UpDate - Vol. 12, No. 13, Page 14                      
December 3, 1992                                       
Bonnie Robb named year's top foreign language teacher  
                                                       
     Bonnie Robb, assistant professor of foreign languages and
literatures, has been a true Francophile since high school.  
     She decided then to major in French at the University of Delaware
and later decided to teach the language.                     
     It's a decision she has never regretted, and this year she has
been honored by being named Foreign Language Teacher of the Year by
the Delaware Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (DeCFL).
     Robb's indoctrination in French began when she worked one summer
in Switzerland as a chambermaid at a small inn. "We had to scrub halls
on three floors before breakfast," she recalled, "but the cook was
French and the food was wonderful."                          
     Through a Rotary exchange program, her family  became acquainted
with a French family and Robb visited them frequently, first with her
parents and later on her own.                                
     Her senior year at Delaware was spent at the University of Caen 
in Normandy. All of these experiences contributed to her fluency and
appreciation of French culture.                              
     She, in turn, has been a French connection for  Delaware students
by helping to organize and take groups to France during Winter
Session. She has also been an adviser to La Maison Francaise.
     Robb, who has her master's degree from Delaware and her doctorate
from Bryn Mawr College, teaches courses that go beyond typical
language classes. For example, she is certified to teach business 
French, and teaches two courses and administers the Chambre de
Commerce et d'Industrie de Paris exam in business French to University
students. Many students in her courses opt to take the stringent  test
because it is a valuable asset in the business world.        
     This year, Robb, who has her teacher certification and is
coordinator of the foreign language education program,  is teaching a
methods class to train foreign language teachers in conjunction with
Barbara Gillette, assistant professor in the foreign languages and
literatures department. The students learn by doing-acting as teachers
in the class. Robb is enthusiastic about the experience and said she
enjoys working with the students and also brushing up on other
languages, especially Russian.                               
     Robb, who is doing research on French women writers of the 18th 
century, also is teaching a course on the Age of Rousseau, and is 
incorporating her research on women authors into the curriculum.
     In addition, Robb has been involved for a number of years in 
administering in Delaware Le Grand Concours, a national competition
for  high school students studying French.                   
     More than 80,000 students participate nationwide. Delaware
students always qualify for national competition, she said.  
     She also has served as a judge of the DeCFL statewide oral
competition, where more than 350 high school students demonstrate 
their communication skills in French, German, Spanish and other
languages.                                                   
     Active in professional organizations, Robb has been vice
president of the American Association of Teachers of French for
Delaware and has co-edited its newsletter.                   
     As Alice Cataldi, president of the Delaware Council on the
Teaching of Foreign Languages, wrote of Robb, she is "not only an 
outstanding teacher, but generously gives of her time and shares her
talents."                                                    
                                        -Sue Swyers Moncure