
Neighbors | Jessica Harker.Ron Saffell taught the first of six classes in French 2 March 13 at the Poland library.

Neighbors | Jessica Harker.Ron Saffell taught a free second level French class for community members at Poland library March 13.

Neighbors | Jessica Harker.Community members gathered at the Poland library March 13 for the first of a six week French 2 class taught by Ron Saffell.
By JESSICA HARKER
The Poland library hosted the first French two class series beginning on March 13.
French teacher Ron Saffell organized the class, continuing from the French one classes that were offered at the library last September.
“We are working more on sustained interactions,” Saffell said. “We will be focusing on talking with people about getting help and asking for directions.”
The class will take place once per week for six weeks on Wednesdays, with each class adding on to the others.
The focus of the class will be on helping people with a basic understanding of French who would be interested in travel.
“It will all be travel vocabulary and survival French. We will be talking about cultural differences as well,” Saffell said.
The class is free to attend, and includes handouts with vocabulary and speaking advice.
“There are a lot of similarities between French and English, but there are also a lot of important differences,” Saffell said.
Along with teaching at Poland, Saffell also hosts an intermediate French class at St. Rose church in Girard.
“I have a lot of passion for the French language,” Saffell said. “I love that I get to teach it to others.”
For more information on upcoming French classes, visit the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County’s website at www.libraryvisit.org.