French (BA) Program Assessment

Mission

The mission of the French/Francophone program is to prepare our students to navigate successfully in French in a global, linguistic and cultural context, in France and in a French-speaking country. First, the French Program strives to teach students to speak, read, and write a language other than English and to use that language to apprehend and respond to the cultures appertaining to these languages. Our students are trained to identify, discuss, and analyze the foundations of the French and Francophone literatures and to attain a deeper understanding of different literary periods, their most representative works and their authors. Additionally, the program strives to make the students understand the historical development of one or more non-US societies, the historical evolution of the French language, its culture, and its society and establish a connection with today’s global societies. The French Program also aims to equip the students with the grammatical, linguistic, and cultural knowledge required for their professional careers through a variety of courses. Our students are introduced to an enriching, challenging intellectual and cultural life and are encouraged to spend a semester in France or a French speaking country through the Study Abroad Program to improve their linguistic, cultural and oral skills as well as their understanding and appreciation of the literature and civilization particular to French.