Advancing Arguments
Information to help you make the case for your French program
Quick Start Advancing Arguments Cultivating Allies Taking Action Universities Links & Resources
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
- Brochure--French, a Language of Choice (editable .doc)
- Brochure--French, a Language of Choice (pdf)
- Why Study French?
- 40 Surprising Facts about 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
- Presentation--Ten Reasons to Study French (Outline)
- Presentation--Ten Reasons to Study French (Full presentation)
Academic Essays
Testimonials
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
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyHs4GYIozQ&t=2s
French in the World and North America
- 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 AmericasBusiness 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