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. Join our Facebook and Twitter communities.
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 4-10, 2010), 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.
Become an advocate for French. Consult the AATF Advocacy Depot as well as the French Language Advocacy Wiki for materials to support your efforts and effective strategies for preserving French programs at all leve.s
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
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.
Order French promotional and pedagogical materials. Consult our Materials Center page or order on-line.
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, Quebec City, Lyon, Montreal, Paris, Martinique, and Liege, Belgium. The 2011 will be July 6-9 in Montreal, followed by Chicago in 2012 (July 5-8).
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.
Membership Application to print or join on-line.
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
Created: November 12, 1999
Last update: August 10, 2010