If you wish to teach French for proficiency in grades K-12, you’ll appreciate this degree program. With on-campus courses focusing on acquiring linguistic and cultural skills and a required Study Abroad program, you will engage in personal interaction and discover French civilization first-hand. You will also have the opportunity to develop a dynamic Christian worldview as you encounter differing cultural values and beliefs. This experience, along with a strong core of professional education courses and the experience of student teaching, will become the basis for an excellent teaching career in French.
Students will be equipped to interact in authentic situations in the French language and to live intentionally as global citizens, with a focus on proficiency, specifically developing listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills as well as cultural awareness. Furthermore, through the Study Abroad experience, students will be enrolled in advanced French and civilization courses in one of Grace College’s member institutions in France and have opportunity to apply their faith in the context of the French culture. Included in the degree program are 40 hours of professional education courses, including the student teaching experience.
FRE101–102 Beginning French Language and Culture I and II
Students are put in the presence of authentic, unsimplified French and are trained to use it in the dynamic context of communication. The emphasis is placed on oral proficiency, the development of skills, self-expression and cultural insight.
FRE201–202 Intermediate French Language and Culture I and II
Continuation of language study advancing students toward comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing while gaining a deeper appreciation for the francophone culture, language, and people.
FRE205 French Conversation
This is an advanced proficiency-based approach to oral skill development. Students speak the language in a range of contexts likely to be encountered in the francophone culture, carrying out a range of functions likely to be necessary in dealing with others in the francophone culture. Students are exposed to a repertoire of methods or techniques of speech in order to increase sociolinguistic competence.
FRE210 Advanced Communication and Civilization
This course provides a link between basic language work done thus far and the increasingly diversified advanced work students will encounter overseas. The class focuses on underlying currents of the evolution of French culture. Students explore historical events and figures, cultural movements and trends that have shaped the French culture. This class is taught in French.
FLC464 Methods of Teaching a Foreign Language
A study of curriculum and methods of teaching a foreign language on both the elementary and secondary level, with special emphasis on performance objectives and methodology with classroom practice.
B.A. in Art Education, Grace College; M.A. in French, Middlebury College
About
Professor Jacqueline Schram teaches French and also serves as the Associate Dean of Students. In her role as professor, she oversees the language programs at Grace College, and in her role as dean, her responsibilities include coordinating the general education core curriculum. In addition, she also helps coordinate the Study Abroad Programs in Dijon and Paris, France. Prof. Schram was raised in France, where her family served on the missionary staff of Grace Brethren International Missions. She moved to the United States to attend Grace College, and joined the Grace College faculty in 1992.
Laurinda A. Owen, B.S., M.A.
Dean, School of Education, Associate Professor of Education
B.S. in Elementary Education, Eastern Illinois University; M.A. in Education, Ball State University
About
Prof. Owen joined the Grace faculty in 2001 after 17 years teaching elementary education in the public school system. In 2010 she was appointed Dean of the School of Education, but continues to teach all levels of education students. She was recognized for her hands-on, practical, applied, and innovative teaching with Grace College's Alva J. McClain Excellence in Teaching award in 2004. She is currently completing a Ph.D. in Early Childhood Education through Walden University. Prof. Owen is actively involved in her community by participating in groups such as Drama Mamas at Warsaw Community High School (the theater booster club) and local scholarship committees. Her family attends Warsaw Community Church, where she is a storyteller for the 4-year old room, serves on the Thread Team, and volunteers as a barista in the coffee shop. Prof. Owen lives in Winona Lake with her husband, Randy. They have four children -- two who have already graduated from Grace.
Careers
Some of the positions you can obtain:
French Teacher
French Teachers are most commonly employed by middle schools, high schools and universities, which cater to the traditional student. Online French programs are popular with adults and those want to brush up on their French in preparation for travel abroad. French Language Teachers employ a multi-pronged sensory approach that uses textbooks, audio, multimedia and conversation, which facilitates quicker proficiency.
Classroom Teacher
Candidates who have completed one of the listed major programs, were approved by the Teacher Education Committee, and have met all state regulations are eligible to receive the standard instructional license from the state of Indiana and other states.
Translator
Translates documents and other materials from one language to another. Reads materials and rewrites materials in specific language or languages. May specialize in particular type of material such as news, legal documents, or scientific reports.
ESL Teacher
ESL stands for English as a Second Language. It refers to teaching English to people whose native language is not English, in both the U.S. and other countries around the world.
Interpreter
One who orally translates a spoken message.
Linguist
One who is concerned with the exact equivalent of a unit of the source translation text without referencing cultural or contextual factors. Linguists write syntactic and grammatical rules for translation programs.
Missionary
Immersion within and forming relationships with the people of another culture with the purpose of sharing Christ in word and in deed. Often times missionaries will form relationships through the application of their gifts and talents, meeting the needs of the people within the culture. Those talents may be in the areas of construction, agriculture, literacy, teaching, or business to name a few.
Study Abroad Coordinator
Study abroad coordinators, who work at colleges and universities, advise students in researching, selecting and coordinating a location out of the country at which to study. Reporting to the director of study abroad programs, the coordinator is knowledgeable of all policies regarding cross-cultural training programs.
Import/Export Agent
Prepare customs documentation and ensure that shipments meet all applicable laws to facilitate the import and export of goods. Determine and track duties and taxes payable and process payments on behalf of client. Sign documents under a power of attorney. Represent clients in meetings with customs officials and apply for duty refunds and tariff re-classifications. Coordinate transportation and storage of imported goods.
Foreign Sales Representative
Direct the actual distribution or movement of a product or service to the customer. Coordinate sales distribution by establishing sales territories, quotas, and goals and establish training programs for sales representatives. Analyze sales statistics gathered by staff to determine sales potential and inventory requirements and monitor the preferences of customers.
Subtitler/Voice-Over
One who provides synchronized captions in the target language for film and television dialogue. Subtitling is one of the two main methods of language transfer used in translating types of mass audio-visual communication. The other is dubbing, which is narrowly defined to be a lip-sync process, designed to give the impression that the actors in the film are actually speaking in the target language.
Transcriptionist
One who listens to the sounds and words of a spoken message and converts it into a written translation. Generally, transcriptions refers to an interlingual transfer preserving forms of original sounds, letters, or words unchanged in the target translation.
Testimonials
What others are saying:
I transferred to Grace from California as a last resort. I had already attended four different colleges and universities, so I knew what I needed - a school that provided not only a French Education program, but also a Godly pedagogy. I was immediately attracted to Grace College because of what they offered in the French Ed. program. The program had everything I needed to finish my degree and would require me to study abroad. This was a huge bonus as I had already studied abroad once and had experienced the benefits that come from learning a language through immersion. I was also drawn by one of the required classes entitled "Methods of Teaching Foreign Language" - a class that would educate me on how to teach French. This was something I had never seen offered and knew would be indispensable to me in my preparation to teach French. I am proud that God chose to lead me to Grace College to develop the areas of both my professional a personal life and I pray that I will represent Grace well in my future as a French high school teacher.
—Melody Millermon, B.A., French Education, graduating 2011
