Top Ten Reasons to Study French With French, you can. . .
Communicate with French speakers around the world With French, you can. . .
French is spoken by over 200 million people on 5 continents as a first or second language. • French is the only language with English taught as a foreign language in every country. • French has the status of official language in 32 countries and governments world-wide.
About 2 million people in the US speak French or French Creole in the home. • 9.6 million people speak French in Canada, where French is one of two official languages. • French is among the top five languages in terms of number of web pages used on the Internet.
Six million people in America speak French fluently as a second or foreign language. (Some estimate this number to be as high as 11 million people.) • New York, California, Texas, and Florida have joined Louisiana, Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire as the main centers of French in the US.
Boost your academic skills With French, you can. . .
The richest source of vocabulary in English actually derives, not directly from Latin, but from French. • French has been valued for its words with precise definitions. It was this reason that the founding member countries of the United Nations found it useful to work both in English and in French.
Since at least one out of three words in English has been borrowed from French, students studying French will improve their scores on comprehension of reading texts and vocabulary on standardized tests, such as SAT, ACT, GRE, and LSAT.
Knowing French enriches language usage in English in many domains, e.g., legal, administrative, political, architectural, artistic, culinary, aeronautical, and engineering terms.
Knowledge of French, with its imbedded Cartesian logic, can improve creative and critical thinking and problem solving in English speakers. It also stimulates brain function and memory.
Become proficient more quickly than with most world languages With French, you can. . .
French is among the languages that require the least amount of instructional hours in order for an English speaker to reach a high level of speaking proficiency, according to the Defense Language Institute.
It requires approximately 720 hours (5 contact hours a day) for a mature learner to reach an advanced level of speaking proficiency in French; whereas, after 1,000 hours a student of Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean may only reach a low level of speaking proficiency.
Having studied French, the learner can more easily develop proficiency in other languages. • French is a natural choice for speakers of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese because of their common roots in the Latin language.
Increase options for undergraduate and graduate studies With French, you can. . .
Many students of French opt to complement or complete their studies in a variety of disciplines in a French-speaking country.
Connect your future to cutting-edge fields in science and technology With French, you can. . .
French-speaking countries have been at the forefront in field such as, HIV virus research, medical genetics (the Human Genome Project), and reconstructive surgery.
French-speaking countries are on the cutting edge of scientific discoveries and technological innovations. These include: • microchips • video gaming • commercial satellites
nanotechnology • nuclear energy • aerospace technology • voice compression • high-speed rail services • fiber optics
Researchers, particularly in science, technology, medicine, and business, have an edge on their competitors when they can read studies in the original language, i.e., French, without having to wait for a translation. Not all research is translated into English.
Most graduate schools require knowledge of at least one foreign language, and French is a common choice for many fields of study.
The Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie networks 630 French-language universities and more than 350 French faculties worldwide.
Invest in your career With French, you can. . .
French speakers are in demand in banking and finance, international market analysis, diplomacy, hotel management, international trade, journalism and media, aviation, national security, education, translation and interpretation, health care, customer service, tourism, and law enforcement.
Knowing French can help one gain a valuable understanding of cultural and business practices in other places. • Knowing French can be a plus in getting a job or advancing in one’s field.
French can provide opportunities for networking globally. • Well-known French-owned companies in the US include Michelin, L’Oréal, BIC, Atari, Louis Dreyfus Property Group, and Air Liquide.
French is an official language of our largest bilateral trading partner, Canada. Quebec alone is the 6th largest trading partner of the US.
The US is the leading investor in France. Over 3,700 American companies operate in France. • France is the second largest investor in the US.
Among foreign countries doing business in the US, France employs the 3rd largest number of Americans. • France is the world’s 8th largest economy and Europe’s 2nd largest market.
Enjoy special leisure-time activities With French, you can. . .
In the US, half of the foreign films watched and 30% of the foreign books published are in French.
French and Quebec films have experienced international recognition and are shown in the US. French film production (500 films a year) ranks number 2 in the world.
French is always an official language used to announce events and winners at the Olympic Games.
Sports enthusiasts can follow their favorite events and athletes in a number of sports popular in the French-speaking world.
For example: • cycling in the Tour de France and Paris-Brest-Paris • tennis in the French Open • horseracing at Longchamps • motorcycle racing • Formula 1 automobile racing
24 Heures du Mans • Monaco’s Grand Prix • off-road racing in the Rallye Le Dakar • baseball and hockey matches against Canadian teams
Benefit more from travel experiences With French, you can. . .
French is an influential language spoken and understood in this hemisphere. Over 33 million people in the Americas know French. Some destinations include Quebec, New Brunswick, St. Pierre and Miquelon, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Haiti, St. Martin, French Guyana, Maine, and Louisiana.
Every continent offers French-speaking destinations, which are enjoyed more when the traveler can interact with the local residents in their language.
Most major American cities, including New York, Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Houston, have an active French community, which organizes numerous Francophone and Francophile programs and events.
The largest French cultural network, the Federation of the Alliances Françaises, has 130 active chapters in the US and Puerto Rico. (There are over 1,135 chapters found in 138 countries around the world.)
France is the most visited country in the world, with 75 million tourists each year.
Enrich your appreciation of influential cultural contributions of the French-speaking world With French, you can. . .
The impact on literature, philosophy, and the arts (music, painting, sculpture, film, photography, theatre, dance, cuisine, fashion, and architecture) is particularly noteworthy. A small sample includes:
Literature: Albert Camus (France), Antonine Maillet (New Brunswick), Aimé Césaire (Martinique), Jean-Marie Le Clézio (France) • Comics: Tintin (Hergé, Belgium), Astérix (René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, France)
Philosophy: Jean-Paul Sartre (France), Simone de Beauvoir (France), Ferdinand de Saussure (Switzerland); Michel Foucault (France), Jacques Derrida (Algeria/France)