The Department of Language and Literature is now offering a minor in French for students.
French students will be required to take an additional 12 hours to acquire the minor beyond the intermediate level. FLFR 440, the first advanced French course, will primarily focus on composition and conversation. The course will start this fall and be available for students who have completed FLFR 222 or have shown their understanding of the basics of the French language through testing.
The French language is rapidly becoming more favorable throughout the world and is spoken by over two hundred and fifty million people. French now stands as the second highest internet language in the world, said Yann Opsitch, instructor of French.
The new minor will open up many possibilities for students with various majors across campus. Students in other departments, such as English, art, international business, missions, political science, and nursing students who wish to pursue a career in Africa, will now have the opportunity to further their French language skills because of the classes offered through the new minor.
Rachel Riley, a freshman pre-physical therapy major from Flower Mound, is very excited about the availability of the new French minor. She studied French in high school and wishes to continue studying the language at a university level.
“I’ve been really interested in French culture since I had a French foreign exchange student in high school. I’ve always wanted to be able to communicate with her and her family better, said Riley who hopes to study in France at some point in her college career.
Dr. Laura Phillips, professor of business, agrees that being proficient in a second language would be advantageous for business students.
“COBA is good at encouraging our students to have an international education experience during their time at ACU, but I think we, as a college, probably need to do a better job of vocalizing the advantages of knowing a second language to our students,” Phillips said.
Opsitch is a native Frenchman who has lived most of his life in France. For additional information concerning the new minor, you can contact Dr. Opsitch at yjo00a@acu.edu.
