Want to learn to speak French like a native?
Then study at Adrian College with our highly qualified and experienced faculty. Professors Beatrice Mulala and Marianna Staples both have native-speaker fluency and first-hand knowledge of francophone cultures, as a result of studies and travel in France and other French-speaking countries on three continents.
Their teaching methods reflect the best practices in foreign language pedagogy with emphasis on the communicative goals of language learning. Small classes help create a comfortable atmosphere in which you will very quickly feel free to express yourself in French. You will also be provided opportunities to use French outside the classroom, such as activities organized by the French Club or social occasions when the faculty invite students to their homes to enjoy conversation and “la bonne cuisine”.
To help achieve fluency in the language and experience a francophone culture first-hand, all French majors are required to spend a semester in France, usually arranged through Central College, or in Quebec, or other French-speaking area, and minors are strongly encouraged to do the same. The semester abroad will earn you at least 14 credit hours that will count toward the required total of 36 hours beyond the 200-level for a major, or 22 for a minor. Another opportunity you may choose to immerse yourself in French culture is to teach English conversation in France through a teaching assistantship from the French Ministry of Education.
The mission of the French program is to prepare you to be an enlightened citizen of the world by raising your awareness of other cultures. Moreover, it seeks to make you competitive in a global economy where knowledge of languages other than English is required. Some examples of how Adrian graduates have used French in their careers include working with Wacker Chemical Corporation on their Canadian exporting program, launching computer classes in Haiti, working in food distribution for McDonald’s in France, and teaching French in high school. Indeed, two of our French teaching education majors from the last fifteen years have been voted outstanding teacher of the year in their high schools in Ohio and Florida.
To acknowledge your hard work and celebrate your achievements in the study of French, you will be invited to join Pi Delta Phi, the French national honor society. Alpha Nu, the Adrian College chapter of the society, has been in existence since 1950, with new members qualifying every year, a testimony no doubt to the long tradition of excellence in the French program at Adrian.