Advancing Arguments

The links here take you to sets of documents that will provide information about why studying French is valuable.  There are essays, maps, and testimonials to the value of French, as well as templates for flyers and presentations. Letters in Spanish help you reach out to the Spanish-speaking audience.

Reasons to Study French

 Documents to help you answer the question, "Why Study French?" 

You might distribute these "as is" or take arguments from them as you create your own customized documents to persuade others of the value of learning French.

Brochures

• Brochure--French, a Language of Choice (editable .doc)
• Brochure--French, a Language of Choice (pdf)

Talking Points: Documents providing details as to why French is important.

• Why Study French?
• 40 Surprising Facts about French

Flyers: One-page documents with reasons to study French.

• Flyer: With French YOU Can
• Flyer: Con el francés tu podrás
• Flyer: 10 Reasons to Study French
• Flyer: French Words in English Vocabulary list shows the influence of French on English

Presentations: These PowerPoint presentations can be customized if you wish.

• Presentation--Ten Reasons to Study French (Outline)
• Presentation--Ten Reasons to Study French (Full presentation)

Academic Essays

 Ideas to support promotion of and advocacy for French programs.

Click on these links to read the articles. What ideas are most compelling in your situation?

• The Ease and Challenges for an English Speaker Learning French
• French in Fashion
• The Study of Foreign Languages is Not a Zero-Sum Game
• Tango à Trois: Multilingual Transformation
• Which Language Should I Study and Why?

Testimonials

  Personal stories that can testify to the importance of your program

Personal stories provide compelling local support for your program. These testimonials can serve as examples: you'll want to collect your own. Ask your students and alums, their parents, community members and more to talk about why French is important to them.

    Short Phrases

• Testimonial: Sample Quotes from Students
• Testimonial: Sample Quotes from Parents
• Testimonial: Sample Quotes from Allies
• Testimonial: Sample Quotes from Other Sources

Personal Stories

• Testimonial: French, A Good Choice for High School and College (Using French to secure an internship and become multilingual)
• Testimonial: French, A Practical Language in Sports and Law (Using French in leisure and career)
• Testimonial: A More Profound World View (Life-altering experiences as a result of knowing French)
• Testimonial: Discovering Oneself and the World through French (Working in Paris because of French skills)
• Testimonial: Taking Environmental Management to Paris (Working in Paris because of ability to speak French)
• Testimonial: French Led to MBA and Life-long Friendships (French and Spanish help earn MBA, work in Spain)
• Testimonial: Multilingualism---Oh the Places You Will Go (Using French and Spanish in physical therapy)

Stories from Parents

• Testimonial: Parent Values French Exchange Program (Benefits of exchange program to entire family)
• Testimonial: French, An International Language (French as a bridge language to communicating with Chinese visitor)
• Testimonial: Family Shares Passion for French (French important in college and job applications as well as cuisine and fashion)
• Testimonial: French Exchange Stimulates Curiosity (Parent shares passion for French with children)

Making Spanish Speakers Trilingual (Native speaker of Spanish stresses career benefits of knowing both French and Spanish)

• Letter to Parent (in English) Encouraging Spanish Speaker to Learn French
• Letter to Parent (in Spanish) Encouraging Spanish Speaker to Learn French

Help Your Allies Create Testimonials (These documents can be used to create testimonials for your program)

• Testimonial Prompts (Provide this to help your allies express their support)
• Template: Release Form (Allows you to let allies know how their testimonials might be used)

Video Stories: The World Speaks French

 Video interviews with people who describe how learning French has impacted their lives and careers

Engaging testimonials of how individuals have seen the importance of French in their lives. Use some or all of the video clips.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyHs4GYIozQ&t=2s

French in the World and North America

 Statistics and information you can use to demonstrate the role of French worldwide

Maps and statistics showing where French is spoken throughout the world, as well as information on France-U.S. economic relations

Maps and lists of where French is spoken

• Map of the French-speaking world (a PDF map)
• Interactive online map of the French-speaking world (from Université Laval in Québec City)
• Flyer: Francophonie World Regions (lists world regions where French is spoken)
• Flyer: Countries with French as an Official Language
• U.S. Language Map data from the Modern Language Association (shows where different languages in addition to English are spoken in the U.S.)

Information from the Organisation internationale de la francophonie

• The French Language Worldwide (an overview with statistics and a video introduction)
• La langue française dans le monde: synthèse (a synthesis of the state of French around the world, in French; full PDF report here)
• Qui parle français dans le monde? (Click through to see statistics in all categories from Demography to Education to Business and Communication)
• Qui apprend le français dans le monde? (Click through to see statistics in all categories)
• Le français langue de communication et des affaires (Click through to see statistics in all categories)

Website of the Centre de la francophonie des Amériques based in Québec: Information about the French language and French-speaking cultures throughout the Americas

• Francophonie des Amériques

Business and Economic Relationships

• Yearly France-U.S. Economic Report (2025) (This report, produced by the French Embassy, gives statistics on the France-U.S. trade and economic relationship, with state-by-state statistics)
• Essay: Modern Quebec--Cutting-Edge Culture in French (by Nadeau & Barlow) (An essay that presents Quebec as a dynamic economic, scientific, and cultural force)
• Essay: Québec aujourd'hui--A la fine pointe du monde francophone (by Nadeau & Barlow)

Letters of Advocacy

Using arguments effectively to connect with decision-makers: these models can help

15 Arguments to Frame an Advocacy Letter

Advocacy Arguments and Models