French Ambassador Tours Utah Dual Immersion Classrooms

French Ambassador François Delattre said he was delighted and very impressed with the Utah Dual Immersion program, after getting a first-hand look at two French classrooms in Granite School District’s Morningside Elementary School in Holladay, Utah, on March 29. What he saw, he says, was beyond his expectations.

“I congratulate you from the bottom of my heart. What you have done is just incredible,” he said. He went on to add, “In terms of education in foreign languages, Utah is really No. 1, a reference in the United States and really worldwide for [teaching] French language.”

The Ambassador visited a first grade classroom taught by Cindy Beurtheret/Katty Firouzbakhch and Aurelia Debeaquesne’s second grade class. After the tour, there was a news conference with the Ambassador, Utah State Superintendent of Public Instruction Larry K. Shumway, Granite Superintendent Martin Bates and Granite Assistant Superintendent Linda Mariotti.

Currently, there are French, Spanish, Chinese and Portuguese programs, and a German program is expected to begin soon. There are more than 10,000 Utah students in a Dual Immersion program at 58 schools. By 2015, Utah Governor Gary Herbert hopes to see 100 schools and 30,000 students participating in the program.

Soon, the Utah Dual Immersion schools will be paired with sister schools in the participating countries, and will be able to interact in live conversations with students from these countries over the Internet via Skype and work collaboratively on class assignments.

“We like to say Utah is a window to the world,” Superintendent Shumway said to the Ambassador. “The progress we’ve made with Dual Immersion and world language instruction is largely due to the partnerships we have with the participating countries and the experience of the teachers from those countries who teach in our schools. The support of your ministry of education is vital to our success.”

The French Ambassador and a delegation of dignitaries from the French Consulate General in San Francisco were in Utah on Wednesday and Thursday to deliver a lecture at Brigham Young University on “the French American Relations in 2012: a friendship at a peak. The dignitaries also visited the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City, attended a dinner hosted by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, met with Utah Governor Gary Herbert and attended a second luncheon, which was hosted by the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce, State of Utah International Trade and Diplomacy Office and the World Trade Center of Utah.

More photos from this visit are on our flickr photostream. Learn more about Utah Dual Immersion on our Web site, and click here to watch a video about the program.

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