The Essentials
All Programs
Year/Semester High School
- AFS France Welcome Booklet
- Host School FAQ
- Arrival Information
- Arrival Information (January Departure)
- Visa FAQ
Summer Language Study
Language Requirements
Applicants to the Year and Semester School Programs in France are expected to study French independently prior to departure and while on program. Students can utilize online resources such as Duolingo and others listed below.
Digging Deeper
Language Resources
Cultural Resources
- French Institute Alliance Française
- French Culture
- National Geographic: France Quiz
- Hofstede Center: France
- French-American Foundation
- Culture Grams
- –Username: afsusa – Password: cgrams
News and Media
- Le Monde (French)
- Le Monde Diplomatique (English)
- Le Figaro (French)
- France 24 (French and English)
Movies and Documentaries
- The Class (2008)
- The Battle of Algiers (1966)
- The Intouchables (2011)
- Joyeux Noel (2005)
- Astérix: Le domaine des dieux (2014)
- To Be and to Have (2002)
- Napoleon (PBS 2000)
- France: Engineering an Empire (2006)
- The French Revolution: Tearing Up History (BBC 2014)
- Apocalypse: the Second World War (2009) (6-part series)
- La boum, by Claude Pinoteau (1980)
- Tout ce qui brille, by Géraldine Nakache et Hervé Mimran (2010)
- Intouchables, by Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano (2011)
- Ce qui nous lie, by Cédric Klapisch (2017)
Sitcoms
- Le bureau des légendes, by Eric Rochant (2015)
Books
- A Brief History of France
- A Concise History of France
- Napoleon: a Life
- Paris, Paris: a Journey into the City of Light
- French Dirt: the Story of a Garden in the South of France
- French Regional Food
- The Sun Also Rises
- Les Miserables
- The Count of Monte Cristo
- Le Petit Prince
- Cyrano de Bergerac
- La gloire de mon père, by Marcel Pagnol (1957)
- Un sac de billes, by Joseph Joffo (1973)
- Je vais bien, ne t’en fais pas, by Olivier Adam (2000)
LGBTQ Resources (Diversity)
Heritage and Ethnicity Resources (Diversity)