Spring 2025

French Foundations Course:

Jan. 7 – April 24, 2025 | Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:10 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. EDT (9:10 a.m. -10:10 a.m. Central Time) | on Zoom

Teacher: Laura Godlaski, M.A. French & Francophone Studies (University of Notre Dame); please learn more about me here.

Access the complete class calendar here or in the drop-down menu above.

Please contact me to receive the full course details & policies sheet.  I will also include a registration form to help me get to know your child, and a unique and secure link to submit payment via Stripe, should you decide to enroll.

I will be hosting a virtual open house (brief info session plus Q&A) on Monday evening, Nov. 18, at 8:00pm EDT / 7:00PM Central Time. To RSVP please visit the contact page. A Zoom link will be sent to the email address you provide.  I hope to see you there! – Laura

 

The amazing benefits of learning French:

Academics:

It is estimated that around 60% of our English vocabulary  comes from Latin — however, those Latin words came down to us through French (due to the Norman Conquest of Great Britain, all the way back in 1066!) … which is why words in English are often significantly different from their Latin counterparts.  Learning French is therefore an excellent way to improve English vocabulary, which is helpful for everything from reading comprehension, to writing, to increasing SAT scores.

Career prospects:

France has the seventh-strongest economy in the world, despite its small population and size

France is also among the top five foreign sources of employment in 45 U.S. states and among the top three in 24 states

French-affiliated companies created more than 100,000 jobs in the U.S. in a five-year period (2017 – 2021, most recent data)

In 2020, U.S. employees in French-affiliated companies earned, on average, $73,300 —  almost $20,000 above the US average wage

• Sources for the above: https://franceintheus.org/IMG/pdf/2022_Economic_Report.pdf ,
• https://france-amerique.com/a-french-company-in-every-u-s-state/ ,
• https://dsmlexecutivesearch.com/an-executive-search-firms-perspective-on-navigating-the-business-dynamics-between-france-and-the-us/#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20France%20in,R%26D%20investments%20within%20the%20US

Culture:

Philosophy, literature, film, cuisine, lifestyle, ground-breaking movements in the arts (particularly painting!) … French culture has contributed significantly to the arts and thought in much of the Western world and beyond, in ways both obvious and subtle.  Students taking French learn first-hand about these sources and influences!

Worldwide Versatility:

Did you know that French is the ONLY language that has official language status on all five continents?   It is an official language in 29 countries across the world!  French is the procedural language for the EU (European Union), the only language used for deliberations at the Court of Justice for the EU, and one of the two official languages of NATO (English is the other).