Why Study French?
“French is the language most sought after by those employers looking for language skills. (51%)”
CBI/Pearson annual Education and Skills survey of employers (2017)
Enhance your career prospects:
- Speaking English alone is not enough in a multilingual world. Add French to your CV to improve your employability and to operate successfully globally.
- There are 200 million speakers over 5 continents. It’s the most widely learned language after English.
- Do you want to cross the Channel, emigrate to Québec, work on projects with Africa , become a diplomat or stay in the UK working for French or international companies, law or accountancy firms or banks?
- International organisations where French is an official language include: the United Nations, International Criminal Court, Organisation of Islamic Coperation, OECD, African Union, Council of Europe, European Union, NATO, International Olympic Committee...
- Companies are looking for graduates with French language skills: Consulting (e.g. CapGemini), Finance (e.g. Société Générale, BNP Paribas, Banque de France) and in wider industrial sectors (e.g. Edf, Airbus, Alstom)
Slideshow - Watch our students enjoy French (Trip to Clermont-Ferrand, March 2014)
What the French team can offer:
- Whatever your level, from beginner to advanced, increase your ability to communicate confidently when working with French people or visiting French speaking countries.
- Increase your cultural understanding of France! French literature and academia has been very important to the advancement of society and science; scholars such as Pierre Bourdieu, Michel Foucault have provided an insight into how we act in society; writers (such as Victor Hugo, Jules Verne, Alexandre Dumas etc.), singers (Edith Piaf, Daft Punk) and other doers (Claude Monet, Thierry Henry, Napoleon etc.) have helped to shape France and the world around it.
- Engage with French students via our exchange with Université Clermont Auvergne - Clermont-Ferrand.
- Prepare for your Erasmus year in a French-speaking country
'Thank you for a very enjoyable year studying French 6. I would heartily recommend French courses at the Language Centre to all of our students because they are useful, insightful and fun.
For students an understanding of French is a big advantage. There are major French employers in Consulting, in Finance and in the wider industrial sector. These international firms work in English. However it is rare for their employees to reach senior positions without French.
The French courses are insightful. France is right next door and yet has a very different economy and political landscape than we have in the UK. In the French courses we discuss these features which I found of considerable interest. And we complemented this with discussions of French films and some French literature. This is a very pleasant alternative to the typical material which most students will be studying intently.
Finally the course is fun. France is easy to visit for pleasure as well as work, and being able to communicate and speak to those you meet makes these trips much more enriching.'
Prof. John Thanassoulis
Professor of Financial Economics, Warwick Business School