Experience a great adventure …
French Studies will open up opportunities to explore exotic places, to make new connections, and will lead to varied professional settings with strong social dimensions in which you can use your skills. You will find the challenges and rewards of becoming one with a vibrant culture. You will experience the excitement of being enriched by a deep understanding of the ways and attitudes of other peoples.
French will take on meaning to you because it is a key to a highly diverse group of 55 countries and many more regional cultures known as "La Francophonie". From the South Pacific region to Latin America, in Africa, the Caribbean islands and south Western Europe, French speakers make up a large linguistic group which we, as members of an increasingly global community, need to be a part of. French is the official language in 41 countries, and the second most frequently taught foreign language in the world after English. French and English are the two only working languages of NATO, UNESCO, the IOC, and the United Nations. In Canada, French is, with English, one the country's two official languages; Québec, Acadia, Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan are the most important areas where French is spoken.
Broaden your Horizons
French Studies will not only equip you to deal with the richness of a multicultural world, but it will also provide you with the tools and the understanding required to communicate with more than 400 million French-speaking people on five continents who are different from us and yet just like us. The French programmes at UTM aim to move language study beyond the mechanics of knowing about Canada's other language and its European roots, to an affirmation of the value of human interaction. French plays a vital role in our interactive global universe.
After High School
University French, with its heightened emphasis on awareness of standard usage and accurate expression, is a natural continuation of the work undertaken in high school. The multi-cultural nature of the student body at UTM invites exposure to different varieties of French, a nice window to "La Francophonie". French is used in classes as a vehicle to study culture, but is also studied for its own value. Regardless of your initial level of fluency, you will learn how to become a proficient language learner and apply strategies for effective communication. You will also be encouraged to use critical judgment and seize opportunities for personal expression.
Our Approach
French Studies offers Minor, Major and Specialist programmes in the following areas: French Literature and Linguistics, Language Teaching and Learning, French and Italian Language Teaching and Learning, and Functional French. These programmes are carefully designed to fit a wide variety of needs, ranging from the informal language learner to the intending language specialist.
French Studies staff put their skills to good use through small classes, personal guidance and by being available. The Department of French at UTM is also a leader in the use of educational technology: the use of computer technology (computer-assisted language teaching) is offered as extra practice and unlimited individualized feed-back/interaction. Our learning Lab facility includes a state-of-the-art software and multimedia library. Finally, we promote bimodal language learning in combining multimedia and communicative methods.
Your career opportunities and options
Beyond the heightening of a critical awareness of human diversity, French Studies lead to dynamic career opportunities such as interpreting, teaching, international trade, translation, hospitality and travel industries, sales, the providing of services, technical writing, government, foreign affairs, consultation, and graduate teaching and research. The ability to communicate in a foreign language as important as French is a definite asset in Canada and elsewhere.
The French team at UTM (in collaboration with language faculty in Italian Studies) has added to the traditional Liberal-Arts streams of literary and linguistic study, a third stream in second-language teaching and learning for the benefit of students whose professional goal is focused on that area. While it is quite possible to begin the study of French at the most basic level at UTM, particularly for anyone seeking general proficiency as a valuable adjunct qualification, it is highly recommended that students wishing to pursue French Studies as a primary objective complete the equivalent of OAC French prior to reaching the university.
A dynamic team of teachers and mentors to guide you
French Studies at UTM offer more than a set of skills and a circumscribed knowledge base. They connect a discipline to a world in which critical awareness, dialogue, information exchange and communication are prerequisites for success. While active in their individual fields of research, French faculty at UTM are also leaders in their collaborative development of student-centered teaching and in the incorporation of innovative methods and tools in the undergraduate programmes.
We participate in interdisciplinary teaching with other Humanities departments. We develop computer-based courseware. Backed by excellent multimedia facilities, we are active in seeking links with the secondary school systems of the region for cooperative teaching opportunities, and we are noted for the strong emphasis we place on serving our students well.
Étudiants Francophones UTM (ÉFUTM)
ÉFUTM organizes and sponsors a variety of activities: plays, film showings, group discussions. They also hold weekly conversation hours (heures de conversation) to encourage discussions on current events and various topics. The session is open to students in all levels of French (FSL and FRE).
Scholarships and Awards
David Trott French Prize is awarded annually to an outstanding Year 2 student whose programme has included a minimum of 2.0 full courses in French at UTM
The Howard Root Memorial Award is awarded annually to the top French student who is enrolled in the Functional French Minor at UTM and who has completed FSL 205-206.
The Anne Ritchie Award is to be awarded to the student with the highest standing in a 300/400 level French Literature/French Linguistics/French Language Teaching and Learning course. Registration in at least 2 full course equivalents in French in the same session is required. The student should be in good standing academically.
Language Resource Centre
Students in French at UTM wishing to improve their language competence in the oral skills have access to a state-of-the-art audio-lingual laboratory and, for the written skills, to a variety of computerized aids.