Innovation in Language Learning

Despite the fact that French, and languages in general, has received a decreasing interest among college students in the past 50 years (MLA, 2016), the French language, not only brings personal and leisurely gratification, but it has a definite professional role in the world. According to a recent study from ACTFL and their Lead with languages project (2019), French is the third more sought language by professionals in the United States. Not disregarding the translation careers, French is sought in jobs linked to business, education, entertainment, industries (aerospatiale, pharmaceutical, restaurant, chemical, etc), art, bookstores, to name a few. Our French students ought to know that their multiple professional interests can be matched with their passion for the language they chose. During this presentation, a description of this requirement senior seminar will be laid out to demonstrate how a cornerstone course was developed to bring success to students, combining their multiple career interests while focusing on French, Francophone cultures and literature. The activities, events, assignments, and professional visits were all developed to prepare students for the next chapter of their life: a job that can involve French and likely another professional area. The comments from students’ course evaluation will conclude the chapter to share the impact the course will have had on them.

References

[1] ACTFL (2019). Making languages our business: Addressing foreign language demand among US employers. https://www.leadwithlanguages.org/report.
[2] Looney, D. and Lusin, N. (2016). Enrollments in Languages other than English in United States institutions of high education, summer 2016 and fall 2016: Preliminary report. Modern Language Association.