French is one of the four languages offered on campus, along with Italian, Spanish and German. Hundreds of student are enrolled in this area of study (ranging from non-speakers to AP levels) during the school day, but representation for this language was suspiciously missing from the sizable list of extracurricular activities offered at Gables- until this year. Madame Rouit, a foreign language teacher originally from Aix-en-Provence, France, has sponsored a French Honor Society (FHS) club, which takes place after school, in order to promote the importance of the French language.

French is a language of great international value- more than 220 million people speak French in every habitable continent in the world, making it the 6th most widely spoken language. It is also considered by many to be a language of culture- countless great films, poems, songs and other literary works were originally composed in French. However, within Miami-Dade county, French is far less common than other second languages such as Spanish (63.3% of Miami-Dade residents speak Spanish at home as compared to 0.6% who speak French) and is not as widely studied or recognized. FHS aims to raise more awareness for the language and the impact it has had across the world. “The honor society essentially tries to bring more attention to the importance of the French language and to preserve it for future generations,” junior Nidia Volmar said.

To do this, the young club is undertaking many projects. Currently, members of French Honor Society are working on beautifying the school by volunteering to paint foreign language classrooms. In addition, the honor society is teaming up with fellow club Gables Earth to place emphasis on recycling both inside and outside of school. This includes making sure recycling bins are available in every classroom and cafeteria in the school. Monthly movies are another activity offered by the club and a great way to meet new people who may have similar interests. As the year goes on, they plan to expand their agenda by starting up tutoring services available to anyone interested, which may be especially helpful to younger students just beginning the program.

French Honor Society also works to improve the language skills of its members. Meetings are mostly conducted in French, where members preview the upcoming month’s activities and suggest new ideas using the language. The dialogues which take place help members to practice the language they are learning in real life situations, which they many find helpful as a way to ensure they understand what they are learning and pick up new vocabulary along the way. “The only way to improve speaking in French is to practice it. Our club offers a variety of ways to improve your skills from tutoring to movie watching and helping the community,” junior Dominique Babin said.

Interested in joining French Honor Society? Whether you are fluent in the language or just beginning to learn it, FHS is welcoming to people of all levels of experience. All applicants must be currently enrolled in a French class, but GPA and skill level do not play a part in admittance into the club. You can follow them on Instagram or speak to Madam Rouit in room 9209 for more information. Au revoir!