French Student Experience
Baker French students have a multitude of opportunities for involvement in and out of the classroom. Small class sizes allow you to get maximum interaction with classmates and professors, which provides vital experiences to use the language as you learn. French students are also privy to a number of activities beyond the classroom.
As part of the French major, you are required to spend part of an academic year or summer taking part in a study-abroad program. Immersion in a French-speaking country is a vital part of your linguistic development and understanding of the culture, providing first-hand insight into the language and culture you can’t gain from a textbook. Learn about study abroad opportunities to French-speaking countries.
Each week during the academic year, French-speaking students and faculty are invited to gather at “la Table Française” in the University dining hall to eat and speak French. Recognizing that practice is essential in acquiring fluency in a world language, students at all levels are encouraged to take part in the casual conversation, allowing you to gain knowledge through listening and conversing in French. For those without meal plans, lunch is provided by the Department of Humanities.
French Film Series
Each semester, the Department of Humanities holds a film series of international films. At least one film in each language offered at Baker – French, German, Spanish – is shown per semester. French-language films are another way to explore the culture and language of the modern French-speaking world.
International Education Week
Each November, the Department of Humanities and Office for International and Heritage Students hold a series of events to celebrate international diversity. Campuswide, the week features international cuisine served in Harter Union and events focused on international cultures.
Every other year, the French program hosts an Amity Intern from a French-speaking nation. The Amity Intern lives and studies amid Baker students in addition to serving as a teaching assistant for French courses and tutoring students of French. Amity Interns provide students of world languages the opportunity to receive guidance from and speak with a native speaker, learn from a first-hand perspective about the cultures of French-speaking countries, and make international connections right on Baker's Baldwin City campus.
The Vision is a student-produced multilingual newsletter that features articles pertaining to international issues. Students are encouraged to contribute articles written in their language of study and English or to serve in an editorial capacity.
An honor society for students of world language, Alpha Mu Gamma is for students who have completed a minimum of two courses in a given language with the required grades. The members, officers and faculty advisers of Alpha Mu Gamma hold an induction ceremony each spring and hold activities throughout the year that promote cultural understanding and celebrate language and international diversity. You will be eligible for a number of scholarships and national or international activities through membership in Alpha Mu Gamma.
Phi Beta Delta
An honor society for those who have excelled in international education, Phi Beta Delta is for students who have studied abroad or focused on international issues throughout their time at Baker. Phi Beta Delta holds an induction ceremony each spring. In addition, Phi Beta Delta is active in promoting international education and awards the Milan-Harris Award for Promoting Diversity and the Eliot S. Berkley Prize in International Studies.