Student Information

Why study French?

Studying a foreign language has many benefits, from improving your communication skills--both written and oral, to opening you up to a wider variety of career opportunities, to improving your quality of life and keeping your brain young as you age.  But why should you study French in particular?

No matter where you go in the world, you have a good chance of running into someone who speaks French. English and French are the only two global languages, with French being spoken by about 128 million native speakers in 33 countries, on 5 out of 7 continents (6, if you count the research station on Antarctica!).  French is also the most widely taught foreign language after English, with 100-110 million students of all ages throughout the world. 

Most graduate schools require knowledge of at least one foreign language. In the humanities, the social sciences and medicine--among other fields--many important writings have come from France.  Students and researchers who know French have access to this information before it is translated into English, and some texts are never translated.  French is also the second-most-used language on the internet, making it extremely useful for research (and web surfing!).

France is an innovator and leader in many fields, such as technology (including the TGV, the world’s fastest train; the Ariane rocket, used to launch most commercial satellites; and the smart chip), high energy physics, medical research (the AIDS virus was first discovered by French doctors), humanitarian aid (Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders), and telecommunications (Fiber optics were invented in France).

French is an official language of dozens of international organizations, including the European Union, UNESCO, NATO, the Red Cross, the Olympic Games, the United Nations, Interpol, Amnesty International, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

A working knowledge of French will be an advantage to you in your pursuit of a career in international business, tourism and hospitality, the diplomatic service, teaching, translating or interpreting, or work with French-speaking research institutes and international agencies, as well as a valuable adjunct to any profession. In a recent (2007) listing of international jobs distributed by the US State Department, 125 required or preferred French, 31 Spanish, 25 a non-specified UN language (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian or Spanish), 10 Portuguese, 7 Arabic, 4 Russian, and 2 German*.

Bilingual Canada is the top trading partner of the United States: 71% of our exports go to Canada, and 76% of theirs come to us.  Montreal is the second-largest French-speaking city in the world, and products sold in the province of Québec must be labeled in French. France is also one of our most important trading partners, with more than 1,200 French companies having subsidiaries in the United States.

Knowing French can also add to your enjoyment of leisure time pursuits, such as travel (France is the number-one tourist destination, and French-speaking Canada is a near neighbor), reading, listening to music, and enjoying films (France is the second-largest producer of films).

And speaking of films, if you can speak French, you could strike up a conversation with a celebrity who also speaks it, such as Angelina Jolie, Brooke Shields, Chloë Sevigny, Elton John, Gwyneth Paltrow, Helena Bonham Carter, Jodie Foster, John Malkovich, Johnny Depp, Kylie Minogue, Lauren Hutton, Leelee Sobieski, Lisa Kudrow, Madonna, Meryl Streep, Mick Jagger, Morgan Freeman, Natalie Portman, Orlando Bloom, Robert De Niro, Robin Williams, Shania Twain, Shannen Doherty, Sigourney Weaver, Sting, William Shatner, Uma Thurman…

References (and for more information):
*Richard Shryock http://www.fll.vt.edu/French/whyfrench.html
http://www.utm.edu/staff/globeg/profren
http://french.about.com/

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FLF 3000 (Phonetics)