Le Cercle Français is NC State’s French Cultural Club whose mission is to expose and teach students all about the French culture in various, interactive ways.
Jenna Albert, a fourth-year studying French education, is currently the club’s president and has been involved in the club since her first year at NC State.
Albert emphasized one role of the club as an outlet for students learning French to meet native speakers and strengthen their knowledge of the French language and culture.
“We serve as a community for students who are learning French, giving them an area where they can practice and an area where we can teach others about the French culture, advertise the French culture, discuss it,” Albert said. “We like to have cultural and conversational exchanges with native speakers to practice the language. Being a community for French speakers and French learners is definitely a primary objective of ours.”
The club meets every other Wednesday in room 331 of Withers Hall, from 5:30 to 6:30. According to Albert, the meetings vary in theme, usually centering around one major aspect of the French culture.
“In our next meeting, we will give out ‘Le goûter,’ which is basically this kind of after school tradition in France where people are given an after school snack,” Albert said. “They typically have really sweet things like chocolate croissants or Nutella on bread or chocolate cookies, so we are going to have all of that food at our next meeting for people to try, and we will explain this cultural phenomenon and discuss it with the French people.”
In addition to cultural events, many of the group’s meetings are also designed to help strengthen students’ knowledge of the French language.
“In the past, we’ve actually had more students who are learning French than actual native speakers, so we will do workshops on things like French slang or French phonetics, things that you might not learn in your actual French class at NC State,” Albert said. “This really helps people take their French language further, kind of like the cooler things that you don’t get to talk about in class.”
Albert described her favorite club event, the annual French cheese tasting that takes place at the end of the year.
“We get these cheeses from all over France to try and we pair it with bread, biscuits, jelly and other things, and it’s really delicious,” Albert said. “You don’t normally get to try French cheeses because in the grocery store, all we have is cheddar, and these cheeses that have almost no flavor, at least when you’ve tried French cheese before. We do a lot of events with food because it is such a big part of the French culture, and we just love an excuse to eat food.”
Albert also mentioned a few different ways students can become involved in the club.
“If you reach out to me or any of the officers via email, we will surely add you to our email distribution list,” Albert said. “You can also go on Student Involvement and request to be a member. We also recently created a Facebook page this year called ‘Le Cercle Français/[The] French Club,’ all of our event details are in there.”
Additionally, Albert described the positive impact Le Cercle Français has had on her college experience.
“I’ve really enjoyed being a member of the French club,” Albert said. “It has been a really great outlet for me as someone who is really passionate about French, but at a very science and math oriented university. I feel like languages kind of get put to the side and it was great to find a community of people who are also just as passionate about the language as I am.”
Christina Coomer, a third-year studying English, French and arts studies, is the current vice president of Le Cercle Français. Coomer explained how, this year, there has been a major increase in the attendance of French foreign exchange students to club meetings and events.
“This year is a lot different from last year,” Coomer said. “Our first meeting was like 50 percent French students and 50 percent American students. It’s actually really funny, we do a lot of French cultural things but it is run by Americans so the French students are laughing at us because they say ‘this is not how it is.’ They even laughed at our baguette that we got from Harris Teeter.”
Coomer spoke about some of the past events hosted by the club, from a French game night to “Paint and Acquaint.”
“Last year we did a Claude Monet painting session, where we had a PowerPoint on Claude Monet and people were given instructions on how to paint a specific picture,” Coomer said. “The directions were all in French so the people who didn’t know any French painted something completely different. This year we had a game night where we played different games in French like Clue and Life.”
Coomer wants to make sure people know that everyone is welcome to attend club events, not only students studying French.
“We want to have an equal balance of French and American students, and we want to do events where they can communicate with each other,” Coomer said. “However, the club is open to everyone, we don’t exclude anyone. We want everyone to know that you don’t have to speak French to come. You’re just coming to appreciate the culture, and the language is just a plus.
Albert also encourages students of all majors to join and try out the French club.
“I really want to encourage anyone who is interested in learning French, even if you are not taking any French classes, to come to our events,” Albert said. “You are absolutely welcome to come, even if you only know how to say ‘bonjour.’ Anyone is welcome to join and eat delicious foods with us. You will surely learn something and we will have people there who can translate in English so you won’t be lost.”
Coomer believes that, in order to fully learn a language, students must expose themselves to the culture that comes with it, which is exactly what Le Cercle Français offers.
“For students that are learning French, this puts a lifestyle to the language,” Coomer said. “This is the experience that goes with learning something. This is your little piece of France at NC State.”
