What is the value of studying French?

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• What is the value of studying French?

When you decide what foreign language you would
like to learn, please remember that French is the
language that can give you the most choices in
your studies or your career. Let me try to
convince you that French remains the second most
practical language in the world after English!
Prepared by Maria Wowro, who is accomplishing her
own career goals thanks to the knowledge of
French.
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Why the knowledge of French is so useful?

• French is a language spoken around the world
• French remains the language of high diplomacy
• French makes you more competitive in the job
  market
• There are career development programs for
  American students that can help you gain unique
  work experience !!

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Lets have a look at some numbers to see why
French is a global language and can be useful
throughout the world !

• Just imagine, that there are 6 thousand languages
  now spoken on Earth!
• French is one of only 15 spoken by more than a
  hundred million people, and one of only four
  along with English, Spanish and Arabic used as
  official languages in more than 20 countries !
  (French with 33 countries ranks second to
  English)!
• Moreover, if you can speak French you can be
  understood in 43 countries across five continents
  by over 200 million people in the world!
• French, along only with English, is taught in
  every country in the world!

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French has of course official status in several
European countries such as

• France
• Belgium
• Switzerland
• Luxembourg
• Monaco

I will talk about France and its commercial ties
with the U.S. a little later. I would like to
present to you now the 3 other countries
Belgium, Switzerland and Luxembourg
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Belgium
This small country located in the heart of Europe
is famous for its beer and chocolate , but you
might be surprised to learn that its capital
Brussels - is considered the administrative
heart of the European Union (EU).

• Brussels is the seat to EUs most important
  institutions which are European Commission,
  Council of the EU, and European Parliament
• Brussels also hosts many key international
  institutions like NATO, along with 1,000 other
  international organizations and 2,000
  international corporations.
• Just imagine, there are more ambassadors and
  journalists in Brussels than Washington, D.C.

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Switzerland
Switzerland is another country located in the
heart of Europe. Although its surface is
relatively small, Switzerland is one of the
richest countries in the world! (Switzerland has
a higher GDP per capita than such huge economies
like USA or Japan)!

• Moreover, Switzerland is the second highest rated
  country in the quality of life index! It means
  that it is one of the best places to live in the
  world!!!
• One of its cities - Geneva - hosts many
  international organizations, and NGOs including
  Red Cross, WTO , WHO, ILO, and U.N.
• Geneva is also the European headquarter to
  several large multi-national corporations (PG,
  HP) and many Swiss banks.

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Luxembourg
or Grand-Duché de Luxembourg
Not only is Luxembourg the world's only remaining
sovereign Grand Duchy but also a country that
possesses the highest GDP per capita in the world
!!!

• Moreover, Luxembourg is the fourth highest rated
  country in the quality of life index. So, once
  again, one of the best places to live in the
  whole world!!
• The capital of the Grand-Duché - Luxembourg City
  - is one of the wealthiest cities in the world,
  it is banking and administrative centre and a
  seat of several institutions of the E.U.
  including the European Court of Justice, the
  European Court of Auditors, and the European
  Investment Bank.

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Many African countries have also chosen French as
their official language

• Benin
• Burkina Faso
• Burundi
• Cameroon
• Central African Republic
• Chad
• Comoros
• Congo (Brazzaville)
• Côte d'Ivoire
• Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Djibouti

Equatorial Guinea (former colony of Spain)
Gabon Guinea Madagascar Mali Niger Rwanda
Senegal Seychelles Togo
French is also spoken by a large percentage of
population in Maghrebian countries Maroco,
Algeria, Tuniesia. If you were ever interested
in discovering the Islam culture I strongly
encourage you to study French!
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French has official status or is spoken in many
other countries such as
Haiti, Lebanon, Syria, Laos, Cambodia, Vatican,
France's overseas territories of French Guiana,
Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Barthelemy, St.
Martin, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, French
Polynesia and New Celedonia.

• It would take too much time to talk about all of
  them!
• Instead I would like to tell you few more words
  about your closest neighbor CANADA

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Canada
Canada and the U.S. have the world's largest
trading relationship!

• The province of Quebec alone is the fifth largest
  trading partner of the United States
• Approximately 81 of all Quebecs exports go to
  the United States.
• Quebec has the second largest GDP of the Canadian
  provinces and is Canadas largest province by
  area.
• French is the official language of Quebec.

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Sources

• The Story of French by JeanBenoît Nadeau and
  Julie Barlow
• Article by Richard Shryock fromVirginia
  Polytechnic Institute and the State Univeristy
  French the Most Practical Foreign Language
  http//www.fll.vt.edu/french/whyfrench.html
• The Economist Intelligence Units quality-of-life
  index 2005
• CRS Report for Congress Received through the CRS
  Web U.S.-French Commercial Ties
• French American Chamber of Commerce in
  Cleveland
• Embassy of France in the United States
• Great Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce
• IFA Invest in France Agency
• Ambassade de France Missions Economiques

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Continue on to theLanguage of Diplomacy
linkon the Careers web page for further
information.