the Micheline Le Gall (MLG) Endowed Award

The Micheline Le Gall Endowed Award honors a life devoted to teaching, culture, and human connection.

Born in Paris in 1930, Micheline's early years—marked by loss and wartime hardship—shaped her resilience and quiet leadership and strength. A chance encounter in a Paris café led her to Boston, where she discovered her calling as a French language, literature and culture educator and met her husband, Jean Le Gall, a former Resistance member and engineer. Together, they built a life in Palo Alto, California, deeply engaged in the French American community. While Jean pursued his distinguished career in the field of science, Micheline became a leading and highly respected figure in the field of French language and culture education. She founded the Alliance Française of Palo Alto, and through its platform she inspired numerous students with her language, literature and culture knowledge, as well as her warmth and elegance; she brought French language and culture to life in every single lesson that she conceptualized, prepared and enthusiastically taught to her students. Her exemplary teaching extended beyond grammar and the mechanics of the language; she strove to transmit the cultural nuances that underlie each French linguistic text and to build learners' confidence, strengthening their connection to the French culture. Madame Micheline Le Gall also mentored multiple cadres of educators through the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF), further contributing to a community of well-prepared French language and culture educators. Micheline served as the treasurer of the Northern California AATF chapter for 25 years and was a champion of the annual Grand Concours/National French Contest, especially the FLES* Contest.

Created by her daughter Carole in partnership with the AATF, this endowed award continues Micheline's lifetime commitment and devotion to promoting excellence in the teaching of French language, literature and culture. By supporting the continuous development of educators, it ensures that her spirit will continue to live on across classrooms, generations, and communities through those entrusted to carry forward the same level of passion that characterized Micheline's lifetime work. This scholarship offers educators funds to offset costs associated with attending professional growth opportunities in the hope that they will continue Micheline's mission, vision and passion in teaching the French language, literature and culture to current and future generations of Americans.

Apply here

If you would like to honor Micheline Le Gall's memory with a donation to this award, click HERE. For equity transfers, please contact the AATF Endowment Fund Manager, Douglas Cardwell.