What happens post-high school once French Immersion students in Louisiana finally graduate? What relationship, if any, do they keep with the language and culture? Some students may choose to join the workforce directly, in whatever profession interests them and use their bilingual skills in their everyday work. Others don’t engage with French on as consistent a basis as before, some pursue study abroad, and others major or minor in the subject.
Gigi Haydel, class of 2023, now attends Temple University with a major in History and a minor in French. Haydel began her French immersion journey at age 2 at Ecole Bilingue before transferring to Lycée Français de la Nouvelle Orléans in the fifth grade, where she continued up until 12th grade as part of the first graduating class. Besides English, all of her classes were taken in French, including art, music, and sports. When asked about her sentiments regarding her level of fluency after graduating, she says, “I feel like I was fluent when I was in high school. But now that I’ve been away from that French environment, I’ve lost some of my French.”
Now a student at Temple University, Gigi Haydel started French immersion at age 2.
“You don’t use it, you lose it,” is a reality for many past immersion students with limited exposure to French language at their university. Rising sophomore at Xavier University, Tamaya McMillan may not be a French immersion student anymore, but her experiences at past schools have positively shaped some of her post-high school goals. She majors in biology.
Like Haydel, Tamaya McMillan has been studying French since elementary school, first at the International School of Louisiana, then at Lycée Français. Outside of the occasional French Instagram reel, McMillan doesn’t engage much with the language and culture. But whatever small moments she can find to speak it, she seizes it. She’s even considering a French tutoring position.
Tamaya McMillan spent years in French immersion and is now a student at Xavier University.
For those who wish to attend a university, studying abroad is a great opportunity to stay immersed in a language or culture. Multiple Louisiana schools, like Louisiana State University, for example, offer French study abroad scholarships to encourage students to participate. Taking a trip, semester, or even a year abroad in French speaking territories such as Belgium, Canada, and France can reinforce those bilingual parts of the brain through social interaction.
Brianna Robertson, rising sophomore at Howard University, is an avid multi-linguist. She is currently studying international affairs and intends to double major with world languages. Robertson studied French at the International School of Louisiana for nine years, and is now proceeding to continue this passion in college. “I’ve always dreamed of traveling to France due to being in French immersion”, explains Brianna, “but as I’ve learned other languages and honed down on what I’m interested in, studying abroad is still definitely something I have to do. A francophone country is definitely a must.”
Robertson attests to the impact French immersion has had on their worldview. She states it truly makes them value the presence of other cultures in her studies, encourages her to step out of her own shell, and become more open-minded in her academic career. Even with a four year gap, this doesn’t stop her from searching for French in daily life – she even has her phone programmed in French! “French language and culture has an immense impact on Louisiana, and is continuing to be preserved,” Robertson says, “I can feel it through the many organizations, traditions, and relations to France we have.”
No matter where you might be in your French language journey, there’s always room to re-explore, re-fresh, and even start your own French language and culture initiatives at your local university.
