Francophone Fairfield

As much as I love it, and consider it my home, Fairfield has never really struck me as even remotely exotic. So I was surprised to find that it is home to so many French-run businesses that there is actually a club for native French speakers. If, like me, you once spoke French and would now like to polish it up, one of our French residents has the answer.

She is Sylvie Lobsenz, and she’s determined to spread the French word among us. To that end she runs classes for all ages, starting with toddlers and ending with...well, you can be any age.

In fact, I take a regular weekly conversation class with Sylvie, and not only am I improving my French, but I’m learning about French painters, medical breakthroughs, and cuisine. That’s because we read articles in French and then discuss them. Our members include Jeanne, who’s just returned from a truffle hunting vacation in Provence, Elaine, an elegant redhead who travels to France once or twice a year, and Larry, whose wife is French. Maddie and I haven’t been to France for years, but thanks to Sylvie, we can pretend we’re in France once a week. For details, or to sign up, click here.

Originally from Perpignan, Sylvie arrived here in the United States in 1993, and it was romance that brought her here. I understand this completely, since the reason I live here is because I, too, married an American. Unfortunately, no one want to learn British English. But let us return to our sheep, as the French say. (Revenons a nos moutons means let’s get back to the subject. Free French lesson right there.)

She met her husband in Paris, where she worked for Dun and Bradstreet, and so did he. After sojourns in New Jersey and Sandy Hook, Sylvie ended up in Fairfield. By this time she had a three year old son, and being an enterprising person she looked around for something to do. She started by teaching French as a continuing education subject, and then found there was a demand for French classes for children.

And voila! Literakids was born. is Sylvie’s brainchild - French lessons for tots. The classes don’t feel like lessons to the children, who play, draw, learn songs and pick up French the way French children do, by imitating and repeating.  These classes have proved so successful that they’re now available at the Pequot Library in Southport, and the Fairfield Library is thinking of starting them soon.

You can find the Literakids page on Facebook, or call Sylvie Lobsenz at 203-241-1522.