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Cultivating Allies

Quick Start Advancing Arguments Cultivating Allies Taking Action Universities Links & Resources

The materials in this section of the French Language Advocacy Resource Bank can help teachers connect with parents, students, colleagues and staff, counselors, and more. It is important that French teachers keep the various constituencies informed about their program--its raison d’être, its activities, its strengths, its students’ accomplishments, etc.--in order to have their support throughout the year and to have them as allies in time of crisis.

Click on the links below to access the documents relevant to your situation.

Resources for Teachers: Developing Allies

1. Gathering and disseminating information  How can I find out who can be an ally for my program?

2. Advice from colleagues What do others say about program value, potential allies, and strategies I can use?
3. Information on French speakers in the world and on France-U.S. trade and economic relationships This can help teachers and allies with concrete statistics 
4. Video stories These interviews with people from different walks of life tell fascinating stories of how learning and speaking French has impacted them
Making Allies of Parents
Making connections with your students' families, both at the beginning of the school year and throughout the entire academic year, will tie them to your program and encourage support for their children who are learning a new language. Here are some strategies  you can use to inform parents and to solicit their participation. Using these strategies will help promote your program and will also make allies of parents, who can help advocate for your program if you need it.

Your program Let parents know what's happening in the French classroom, both in class and in extracurricular activities

  • Distribute an introduction letter with parent response form on the first day of class. Let parents know what you are going to accomplish during the year, and seek parental involvement.
  • Use the Parent Booklet at the beginning of the year to encourage parents to support their children as they study French. You can distribute the entire booklet or select materials to hand out at various times during the year. The Teacher's Guide gives an overview of what's in the Booklet.
Yourself as a teacher  Share your academic background and personal experiences with French culture and travel by means of a teacher biography.

The value of learning French Share selected information to help them understand why learning French is worthwhile: hand it out at Open House or use it in your newsletter

How French has impacted former students and others You might share testimonials from your former students or community members
With interactions with their student
  • Get parents involved by providing them with a way to compliment their student at home in French: this document gives a translation and pronunciation guide: 15 French Compliments
  • See how many English words that come from French your student can identify: Flyer: French Words in English
By contributing their expertise
  • The "Bonjour Parent Letter" above provides sample questions for inviting parents to contribute their time, experience, or expertise to facilitate class and club activities: Letter: Bonjour Parent
  • Students can interview their parent or other family members about their French-related experiences: Interview of Parent by Student
By sharing their experience with French Consider asking parents to provide testimonials, telling the story of their experience with French

With French-program activities  Ask students to show informational letters to their parents, to have parents read and then sign those letters, and finally to have the students return each informational activity letter to you. In this way, you are sure of publicizing your activities and inviting parents to get their children involved in participating in these activities.

  • National French Contest: Letter–National French Contest Invitation
  • La Société Honoraire de Français  Application for National French Honorary Society
  • La Grande Dictée
  • National French Week
  • French Club (N.B. Point out that involvement in school activities is important to election in the National Honor Society and will enhance a student’s college application. This will encourage more of your students to join French Club!)
  • French Exchange
  • Immersion Days and Weekends
  • French film night
  • International dinners
  • Field trips (i.e. museums, concerts, restaurants, plays, etc.)

Orientation for Incoming Students

Open House

  • Present a mini-lesson giving parents an opportunity to experience learning French.
  • Show the video: The World Speaks French – Video Stories or selected video clips.
  • Provide a newsletter, calendar of activities, or other welcoming handout for parents to take home.
  • Provide brochures on why the study of French is valuable, for example: Flyer: With French YOU Can… and Flyer: 10 Reasons To Study French. You can also procure similar brochures from the AATF national organization.
  • Bring French pastries, bonbons, pencils or other treats for students and families.

Parent-Teacher Conferences

  • Bring various realia, books, flags, etc., to decorate your conference space if you cannot meet with parents in your classroom.
  • Show the video: The World Speaks French – Video Stories.
  • Prepare an “assignment” for parents. For example: Ask them to post a copy of an irregular verb conjugation somewhere unexpected in their home for the student to see.
  • Encourage parents to become involved in an upcoming class project or activity. Have a sign-up sheet available. (It helps to be specific in what you need.)
  • Ask for parent e-mail addresses and keep them up-to-date with a mailing or newsletter.
  • If parents have ties to the Francophone community, find out if they would be willing to share their experiences with the class. (See the “Bonjour Letter” response sheet.)
  • Provide brochures on why the study of French is valuable. Several of these are located in this “Making Allies of Parents” section, for example With French, YOU Can... and 10 Reasons to Study French. You can also procure similar brochures from the AATF national organization: https://www.frenchteachers.org/.

End of Year

  • Distribute an End-of-Year Letter to summarize your students’ accomplishments and activities and to suggest French-related summer activities.
  • Distribute a Year-End Parent Survey from which you will get feedback.

General

  • Use your school’s online communications system to let all parents know what is taking place in class or what special activities are planned for the near future.
  • Invite parents to attend special classes, club activities, the French Honor Society induction ceremony, etc., by creating your own special invitations in both French and English. Conduct the ceremony in both languages also.
  • Maintain a class web page detailing assignments and providing parents and absent students with a means of staying abreast of what happens in French class.
  • Provide translations of any documents sent home for those parents unable to communicate well in English. (See example of Letter to Spanish-Speaking Parent in Spanish)
  • Create greeting cards for students to take home (Valentine’s Day, Mothers’ Day, etc.).
  • Host a French-themed pot-luck dinner and invite students’ families.
Not sure if I need this category here???JUST A PLACEHOLDER
Making Allies of Students

This section provides ideas for involving students in promoting the French program. Students who are strongly tied to your program will provide a support network for you if French is threatened in your school. Without a doubt, your very own students can be your most important allies for helping sustain the French program at your school! 

In order for students to support their French program, you should 1) help them see what an important role French culture and language have played and continue to play throughout the world, and 2) share with them experiences that people similar to them, “ordinary people,” have had because they studied/learned the French language. And of course you provide them with an excellent quality program that is engaging and effective!

Here are some strategies you can use: 

  • Have students administer the Interview of Parent or Family Member By Student at the beginning of the year. You will learn about the parents’ experiences with and attitude toward foreign language in general but with French in particular, and encourage parents to become guest speakers in your classes regarding their French experiences.
  • Ask students in class to brainstorm a list of as many French words that are used in English as possible. Compare each group’s lists in a discussion and then pass out the Flyer: French Words In English document. Explain to the students that since more than 30% of English words come from the French language, learning French can be easier than learning many other world languages.
  • Have students in groups list as many celebrities as possible who speak French as a second language. Compare lists, then hand out the French-Speaking Celebrities document.
  • Encourage students to watch French films either alone or with their parents. Many films offer the option of listening in French while viewing the English subtitles or listening to the English soundtracks while viewing the French subtitles. Here’s a list to start with: Family French Films
  • Ask your present or former students to share with you in writing why they have chosen to study French, how they have benefited from having studied French, or what they plan on doing with French in their future. Share these in the classroom and with other classes. Finally compile these mini-testimonials into a flyer that you can distribute at 8th grade parent night. (See Student Testimonials and the Testimonial Prompts)
  • Distribute to students at the end of the year a Year-End Letter to Parent And Student and Year-End Questionnaire in which they and their parents react in writing to the activities that you have offered your students during the year. Remember to have them return the questionnaire because then you will be able to quote some of their reactions the following year in documents and flyers you create and distribute.

More documents you can use to involve students: 

Making Allies of Colleagues

The documents in this section can be useful to you in creating allies within your school because colleagues and staff can ...

  • Offer invaluable support by emphasizing the importance of French contributions to their disciplines.
  • Share with students experiences that they have had with French in terms of language, culture, or travels to Francophone countries, thereby underlining the importance of French in their own lives.
  • Show how the French and English languages are interconnected.

The following documents can help you make allies of your colleagues:

Bellringers

These “bellringers” can be used by teachers of other subjects to connect their discipline to French.  They could be used at the start of class during National French Week, for example. (You can use them in your class, too, to show how French touches other disciplines!)

Science Connection:

BellRinger: Physics And France

BellRinger: French And Biology

BellRinger: Biology and its French Connection

BellRinger: Chemists In France

Math Connection:

BellRinger: Descartes

Arts Connection:

BellRinger: Culinary And French Terms Game

BellRinger: French Ballet Terms

BellRinger: French Fashion

BellRinger: Les impressionnistes

Language Arts Connection:

BellRinger: French Exercise For English Language And Literature

History Connection: U.S./North American History:

BellRinger: The French In North America before 1763

History Connection: French History:

BellRinger: French History–Matching History Makers

BellRinger: French History Makers–Sticky Notes  (Use this to print clues on labels)

Geography Connection:

BellRinger: Geography Of Francophone World

Physical Education Connection:

BellRinger: Games And Sports In the French-Speaking World
Making connections with your students’ families, both at the beginning of and throughout the entire school year, will tie them to your program and encourage support for their children who are learning another language.