World Languages

10 Good Reasons for Studying French at Mt. SAC

1. The French textbook for the first three semesters is FREE. It comes with a free, downloadable audio program, free websites with an integrated spoken dictionary and hundreds of links to other resources on the web useful for the study of French language and culture, and a free video program.
2. The Mt. SAC French Program has an outstanding reputation for excellence and completeness. Professor Barbara Vigano, the coordinator of the French Program, was voted “Educator of Distinction” in 2006 by the Student Association and “Outstanding Faculty” in 2007 by the Faculty Senate.
3. The Mt. SAC French Program includes the following courses:
   • 7 classes of first semester (French 1)
   • 2 or 3 classes of second semester (French 2)
   • One class of intermediate level French 3 taught entirely in French
   • One combined class of Conversational French (French 52, 53 and 54) taught entirely in French
   • One combined class of French 4, 5, and 6 (intermediate and advanced levels) taught entirely in French
   • One general ed course (taught in English and open to ALL students) of “French Culture through Cinema”. The topic of this course changes from semester to semester.
4. The Mt. SAC French Program includes extra-curricular activities and benefits:
   • The French Club organizes outings to museums, French restaurants, picknicks and games of “pétanque” at the park and a Christmas dinner at an elegant French restaurant attended each year by about 100 students, family and friends.
   • The “Table française” is a relaxed way to eat your lunch while speaking French with friends.
   • Every year one outstanding French student who continues studying French at a four-year institution receives the Vigano French Scholarship in the amount of $500.00.
   • Every year several outstanding French students are nominated for the “Student of Distinction” award. Nearly every year an outstanding French student is one of only 5 recipients of the “Student of Distinction” award.
5. French is the native language of some 200 million people and is the second language of millions more. In Europe, it is spoken in France, Belgium, Switzerland and Luxembourg. In the Americas, it is an official language of Canada and spoken in the Carribbean.
6. French fashion designers, artists, writers, musicians, chefs and filmmakers have had a wide influence in the United States and the rest of the world. Who hasn't heard of Christian Dior, Chanel, and Pierre Cardin? Impressionist painters like Monet, musicians like Ravel and Boulez, novelists like Flaubert and Camus have had an influence on world culture. Michel Foucault was a founder of postmodernism.
7. French is a language of tourism. Paris is the third most visited international city by Americans. France is the second most visited country in the world, and Quebec offers a taste of Europe in North America.
8. French is a language of business. Today, American companies have over 2,000 subsidiaries in France, and French companies have over 600 subsidiaries in the United States. Major corporations with headquarters or subsidiaries in the United States and France include Du Pont, Hewlett-Packard, Xerox, Apple Computer, Michelin, Renault, Bic and many more.
9. French is a key language in the European Union of twenty-seven nations, the world's largest economic entity, with a population of 350 million and a gross national product larger than the United States.
10. French is the language of the well educated in parts of Southeast Asia, North Africa and much of Western and Central Africa. Being able to speak French is an asset for anyone interested in working in international organizations such as the Peace Corps.