The benefits of knowing a foreign language, and reasons that French is a good choice. French is very useful in business (I have 20 years' experience). The number of speakers of French is expected to grow dramatically to nearly 1 billion by 2060: think of what that means to people who are in middle school through college now!

1. Why Know a Foreign Language?
Why Choose French?
by Valerie Rushanan
L’église avait des voûtes
La balle a percé l’armure Le ciel était gris
La porte était rougeLa rose était rouge

2. Why know a language?
 Speaking another language is in demand
for many types of jobs!
 Go to indeed.com and enter a language!
La cité interdite
Pékin (Beijing), Chine
 You’ll have co-workers and
customers all over the world
 You must communicate clearly
with them.

3. Why know a language?
 More problems need global teams to solve them:
Les Alpes
Martigny, Suisse
 National security and diplomacy
 Environmental and healthcare issues
 Energy efficiency
 Clean water
 AIDS

4. Why know a language?
La place principale
Cracovie (Kraków), Pologne
 The best or least expensive
human resources are often
available in other locations
 Software is released in
multiple languages
simultaneously
 More problems need global teams to solve them:
 Global teams allow work to
be done around the clock

5. Versailles, France
 Make your mind more adaptable:
a 21st-century skill!
 Bilingualism slows the onset of dementia
 Learn about your first language, expand your vocabulary
 Understand how languages are related or are different
Why know a language?

6.  Most people in the world are bilingual
 Only a small percentage of U.S. residents are
Why know a language?
 Gain access to new ideas,
places, & activities
 Interests vary by
culture, so some things
aren’t translated
 Experiencing a place in
person is the best!
Muséum national d’histoire naturelle, Paris

7. Why choose French?
 In 2013, 300 million total:
 110 million native speakers
 190 million second-language speakers
 In 2025, 500 million total
 In 2060, 1 billion total
 The number of French speakers worldwide is
expected to rise dramatically.

8.  Identity
 Who am I?
 Where do I come from?
 What are my values?
Why choose French?
 The U.S. was founded by working with French
politicians and philosophers.
 Much of the U.S. (Louisiana purchase) was under
French control for many years and retains some laws.
 Many Americans are of French descent because of
migration from France and New France.

9.  International work
 Many companies from French-speaking countries have
offices in the U.S.
 Many American companies and international organizations
have offices and customers in French-speaking countries
Why choose French?
 French is one of the top languages
into which business materials and
software are translated
La Défense (près de Paris), France

10. Travel and fun
 Gain access to
things you can’t get
by staying home and
speaking just one
language
Le Château Frontenac,
Québec, Canada
 Go places and meet new people.
 Try new foods! Learn to cook
French meals.
 Enjoy French films, music,
literature, fashion, painting,
interior design…
Crêpe fraise - chocolat,
faite à la maison !

11.  Museums, architecture,
history, food…
 Why do YOU want to go?
 France is the #1
most visited country
in the world.
Why choose French?
Le Louvre, Paris
Des cafés à Paris

12.  Most visited countries:
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Tourism_rankings
 Number of French speakers, map:
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_language
 http://www.francophonie.org/Denombrement-des-francophones.html
 Languages in high demand for translation:
 http://www.altalang.com/beyond-words/2010/02/01/top-20-target-languages-a-year-in-translation/
 Bilingualism slows the onset of dementia:
 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/behindtheheadlines/news/2013-11-08-being-bilingual-may-slow-the-
onset-of-dementia/
 http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/02/100218-bilingual-brains-alzheimers-dementia-science-aging/
 Number of bilinguals in the world and in the U.S.:
 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-leveen/how-america-can-get-her-b_b_545925.html
 Photo of China: Jennifer Thorson. All other photos were taken by the Rushanan family.
 Presentation by Valerie Rushanan (valrushanan@verizon.net, www.linkedin.com/in/valrushanan/ ), CC 2011-2014,
all rights belong to their respective owners.
Credits & References
Une Citroën,
Paris