different cultures but with an openness to the world around us.

Website: www.RacheleDeMeo.com | www.FLAMSanDiego.com | https://linktr.ee/racheledemeo

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachele_demeo/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/racheledemeo/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/racheledemeo

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ProfRacheleDeMeo

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfPphdKi30kYeHMTLhN3GRg

Other: https://www.amazon.com/shop/racheledemeo

Image Credits
Jastin DeMeo