Opportunities

Students in the Department of French & Italian are afforded many opportunities to practice and refine their language skills outside of the classroom.

Conversation Groups

Each semester, department instructors and advanced undergraduate students organize conversation groups. These groups provide our students with a great opportunity to speak French or Italian in a relaxed environment (local coffee shops or bookstores). Speakers of all levels are welcome; undergraduates, graduate students, and community members can all participate.

French Conversation Group

The French Conversation Facebook Group meets on Wednesdays from 5:00 - 6:00 p.m. CST in Folwell Hall 28, but please monitor the UMN French Conversation Group on Facebook for updated time and location.

Italian Conversation Group

The Italian Conversation Group will meet Fridays from 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. CST. at Bordertown Coffee, but please monitor the UMN Italian Conversation Hour group on Facebook for updated time and location.

 

Culture Shock and FRITNews

Culture Shock—the department's undergraduate blog—is a student-run branch of the Department of French & Italian. The blog strives to provide current and relevant information about French and Italian culture to today’s students and to provide up-to-date schedules for tutoring and conversation groups. We also serve as a medium for students to learn about opportunities in both the community and department. FRITNews—the department's newsletter—keeps undergraduates informed about academic updates, department events, scholarship and service opportunities, job possibilities, and language-related activities. To subscribe to FRITNews, send your full name and email address to [email protected].

 

French Groups

Italian Groups