Priscilla Fermon

I am a child of two immigrants: my mother from Poland and my father from Bessarabia. Neither of my parents spoke English when they arrived at Ellis Island. They spoke Yiddish, but they learned English rapidly. Due to my parents’ struggles learning a language foreign to them in a country foreign to them, I developed a deep interest in learning languages other than my native language of English. I studied French and then Spanish. I also studied classical Latin and biblical Hebrew. I teach French and have taught Spanish. I love foreign language learning and foreign language teaching. Studying foreign languages gives me joy. Teaching foreign languages gives me hope.