For Philippe Patto, to embrace the world around us is to immerse in another culture. Patto is a French professor at San Diego City College and serves as the department chair for languages.
“Language is important for anyone. Learning a foreign language is needed today more than ever,” said Patto, who was born in Paris, France. Prior to instructing at City College, he taught business at San Diego Mesa College.
Patto began teaching his classmates at age 11 in France and found a new love for teaching through technology since the COVID-19 campus closure in March 2020. “Teaching is learning twice. Like many professors, I was nervous to teach online, and then I learned that we could do so much through mobile and web applications,” Patto said. “I am building a community where City College students can talk to other students in French-speaking countries and in French schools here in the United States.”
He added, “there is a critical need to offer fully online language classes. Students do well with alternative modes of instruction. During the pandemic, 90 percent of students earned an A grade given the same materials as previous to on-campus students.”
As part of his lessons, Patto teaches about diverse cultures in countries and territories where French is the official language such as in Africa and Canada. “The textbook primarily focuses on France, and it is essential that we bring other countries to the table to not only speak the language but understand the history, cultural aspect, and identities of all people.”
With classes returning to campus, Patto looks forward to bringing back the French club to City College. The environment gives students the opportunity to practice French outside of the classroom through school events, meet-up groups, and field trips to places like Bread & Cie, a bakery offering artisanal French breads and pastries. “Students love the field trips. They start to get to know each other. By the time we come back to class, they are not shy anymore and feel more comfortable speaking French.”
Fall semester began Monday, August 22, 2022, at City College. Students interested in learning or advancing their French language skills can enroll in French 101, French 102, and French 201.
Patto holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business from the Institut Universitaire de Technologie Le Havre, a Bachelor of Arts in Economics, a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and a Master of Business Administration from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Indiana, and a Master of Arts in French and Applied Linguistics and English as a Second Language from San Diego State University.