French (BA)

Vision Statement

The French program at the University of Maine at Fort Kent (UMFK) envisions an environment that combines the study of the language, culture, and arts of the French-speaking world while celebrating the unique culture, language, and heritage of the St. John Valley.

Mission Statement

As an integral part of its parent institution, the French program is committed to a quality liberal arts education serving rural northern Maine, and beyond. Our curriculum emphasizes an appreciation of the Acadian and Franco-American heritage, culture and regional French language of the St. John Valley. Our mission is to provide our French majors with a broad view of the language, cultures, and arts of the French-speaking world.

Program Description/Goals

The prime objective of the French Program at UMFK is to help every student become skilled in using the French language in all types of communication. Over the course of study, students become proficient in the interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational communicative modes of the French language while gaining knowledge of the literature, culture, and arts of the French-speaking world. Students are especially encouraged to take advantage of our unique location, in a bilingual community, bordering French-speaking Canada, where the possibilities for authentic French communication are nearly endless.

Throughout their course of study, students have the opportunity to study French in perhaps the only truly French-English bilingual setting in the United States. They also are encouraged to study abroad for a semester, or a year, and to participate in the many French-language social activities on campus and in the community. Students also may take advantage of our partnership with the Université de Moncton Campus d’Edmundston located in Edmundston, New Brunswick, 20 miles away, where they can take courses in any program of study taught in French while receiving credit here at UMFK. In fulfillment of our mission, the French program will:

1. Prepare students of French as effective leaders in society through a solid liberal arts education;
2. Develop creative and innovative educational methodologies that serve a diverse student population;
3. Prepare students with an advanced proficiency in speaking, listening comprehension, reading, and writing of French;
4. Educate tomorrow’s foreign language advocates about the importance of learning a second language in an increasingly competitive global society;
5. Enrich the French and Franco-American cultural and educational life of the St. John Valley community; and
6. Provide opportunities for faculty to pursue scholarly endeavors such as teaching, service and research and develop, foster, and maintain collaborative partnerships with the community and other institutions.

Student Learning Outcomes

UMFK graduates of the French major will:

1. Develop an advanced proficiency in written communication of French; develop an understanding of the literature of the French-speaking world;
2. Describe the cultures and arts of the French-speaking world;
3. Research at least one area of French literature, culture, film, or pedagogy; and
4. Develop cultural curiosity and knowledge of francophone cultures through direct interaction with native French speakers.