French

Program Overview
Courses
Tuition & Aid

Join the global conversation in a new tongue. Study historic texts and literary works in their original language. Explore opportunities that will allow you delve into the depths of francophone countries and cultures. Be prepared to excel in an increasingly globalized world.

In our intimate class settings, you will do more than develop language proficiency. You’ll also enrich your cultural competencies, engage your critical thinking, sharpen your oral and written communication skills, and expand your knowledge about different ways of thinking.

The cross-cultural mindset you’ll gain will carry you a long way — quite literally. Your French degree will lead to higher performance in all job markets, create opportunities for service or advanced studies around the globe, and open the door to an international career.

Placement Test

Program Foundations

The French that we find in grammar textbooks and literature is often not quite the same French that is spoken in daily life. At Lipscomb, we offer the traditional topics that are a part of a classic French education (reading Les Misérables in French, understanding the context of the phrase translated as “Let them eat cake!”, and discovering why French and English have so many words in common), but we also offer practical, fun courses like French Conversation where students learn how to use slang, fall back on verbal fillers, tell a funny story, and much more. Every French course at Lipscomb is infused with opportunities to talk, listen and write with a variety of audiences in mind and is designed to exercise your creativity.

Concentrations

French Teaching: French teaching majors have the opportunity to build language proficiency while also developing expertise in teaching language to others. With a contemporary approach to language instruction, our students learn how to give quality input in the target language (known as Comprehensible Input) and to design activities that require meaningful interaction. We believe teaching is a creative endeavor and we prepare our students for the language and practical demands of the profession.

Capstone Projects

Students are encouraged to study abroad in a francophone country. Lipscomb partners with two organizations that facilitate this:

1. Global Education Oregon offers students a diverse range of opportunities suited to their interests and fields, including programs like Cross-Border Interviewing and Story Development in France; Exploring Identity, Place, and Representation through the Arts in Aix-en-Provence; and an exchange with the renowned Sciences Po in Paris.

2. In the summer, Lipscomb students have the opportunity to study at the Centre International d’Études Françaises in Angers, France. As a full-immersion experience, students are placed with a host family while taking classes in French at the Université Catholique de l’Ouest (UCO). Weekend excursions include Mont St. Michel, the chateaux de la Loire, the D-Day beaches in Normandy, and more. UCO is approximately two hours from Paris and regularly enrolls 12,000 students, including 1,500 internationals who come each year to study French.

French Teaching

Education Level(s) Offered: P-12

French teaching majors have the opportunity to build language proficiency while also developing expertise in teaching language to others. With a contemporary approach to language instruction, our students learn how to give quality input in the target language (known as Comprehensible Input) and to design activities that require meaningful interaction. We believe teaching is a creative endeavor and we prepare our students for the language and practical demands of the profession.

Want to learn more about obtaining your French Teaching degree? Explore the undergraduate degree process to become a teacher .

How to become a French teacher

Courses

French, B.A.

French Education, B.A.

French Minor

Foreign Language Distributive Minor

Tuition & Aid

Standard tuition rates apply. Financial aid is available for qualified students.

For those teaching French, the Nina Walls Scholarship provides a month-long immersion program in Lyon
Additional scholarships for recent graduates or for new teachers are offered through the ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) website.
Post-graduate teaching scholarships: Lipscomb students qualify to apply for several scholarships through the Alliance Française of Nashville and to work as teaching Ambassadors in France through the French Embassy.

Contact Information

Foreign Languages

Kelly Kidder
Professor
(615) 966-6617
kelly.kidder@lipscomb.edu

100%

Job placement rate of French Teaching majors

Study Abroad

See the world — whether it’s Italy, Austria, Costa Rica, England or another country. Career opportunities will open for you as you sharpen your foreign language skills. Gain the international experience and cross-cultural communication skills you’ll need in our global economy.

Job placement

With a top-tier university education on your resume, you’ll be in high demand, whether you choose to launch your career or begin graduate school. Most of our programs have a placement rate of at least 90 percent within six months of graduation.

Expert faculty, small class sizes

Learn from award-winning, experienced faculty who actually care about you. Our small class sizes allow us to get to know you personally. We lead an approachable community within our respective programs. Our faculty connections are the experts on their subject matter, too.

Our Faculty

Kelly Kidder

Professor

Kelly Kidder received her Ph.D. from The Ohio State University in Foreign and Second Language Education. Her studies comprised several core areas, including Qualitative Research, French Cultural Studies, Second Language...
Meet Kelly Kidder

Career Paths

High School Teachers

High school teachers help prepare students for life after graduation. They teach academic lessons and various skills that students will need to attend college and to enter the job market.

Interpreters and Translators

Interpreters and translators convert information from one language into another language. Interpreters work in spoken or sign language; translators work in written language.