Why Join AATF?
Welcome to the American Association of Teachers of French! We hope you will decide to join us. You may, in fact, have wondered if joining your professional organization is worth it. Here are a few reasons why your membership in AATF is important.
Unite with other French teachers.
Your membership allows AATF
officers to be your voice nationally and regionally.
It gives your own voice more weight as you promote French locally.
Take advantage of professional
development opportunities. The AATF and its
Commissions
organize workshops, seminars, and an
annual
convention where issues of concern to French teachers are paramount.
Perfect your French,
learn
how to use the Web in class more effectively, find out how to start
an AP French program, or gain knowledge to influence standards development
in your school or state at these meetings.
Keep abreast of the latest
trends in French literature, culture, and pedagogy. The AATF
National
Bulletin and the award-winning
French
Review are included in your
membership dues.
Read articles by your colleagues, and publish your own work in these widely
disseminated periodicals.
Benefit from the work of the
AATF
Commissions. Formed to give special attention to topics of concern
to the French-teaching profession, they work year-round developing new
projects and materials to help teachers, participating in national forums
where they represent the interests of French, and collaborating with other
language organizations. The Commissions are comprised of specialists,
teachers in the trenches, and interested colleagues working toward a common
goal. The Commissions deal with Telematics and New Technologies,
FLES*, Student Standards, Teacher Standards,
Cultural
Competence, Business
French, Promotion of French, Articulation, Elementary Schools,
Middle
Schools, Community Colleges, Colleges and Universities, and
Advocacy.
Promote
French whenever and wherever you can. The AATF has developed
materials
and flyers for promoting French study, and their work to help teachers
build their programs continues. We also sponsor
National
French Week (November 5-11, 2007 and 2008), an annual celebration of the French
language and its many cultures where we ask teachers to take French out
of the classroom and into the school and community.
Meet other teachers and share
ideas. Local chapter meetings, regional
workshops, and the annual
national
convention give you the opportunity to learn from and share with your
colleagues.
Compete for
AATF
awards and scholarship opportunities. Apply for a
Summer
Scholarship or submit a proposal for an
AATF
Small Grant Award. Nominate an outstanding student for the
AATF
Outstanding High School Senior in French Award. Learn about additional scholarship possibilities
offered by other organizations in the AATF National Bulletin.
Enroll your students in the
National
French Contest. Le Grand Concours motivates them to study French
and allows them to show what they know and win awards while doing so.
At the same time, form a chapter of the
Société
Honoraire de Français.
Take advantage of the
many other services the AATF offers.
The Placement
Bureau and the
Materials
Center.
Attend the annual
convention. The AATF organizes a yearly conference where you
can meet colleagues, hear speakers of note such as authors Azouz Begag, Polly Platt, Antonine Maillet and Roch Carrier or Margie Sudre, former Ministre de la
Francophonie. Submit a proposal to present your own work. The
convention is held periodically in a French-speaking country. Recent
foreign sites have included Strasbourg, Québec City, Lyon, Montreal,
Paris, and Martinique.
The 2008 convention will be July 16-19,
2008 in Liège, Belgium, followed by San Jose,
CA (2009), Philadelphia (2010), and Montreal (2011)!
Take a stand! By joining the AATF you have demonstrated your professional commitment, shown a willingness to link up with other teachers all over the country, and made a statement that the French-teaching profession continues to be a vital, growing force to be reckoned with. Our association addresses issues of concern specific to French teachers.
Now that you have taken the step to join the AATF, make sure your colleagues do, too. Please share this information with them and encourage them to get involved.
For more information, contact AATF National Headquarters, Mailcode 4510,
Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL 62901; Fax: 618-453-5733;
Tel: 618-453-5731; E-mail:
aatf@frenchteachers.org