French Program

French Program

French group

The French program at Hendrix reflects the diversity and richness of both France and the greater Francophone world.  Within our halls, students rapidly build linguistic fluency while furthering their understanding of the culture, history, philosophy and literature of a broad range of French-speaking countries.  

Le programme d’études de français à Hendrix reflète la diversité et la richesse culturelle de la France et des pays francophones. Dans nos classes, les étudiants apprennent rapidement à s’exprimer couramment en français en approfondissant leurs connaissances de la culture, de l’histoire, de la philosophie et de la littérature appartenant à un large éventail de pays francophones.

Outside of our classrooms, students have myriad opportunities to participate in co-curricular activities involving French immersion.  Some semesters students enjoy language retreats, crêpe-baking parties, first Friday French films, and cheese-tasting soirées, while other semesters students engage in activities such as pétanque-playing and Mardi gras mask-making.  Each activity allows students opportunities to build their base of French vocabulary while also developing cultural fluency.

En dehors de la salle de classe, les étudiants ont une myriade d’occasions de se plonger dans la langue française au travers d’activités complémentaires. Certains semestres, ils peuvent participer aux courts séjours d’immersion, aux soirées crêpes, aux films francophones et aux dégustations de fromages. Pendant d’autres semestres, ils ont l’opportunité de jouer à la pétanque et de décorer des masques pour Mardi gras. Chaque activité permet aux étudiants non seulement d’enrichir leur vocabulaire mais aussi leurs connaissances des différentes cultures du monde francophone.

Our department proudly offers a major and minor in French as we allow students the chance to join a close-knit community of French-speakers all focused on a single goal: achieving linguistic and cultural fluency.

Notre département est fier d’offrir aux étudiants une spécialisation et une sous-spécialisation en français. Notre communauté francophile très soudée n’aspire qu’à un seul but, celui d’atteindre une maitrise de la langue et de ses particularités culturelles. 

The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) and its Lead with Languages campaign, with the support of Pearson LLC and Language Testing International, commissioned Ipsos Public Affairs to conduct a survey of 1,200 U.S. employers, and the resulting 2019 report, Making Languages Our Business: Addressing Foreign Language Demand Among U.S. Employersindicates an urgent and growing demand for language skills in the workplace.

Key findings include:

  • 9 out of 10 U.S. employers rely on employees with language skills other than English.
  • 56% say their foreign language demand will increase in the next 5 years.
  • 22% state a need in French language skills.
  • French is the third-most in-demand foreign language among U.S. employers and is cited by 17% of respondents as being in short supply.
  • 22,300 job offers published online in 2015 in the United States were looking for bilingual candidates in French.
  • French is especially demanded in the humanitarian sector, with three humanitarian organizations posting hundreds of jobs for French speakers in 2015.