France may be pretty far away from Seattle Pacific University, but that does not mean students can not experience francophone culture on campus. SPU’s French Club, “Le Cerçle Français” is an excellent space to seek out shared love for the French language and culture all in one place. From language to cuisine to culture, the French club has something for everyone.
Club Event Coordinator and fourth-year physiology and French double major Lauryn Keith shared what Le Cerçle Français is and what students can expect from being part of the club community.
“Le Cerçle Français is a francophone club committed to sharing the French language and highlighting French-speaking countries and cultures,” Keith said.
SPU attendees can expect fun and engaging events put on by the club-oriented around celebrating what francophone culture is all about. Past affairs put on by the French club have yielded great turnout, keeping them eager and excited to host many more.
“Last week we held a francophone fusion festival, La Fête de l’Hiver, highlighting Mardi Gras from Louisiana and Quebec’s Winter Carnival,” Keith said. “We had games, presentations, and food. In the past, we have done trivia and game nights, presentations on Francophone countries, hosted a meal at Gwinn and watched a French film at the Seattle International Film Festival. We hold events that highlight Francophone countries and cultures, and all you need is a desire to learn more.”
Language itself should not deter anyone; Le Cerçle Français is about much more than that.
“We recognize that speakers of French can come from many different backgrounds and speak French at different levels of proficiency. We seek to foster a safe space for speaking French at any level and engaging with new cultures,” Keith said.
Understanding that a foreign language may be daunting at times, Keith expressed that students who are nervous about entering the space without a French-speaking background are more than welcome and are highly encouraged to join.
Le Cerçle Français hosts various events and opportunities to practice in fun and creative ways outside of just speaking the language. Club president and fourth year linguistics and French double major Mary Bruggeman shared upcoming events that the club will be heading into spring 2024.
“For next quarter we want to do conversation tables again,” Bruggeeman said. “We’ve done a lot of events in the past, we’d like to do one big event at some point, a cultural event. We did that last spring quarter, like when we catered to Gwinn and provided information about francophone countries and that was a lot of fun. We do a lot of fetes and a lot of movie nights, so we should have a lot of fun things coming up.”
Faculty advisor Michelle Beauclair oversees the French club and encourages anyone interested to attend meetings. She reiterated how the events and meetings seek to be diverse and engaging for the SPU community.
“Meetings center around a theme, such as religious holidays like the Epiphany, Candlemas, Carnaval, Mardi Gras, and traditional French or Francophone culture,” Beauclair said. “Students bring their lunches and we often have French or francophone specialties like crêpes for la Chandeleur or Candlemas.”
The biggest challenge for non-native speakers is the lack of sufficient opportunities to practice. Bruggeman encourages individuals aspiring to improve their French proficiency and who are eager to learn to attend regular meetings to further develop their skills in a safe space.
“I think in general people have a pretty high bar of what it means to actually speak French,” Bruggeman said. “But honestly, people in club leadership and advisors are so welcoming to anyone at any level. At our conversation tables, we try to talk as much French as possible, so it definitely favors people who are learning, but anyone at any level is open in the space.”
The French club is eager and ready to share their love of the French language and culture with the SPU community. Conversation tables are hosted every Monday from 12:00 p.m. to 12:50 p.m. in Marston-Watson Hall 253.
Check out Le Cerçle Français’ Instagram @spufrenchclub for more information on how to get involved.
