First Place - Middle School

When a child falls, you give out your hand to help him or her up. If a neighbor needs a hand, you gladly help him. Everyday people reach out to somebody or something. No matter how tiny the deed may be, it makes a difference.

One person can change the world. By learning French, you have the opportunity to touch someone's

First Place - Middle School Poster

life. French has a way of getting inside people and touching their hearts. French is what gets inside you and by giving it to others, you feel joyous in having shared the language.

Many people worldwide speak the language. If you choose to learn French, you will be able to communicate with all of the other people who speak it too. This gives you the opportunity to help others maybe away from where you live and reach out to them.

The French culture is very different from ours here in the United States. The culture in France is very organized and the people there are friendly and take the time to listen to others instead of always being on the go. If you are exposed to the culture by taking and understanding the language, the information can help you to be introduced to many new experiences and people.

So by taking French and learning about the culture, you will have touched lives and you will have reached out to the world and given it what you have to offer.

Kimberly B. (IL)
Grade 8

Second Place - Middle School

Parlez-vous francais? When you hear this expression you, immediately think of Paris with its tree lined boulevards, its sidewalk cafes, the Louvre Museum, the Arc de Triomphe, a stroll along the Seine River and of course the Eiffel Tower. These and many other things have made Paris one of the most interesting cities and France one of the most beautiful countries. When you study the French language you are reaching out to the world. It is the world of beautiful things.

The influence of French has been felt everywhere. Even in our own country we have boulevards and cafes. French culture and beauty can be seen in our buildings, our clothes, our food and our speech. When we go into a restaurant we ask for a menu from which we order an entree. Did you ever notice how many of these words taken from the French in the English language refer to pleasant things in life? When we study the French language we are reaching out to the world of culture.

A knowledge of French is not only of practical value but it can open the door to a better and deeper understanding of the French people, their culture, their art, their literature, science, and their way of life. Studying French will provide you with pleasure for the rest of your life. You are reaching out to the world by learning French.

Michel D. (NJ)
Grade 8

Honorable Mention - Middle School

In this day and age there are so many reasons to learn French. What follows in this essay are some of the reasons people allover the world make the decision to learn French.

A few weeks ago we were all sitting at home watching the Olympics, and you must have noticed that before the announcers said anything in English, they first said everything in French. It was a Frenchman, Coubertin, who brought back the Olympics around the turn of the last century, so to honor him, and France, French is used throughout the Olympic games.

Being an international language, French is the language of the American passport. Imagine that! Our passport is bilingual. I cannot imagine this world without the contributions of so many French artists, scientists, composers and explorers. The French have helped shape America, and the rest of the world, in so many ways.

When you know French, the sky is the limit. It looks good on a job application and a resume if you know French. Another wonderful reason to learn French is because French is the language of love. It is every girl's dream to travel to Paris, meet a man, and have him whisper sweet French words in her ear! It sure would help if you understood French!

These are just some of the many reasons people worldwide want to learn French.

Carolyn D. (TX)
Grade 8

First Place - High School

Today, society is becoming increasingly interdependent. With no one single language as a dominant medium of communication throughout the world, being monolingual in any language presents a clear disadvantage. A knowledge of

First Place - High School Poster

In order to reach out to a global economy, one would be wise to study French. French is spoken on every habitable continent. Millions of global financial transactions are conducted in French. In the United States alone, there are over 1,200 French companies' subsidiaries. Perhaps the most famous example is Michelin North America in Greenville, SC. The European Union recognizes French as an official language. Clearly, a mastery of French would yield a competitive edge in the global marketplace.

To be able to reach out to the world, one must be able to understand and to appreciate other people and other nations. Since French is a main language for 125 million people around the world in 40 countries, the ability to communicate in French would provide the medium to appreciate these people. If one decides to visit one of these 40 countries, he would have a more thorough experience with knowledge of French. One could even develop international pen pal relationships with French speakers. Only by understanding someone can a person expect to appreciate or to relate to her.

Learning French grants access to a world of culture. France is notable for international films. Everyone knows about the renowned annual. Cannes International Film Festival. Many art movements such as Impressionism are rooted in France. France is also literarily and academically prolific. Some of the world's greatest writers and thinkers, such as Victor Hugo, Rene Descartes, Albert Camus, Moliere, and Jean-Paul Sartre, were French.

French provides the tools to reach out to the financial world, the people of the world, and a world of culture. These tools are tremendous assets in modern society.

Jason W. (SC)
Grade 12

Humans must work together to insure survival. According to Professor Martin Nowak of the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, communication is key to this survival. Unlike other animals, humans developed syntactic communication to express complex ideas necessary to survival. As other animals were evolving physical attributes needed for survival in their environments, the. human race was developing the mental capacity to communicate complex ideas. Even in today's highly industrial world, communication and cooperation are necessary for survival. There are serious problems in several Third World francophone countries that are not getting attention because of a lack of French speaking people willing to reach out and make a difference.

Haiti, a francophone country, is currently the poorest country in the world. In French-speaking African countries thousands are dying daily from malnutrition and disease. These countries are crying out for help. In order to help these ailing countries; however, we must first completely understand the problems they face. To understand these problems and create working solutions one must first know French. Helping these suffering people would be impossible unless one had a full mastery of the language. Without knowledge of French, how would one talk to the people of the countries to figure out their needs? Even after the problem is discovered it would be impossible to create a working solution and aid programs without being able to converse fluently in French.

These people need our help, but in order to help them we first need to learn how to communicate with them.

Prehistoric humans had to develop ways to communicate complex ideas because it was necessary to their survival. However, even in today's industrial world communication is still necessary to survival. Thousands of people around the world are suffering, but we cannot help them unless we first learn to communicate with them. We must converse in their language before we can craft solutions. Learning French is the first step to helping people in impoverished francophone countries allover the world. It is time to "reach out to the world and learn French."

Sarah N. (CA)
12th Grade

French is a language and culture shared not only by the fifty-five million people of European France, but by many millions more in adjoining Belgium, Luxembourg, and Switzerland, the Canadian province of Quebec, several Caribbean Islands, French possessions in the Atlantic and Pacific, and former French colonies in South America, Asia, and Africa. More people speak such languages as Chinese, English, Russian, or Spanish than speak French. However, French is so widely spoken that it ranks with English as an international language. French is spoken by more than ninety million people as their mother tongue, and millions of others use it as a second language. It has served for hundreds of years as the language of diplomats. Its clear style and regular syntax make it very suitable for diplomatic, legal, business use, and for literature.

As one can see, the French language is an important tool in bringing this world together. Peace is obtained through understanding. Knowing the language and culture of another society brings one closer to that particular society. One often hates because of ignorance; history has proved this many times. Especially since French is such a prevalent language throughout our world, learning the French language and its culture is very helpful. In addition, there are many French speaking countries, such as the ones in Africa, that are in need of help from more developed countries such as the United States. Knowing the French language could be a great link in helping these countries out of their problem. Furthermore, thanks to modern technology, places half way around the world are at our fingertips. We can no longer function in just one society; we depend on other countries to survive. French, being the most widely spoken language, is a good language to learn as the people of this world come together to work as a team.

Christina H. (PA)
Grade 10