French Across Cultures

The French language might bring to mind images like the Eiffel Tower, baguettes, and berets, but Upper School students in French 1A have been exploring far beyond France’s borders this month. In this introductory course, students practice listening, speaking, reading, and writing in French while discovering the rich diversity of Francophone cultures worldwide. Throughout the year, they’ll take part in projects that deepen their understanding of how language and culture connect across continents.

This month, each student researched a French-speaking country and shared their findings through a class presentation. Students explored nations such as Luxembourg, Cambodia, Belgium, Morocco, Canada, and Switzerland, learning about each country’s location, capital, flag, major cities, languages, currency, popular foods, and traditional clothing. They also examined local greetings and customs, gaining a richer sense of cultural diversity across the Francophone world. In their presentations, students reflected on what they admired most about their chosen country, interesting facts they discovered, and questions they’d like to explore further. Since they are just beginning their study of French, World Languages Teacher Rachana Sudhaman asked students to read each slide’s topic sentence aloud in French—for example, “Les villes importantes sont…”—to practice their pronunciation, then explain the slide’s content in English. She hopes that by starting the year exploring a variety of Francophone cultures, students can gain a deeper appreciation for the richness and diversity of the language they are learning. “We want to highlight that these countries and their cultures are different, but also show how the French language remains an important part of each country,” says Rachana.