Modern Languages
Modern Languages
Spoken by over 220 million people in 28 countries, French stands as a leading world language and is the second most widely learned throughout the globe. Completing a Bachelor of Arts with a French major can give you a distinctive advantage to launch a career in the global job market.
UFV's French program gives you the option to complete a minor, extended minor, or major, as part of a Bachelor of Arts. Small class sizes allow you to interact with instructors and seminar assistants who are French native speakers, to improve pronunciation, enhance comprehension, and speed up language acquisition.
The program teaches you to converse fluently and write powerfully in French. It also exposes you to the francophone world and its varied cultures.
When you graduate, you may work for the federal government, which has 72,000 positions requiring French fluency, including jobs in diplomacy or international relations. Or you may find employment opportunities with companies that conduct business internationally.
As the second language of choice for studying great works of literature, French is an excellent asset if you wish to pursue graduate studies in the humanities. Mastering French also paves the way to learning other romance languages with greater ease.
On a personal level, studying French can deepen your enjoyment of travel, literature, and culture. In addition, studies have shown that learning another language can boost your analytic skills, improve your memory, and offset the effects of aging on your brain.
Specializing in French can lead to a career in government or public administration, where bilingual speakers are highly prized, both at the national and international levels. In fact, just like English, French is an official working language of the United Nations, UNESCO, NATO, World Trade Organization, the International Red Cross and more.
French studies can also open opportunities to become a qualified French teacher in the BC school system or a translator or interpreter for one of more than 800 translation service agencies operating in Canada.
Moreover, growing international trade is bolstering demand for bilingual professionals in business and science. In fact, France is one of Canada’s largest trading partners and a valuable collaborator in the development of modern telecommunications and high technology.