January 14 and 15, 2022
罢丑别听天美传媒聽(UMA) is pleased to announce it will co-sponsor with the聽Maine Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of French聽the annual French immersion weekend virtually on January 14 and 15, 2022.聽 This year鈥檚 theme聽is 鈥淚ntersections,鈥� and participants will watch the newly released film聽Carrefour, 鈥溾�澛� The immersion weekend will celebrate the intersections of language, culture, and community in the Francophone community in Maine and in the broader Francophone world.
UMA Professor Chelsea Ray is the coordinator of this program, which is one of French at 天美传媒 signature events.聽 It is co-sponsored by the Maine chapter of the American Association of Teachers of French. AATF Maine Chapter President Nathalie Gorey plays a key role on the planning committee.聽聽This is a聽continuation of a program begun by the Penobscot Bay Language School in Rockland in 1991, and an extension of the successful聽Le Fran莽ais au Bord de la Mer听补苍诲听Le fran莽ais dans les bois.
Last October,聽Le Fran莽ais au Bord de la Mer聽was held virtually with over 50 participants of diverse backgrounds, a variety of locations, including Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Minnesota, and France, and varying levels of French. The entire immersion day took place on Zoom, with the same vitality and enthusiasm as previous in person immersion camping trips. The theme was 鈥�Le Fran莽ais branch茅鈥� (鈥淔rench plugged in鈥�) to emphasize that French is 鈥減lugged into鈥� many cultures, many continents, and translates across virtual platforms.
During the January 2022 immersion weekend, highly skilled and experienced volunteer instructors, many of whom are French teachers, as well as native-speaking exchange students attending UMA from l鈥橴niversit茅 de Bretagne in Brest, France, will lead online group activities.聽 The highlight of Friday will be the viewing of聽Carrefour, followed by a group discussion. Saturday will be comprised of the daylong immersion, including the participation of renowned singer/performer聽聽for a concert that crosses languages, cultures, and continents.
Additional details about the program are available on the聽French Immersion Day webpage.
This weekend event is open to intermediate and advanced speakers of French, whether they are high school students, college/university students, French teachers, or interested community members who are seeking the challenge of a 100% French-speaking environment. Participants must be able to speak French for the entire immersion experience.
To be eligible, high school students should have completed two years of French study or the equivalent and college students should have completed one year of French study or equivalent.
For additional information about the weekend and to register, please visit:聽uma.edu/frenchimmersion. This event usually fills quickly, so early registration is encouraged.