More than 90 French speakers from across Maine filled UMA’s Augusta campus with lively conversation, laughter, and learning during this year’s French Immersion Weekend.
The annual event, held Oct. 4, brought together students, teachers, and community members of all ages for a full day of speaking, listening and celebrating French language and Francophone cultures around the world. The entire weekend unfolded in French through games, films, conversation circles, and cultural exchanges that made the campus feel like a small corner of the Francophone world.
“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 the Democratic Republic of Congo to France, Quebec and Maine itself.”
The weekend began Friday night with a Franco-American dinner at Le Club Calumet in Augusta, the largest Franco-American organization in New England. Guests shared stories, music and memories of Maine’s French-speaking heritage. Among them was Blackie Béchard, past president of the club, who reflected on the early days of Le Festival de la Bastille, an event that helped strengthen ties between Maine and Quebec.
Saturday’s sessions included professional development for French teachers, organized in partnership with Villa Albertine, the Centre de la Francophonie des Amériques and the Quebec Government Office in Boston. Educators explored ways to support French heritage programs across Maine communities.
As one of the only French immersion experiences in the country on a university campus that includes middle and high school students, as well as heritage and native speakers and French teachers in the country, UMA’s event continues to be a celebration of connection, linking language learners with heritage speakers and classrooms with community.
Hosting the French Immersion Weekend reflects UMA’s commitment to connection, community, and lifelong learning. By meeting students, educators and heritage speakers where they are, UMA helps keep Maine’s French traditions vibrant while fostering understanding across cultures.
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