AUGUSTA — More than 90 French speakers from across Maine gathered at the University of Maine at Augusta on Saturday, Oct. 4, for the university’s annual French Immersion Weekend. Conducted entirely in French, the event featured conversation circles, games, film screenings and cultural exchanges designed to create a full day of language and cultural immersion.
Hosted in partnership with the American Association of Teachers of French, Maine Chapter, the weekend brought together middle school, high school and college students along with heritage speakers, native speakers and French teachers. Participants came from across the state to practice and celebrate Maine’s deep French-speaking traditions in an authentic, community setting.
“My favorite part of the weekend is seeing connections built between participants of different speaking abilities, backgrounds and generations,” said Chelsea Ray, coordinator of the French Immersion Weekend and UMA professor of French. “Our organizing committee, which includes leaders from AATF-Maine and French educators from USM and across Maine, is proud to showcase the diversity of the French language, from Senegal and Cameroon to France, Quebec and Maine itself.”
A weekend of Franco-American Connection
The weekend opened Friday evening with a Franco-American meal at Le Club Calumet, the largest Franco-American organization in New England. The event highlighted UMA’s connection to Maine’s Franco-American heritage and the Augusta community.
Blackie Béchard, past president of Le Club Calumet, shared reflections on founding the club’s annual Festival de la Bastille —which began in the early 1980s to connect Maine’s Franco-American community with visitors from Quebec. Attendees also viewed archival footage from the 1984 festival featuring the Augusta mayor and Maine governor speaking in French to celebrate the shared culture.
Professional development for French educators
The weekend also included a teacher training session for French educators from across Maine. Organized with Villa Albertine, the Centre de la Francophonie des Amériques and the Quebec Government Office in Boston, the session was led by Yann Gaboriau, coordinator of the French Heritage Language Program, and focused on practical strategies to strengthen French heritage language programs in schools and communities. The French teacher training portion of the event was sponsored by the Boston French Consulate and the Quebec Government Office in Boston.
Celebrating Maine’s living French heritage
The French Immersion Weekend is one of the only events of its kind held on a university campus in the United States. By offering a space where learners of all ages and abilities, teachers and heritage speakers can come together, UMA helps sustain a living part of Maine’s cultural heritage while connecting education with community.
Hosting the French Immersion Weekend reflects UMA’s mission to expand access to education and strengthen connections between the university and communities across Maine.
UMA offers three years of French language instruction, as well as courses on Franco-American culture and Francophone literature and films. There is a multilevel conversation course each semester for all speakers. Contact [email protected] for more information.
