Dr. Somayeh Kamranian is a sessional instructor with continuing status in French Language Arts in the Department of French, Hispanic, and Italian Studies at the University of British Columbia. She has been teaching the French language since 2005. Her passion for the French language began in childhood, inspired by exploring her grandfather’s library and discovering French writers and philosophers.

She received a scholarship from the French government to study French at CAVILAM – Alliance Française in Vichy, France. She was also awarded second prize in the Francophone writing contest organized by the French embassy during her undergraduate studies. She completed her undergraduate degree in French Studies and her first Master’s in French Literature in Iran. She then moved to Montpellier, in the south of France, to pursue her second Master’s degree and PhD in French literature, which allowed her to immerse herself in the rich cultural heritage of the region. During her time in France, she traveled to over 40 cities and villages and enjoyed brief stays in Paris and Bretagne for her research, appreciating the diversity of cultures, accents, and dialects across the country. Additionally, having family in the beautiful city of Montreal gave her the opportunity to experience the richness of Canadian Francophone cultures.

She has received extensive training in teaching French as a second language (FLE) and has a deep understanding of the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference). As a certified DELF/DALF examiner, she worked at the Institute of French Studies for Foreign Learners at Paul Valéry University in France in 2014.

Since 2015, Dr. Kamranian has been teaching French in the Department of French, Hispanic, and Italian Studies at the University of British Columbia. Furthermore, she created and taught third- and fourth-year French literature courses, as well as several language courses, as a limited-term lecturer and sessional instructor in the French Department at Simon Fraser University. Her professional experience also includes a period at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, where she developed a 300-level French language course and created zero-cost learning materials.

In addition, she also teaches non-credit courses in the Extended Learning Department at UBC, covering all levels, with a particular focus on intermediate and advanced levels. She supervises the final projects for the French certificate program and conducts three-week intensive summer courses specifically designed for BC French school teachers. She has a passion for French cuisine and pastry, organizing dessert and cooking workshops. In addition to her culinary interests, she writes poetry and creative works, and organizes poetry workshops for her students. A performance enthusiast, she also arranges acting workshops and incorporates plays into her classes.

Her classes are student-centered and task-based, with an emphasis on independent study and the flipped classroom model. She encourages her students to actively participate in group work and in-class oral interactions. She applauds students’ creativity and independent thinking, believing that learning cannot occur without making mistakes. She encourages students to speak and write without fear of errors. While she corrects mistakes, she does not penalize students for each one. Asking questions is central to her teaching pedagogy, and active participation plays a crucial role in her instructional style. She is trained in storytelling as an educator and creates storytelling activities to empower students to express themselves, share diverse cultures, build intercultural competency, and explore the richness of Francophone cultures. In celebration of our diverse identities and to promote inclusivity, she co-organized International Mother Language Day events at both UBC and Kwantlen Polytechnic University.

She is a specialist in 17th- and 18th-century French literature. Her Ph.D. thesis focuses on various aspects of mystical writing in the seventeenth century, particularly the works of John of St. Samson. She has also explored the philosophical theme of cosmopolitanism through several 18th-century texts. Additionally, she is captivated by the clarity of style exhibited by 17th-century writers and the free-spirited nature of the Enlightenment.

Therefore, she established a reading group at SFU and, at UBC, created an Open Educational Resource for reading with the help of her students to make literature more accessible. To discover “Let’s Read French books” click here: https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/letsreadfrenchbooks/

Courses taught:

UBC, Department of French, Hispanic and Italian Studies :

• Fren 302 Intermediate French II
• Fren 301 Intermediate French I
• FREN 202 Elementary French II
• FREN 201 Elementary French I
• FREN 102 Beginners’ French II
• FREN 101 Beginners’ French I
• FREN 122 Contemporary French Language and Literature I

SFU, French Department:

• FREN 476 Interdisciplinary Approaches in French Literature
• FREN 441 Topics in French Literature from the middle-ages to the Eighteenth Century
• FREN 344 Survey of French Literature after 1789
• FREN 345 Survey of French Literature from 1600 to 1789
• FREN 341 Survey of French Literature to 1600
• FREN 245 Introduction to Literary Studies
• FREN 211 Intermediate French II
• FREN 120 French for Beginners

KPU, Department of Language and Cultures

• FREN 3300/3301 Upper Intermediate French I & II
• FREN 1101 French for Beginners II
• FREN 1100 French for Beginners I

UBC, Extended Learning

• French Intermediate and Advanced
• French Three-week Summer Institute
• French Lower Intermediate
• French Beginners 2
• French Beginners 1

French Cultural Center – Vancouver

• French Intermediate I
• French Beginners III

Interests

Teaching

• French as a second language
• Common European Framework of Reference
• Storytelling as an educational tool
• Diversity and inclusion approach in teaching second languages
• Promising pedagogical practices
• Technology-assisted pedagogy and blended classroom
• Task-based language teaching

Literature & Culture

• French 18th century literature
• French 17th century literature
• Comparative literature
• Mystical poetry
• Cosmopolitanism
• Religious tolerance
• Intertextuality

Honours and Appreciations

• Leader in Open Learning, University of British Columbia, 2020.
• Appreciation toward the Zed Credit initiative (Zero Textbook Cost), Kwantlen Polytechnic University, 2018.

Funding and Grants

• Financial support, Centre for Community Engaged Learning, Co-organisation of the International Mother Language Day, UBC, 2022.
• OER Fund Rapid Innovation Grants, Co-applicant, Creating Open Educational resources: Let’s Read French Books, UBC, 2020.
• FAEAF Fund, Co-organisation of the International Mother Language Day, KPU, 2017.
• Mobility Grant of the University of Montpellier III, 2013.
• Mobility Grant of the University of Montpellier III,2012.
• Travel Grant, L’Institut de Recherche sur la Renaissance, l’âge Classique et les Lumières (IRCL), 2011.