French, BA

Program Description

The School of Social Sciences and International Studies offers a major and a minor in French.

The major in French entails a profound study of the language, history, culture, literature, and film of the French-speaking world.  All elementary through advanced-level classes are designed to progressively develop students’ oral and written proficiency and cultural competence, and are conducted exclusively in the target language.  Students of French develop a complex understanding of how French culture has evolved in France and French speaking countries all over the world, including in Africa, the Americas, the Caribbean, Asia, and the South Pacific.  Thematically cohesive courses in composition and conversation equip students with advanced communication skills that can be used effectively in academic, social, and professional contexts.

Study abroad is encouraged and many students fulfill requirements for the French major in two-week to one-year long individual exchanges, professor-led courses abroad, and at university approved consortium sites.  French faculty lead short-term Ambassador study abroad programs to Paris, Normandy, Bordeaux, and Quebec.  Popular summer-, semester-, and year-long destinations offered through USAC, ISA, the Ohio Consortium, and direct exchange programs include cities in France (Angers, Lyon, Pau, Strasbourg), Canada, and Luxembourg.

Learning any foreign language helps students think creatively by exposing them to new ways of conceiving the world and by sensitizing them to the nuances of culture and communication.  These skills are highly desirable in today’s globally dynamic marketplace.  The French major is particularly useful for students wishing to enter globally-oriented careers in the arts and the performing arts, the hospitality and travel industry, business, education, creative writing, international development, government, law, communications, linguistics, medical professions, motion pictures, philosophy, psychology, translation, and interpretation.

Those students who qualify for departmental honors may prepare an in-depth project focusing on an area of expertise, including creative writing, translations, film projects, projects involving service to the Dayton area French-speaking community, and service to local schools, museums, or charitable organizations.  Internships are available to students with senior status and serve as the culminating experience using French language skills in a real-life setting.  Extracurricular opportunities that may lead to career placement include work as tutors, supplemental instruction leaders, first-year programs peer instructors, and French club officers.

Teacher Preparation Program

Students who wish to teach French in Ohio public schools earn the Bachelor of Arts degree in French.  A sequence of education courses and school placements complement the bachelor’s degree, allowing students to earn licensure at the undergraduate level.  Licensure and certification requirements vary from state to state, and we have not determined if this program meets educational requirements outside of Ohio. If you are planning to pursue professional licensure or certification in a state other than Ohio, please contact the appropriate licensing entity in that state to seek information and guidance regarding that state’s licensure or certification requirements.

Faculty support students at all stages of preparation for licensure. Majors are encouraged early on to contact faculty for a mock Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) and a Writing Proficiency Test (WPT) required of teaching candidates prior to the completion of their undergraduate degree.

Candidates must meet with a College of Health, Education, and Human Services Licensure Advisor early in the bachelor’s degree program to learn about the application procedure for school placements, deadlines, admission details, scheduling coursework, and other important information.

Requirements for admission to the undergraduate Licensure program include FR 2020 or the equivalent, a cumulative undergraduate grade point average of 2.75 or higher, C or better grades in all undergraduate content and education pre-requisite courses, and standardized testing. 

Admission Requirements

CoLA Requirements

• 2.0 cumulative GPA
• Grade of “C” or higher in ENG 1110 or 1140

OR

• Grade of “C” or higher in two other Wright State Core courses taught by the College

Requirements for admission to the undergraduate Education Licensure program include a cumulative undergraduate grade point average of 2.75 or higher, C or better grades in all undergraduate content and education pre-requisite courses, and standardized testing. 

Program Learning Outcomes

1. Linguistic Proficiency

• Speaking: Students will be able to handle a variety of communicative tasks. They can participate in most informal and some formal conversations on topics related to self, family, home, daily activities, interests and personal preferences. They can also speak about some topics related to shopping, travel and lodging. Students will demonstrate the ability to speak in the present, past and future tenses.
• Writing: Students at this level are able to meet a number of practical writing needs. They can write short, simple communications, compositions, and requests for information in loosely connected texts about personal preferences, daily routines, common events, and other personal topics. Students will demonstrate the ability to write in the present, past and future tenses.
• Listening and Reading: Students are able to understand everyday speech, in a variety of personal and social contexts. Also, they are able to understand conventional narrative and descriptive texts, such as expanded descriptions of persons, places, and things and narrations about past, present, and future events. Comprehension derives not only from situational and subject-matter knowledge but also from knowledge of the language itself.

2. Intercultural Competence

• Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of other cultures and their products. By the time they graduate from our program, they will be able to:
• Recognize and describe the historical, social, and political forces that shape society in the target culture;
• Analyze and critique the products of the target culture (film, literature, art, popular culture, media, etc) within their context, including conducting basic research tasks, and;
• Compare and contrast the cultures and communities of the language they are studying with their own.

Undergraduate Language Requirement, College of Liberal Arts

French majors will have met their language requirement for the Bachelor of Arts by completing requirements for the major.

Placement

Students with no French background will begin with FR 1010  ; those who have studied French previously or who are heritage speakers will take a placement test to determine the best course for their skill level.  Native or near-native French speakers are encouraged to take a proficiency test in oral and written French to verify placement.  Details about the placement test and proficiency test for prior learning assessment are available on the Modern Languages website.

Prior Learning Assessment

The School of Social Sciences and International Studies believes that students having learned French in high school, through living abroad, or by any other means have the right to earn prior learning credit in French.  Those students who place into French classes between the 1010 and 2020 levels and attain a grade of C or better, may earn “Pass” credits for sequenced courses below that level.  Students who have placed into a 3000- or 4000-level course may earn “Pass” credits for 1010 through 2020.  By the ninth week of the semester, students desiring prior learning assessment should request and complete their PLA form at the School of Social Sciences and International Studies.

Native and near-native speakers of French may take the French language proficiency test in two areas, Conversation and/or Composition, and receive Prior Learning Assessment “Pass” credits for FR 3110  and/or FR 3210 . 

See the Modern Languages website for details, including fees.

If transferring credit, a minimum of 4 upper-level SPN courses (12 credits) must be taken at Wright State University.

Only courses with a grade of P (Pass/No Credit courses), or a grade of C or better (ABCDF courses) may be applied to the major.

For More Information

• French, BA
• School of Social Sciences and International Studies
• College of Liberal Arts