University of Florida - French Alumni & Friends

Please forward to incoming students at UF. Merci!

Enroll in The Story of French at UF in Summer B, 2026 (4th period)!

IDS 2688: The Story of French through Internet, AI, and Machine Translation

Quest 2
Social & Behavioral

Discover how French became a global language while exploring AI, internet culture, slang, multilingualism, and language change across the Francophone world. In The Story of French, students investigate everything from Roman imperialism and medieval French history to English, Arabic, Haitian Creole, and other languages shaping today’s French. You’ll analyze websites with AI tools, create a documentary-style video project, interview Francophone speakers, and explore real-world language debates involving language, politics, and culture. This enriching Quest 2 course combines linguistics, history, technology, media, and global culture in creative, hands-on ways designed for curious students interested in languages, communication, international issues, and the digital world.
Instructors: Professor Ben Hebblethwaite (French) with graduate instructors Jessica Heady (Linguistics), Nathan Dwyer (Linguistics), and Artis Trice (Anthropology)
Contact Ben at [email protected]
How students evaluated this class and what they said about this course in the past:
Spring 2026: 4.71 Mean
Testimonials from The Story of French Spring 2026:
“He is incredibly passionate about this subject which means he provides sources that complement the learning. He also makes sure everyone participates, which is essential in a communicative class. He makes speaking up not feel anxiety-inducing and is doing a wonderful job. I love the music playing during the discussions! I have added songs to my playlist!”
“Very enthusiastic, makes unique and engaging connections between the content and the real world.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever had a professor be more passionate about a topic than Ben is with this course. He creates really engaging lectures and supports everyone wherever they are in their language journey. He always brings a new perspective to the class and teaches how to be curious about language and finds ways to tie in the perspectives and personal experiences of all students.”

Professor Benjamin Hebblethwaite
University of Florida
Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures
363 Dauer Hall
PO Box 115565
Gainesville, FL 32611-5565
Office phone: (352) 273-3762

Bon 1er mai!

https://thelynxbooks.com/events/4786120260420

A SENSE OF PLACE | The Lynx Books Gainesville's local independent bookstore

L'acteur américain Jim Carrey reçoit un hommage vibrant pour sa carrière et remercie en français lors de la cérémonie des Césars.

Watch Jim Carrey’s acceptance speech in French 🇫🇷🎤✨ At the César Awards in Paris, Jim Carrey took the stage to accept an honorary award and delivered the entire speech in French. Not a line. Not a paragraph. T...

Je ne peux résister à inclure ce poste avec l'acteur Timothée Chalamet dans un entretien en français sur France Inter ce matin, et à propos de son dernier film pour lequel il a déjà reçu une récompense.

En course pour les Oscars, "j’adorerais tourner avec Audiard", confie Timothée Chalamet Le Franco-Américain Timothée Chalamet interprète une star du tennis de table dans "Marty Supreme", le nouveau film de Joshua Safdie. À l’occasion de la sortie du long-métrage, il était l’invité de France Inter.

If you are in Gainesville Sunday February 22, the next film will be "Une femme est une femme" (a classic by JLG)! Here's the advert. It will be shown at Oak Hammock, 2pm.

Filmmaker François Ozon won 3 prizes for his new film L'Etranger (Lumière prize awards).

Prix Lumières 2026 : le triomphe de « L’Étranger » La 31e cérémonie des Lumières de la presse internationale s’est tenue le 18 janvier 2026 à l’Institut du monde arabe afin de récompenser le meilleur du cinéma français de l’année 2025. Sur les...

Don't forget the next film is slotted for tuesday 13, @ at the Hippodrome, 7pm.

https://www.franceinfo.fr/culture/jeux-video/jeux-video-le-sacre-historique-des-createurs-francais-de-clair-obscur-expedition-33-a-los-angeles_7675018.html

Jeux vidéo : le sacre historique des créateurs français de "Clair Obscur: Expedition 33” à Los Angeles Les concepteurs français du jeu vidéo "Clair Obscur: Expedition 33” ont remporté jeudi 11 décembre neuf récompenses dont celui de "jeu vidéo de l'année", à Los Angeles.