Le mot du Délégué général
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Dear Friends,
As we near the holidays, I would like to say a few words about the creation of Smart Steps to French, the French teaching program for young Anglophones aged 4 to 12 which was initiated by the Delegation General in spring 2006, under the code name AllianceEnfance.
We strongly encourage you to familiarize yourself with this program, which is the culmination of collaborative work between the AF of Boston, Chicago and New York and which has benefited from the support of the Fondation Alliance Française, the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and also the Federation of Alliances Françiases, USA.
Smart Steps to French constitutes a course offering that is all the more relevant since it targets a “new” audience. In a dismal context where many teaching Alliances in the network have experienced decreased numbers of adult students, Smart Steps can be implemented quickly to compensate for these losses.
A presentation of Smart Steps to French is, of course, planned as part of the program for the directors’ meeting, which, I remind you, will be held in Houston, TX on February 19-20.
The Delegation General would like to thank Joan Patrick, the director of the Alliance Française de Houston, who has negotiated a group rate at the Holiday Inn Hotel and who has very kindly offered to organize room sharing for those who would like to lighten the cost of the trip.
Two pieces of practical information: when making your reservation by phone, do not forget to mention the code “Alliance Française Training (AFT),” which will permit you to receive the negotiated rate (1-713-523-8448).
Secondly, once you have filled in the online form, your meeting registration will be confirmed.
I would like to thank all of the Alliances that have sent us their by-laws and letters of recognition from our headquarters at the Alliance Française de Paris. Our office manager, Melissa Kling, will be in touch with the presidents of the chapters that have not yet responded to this request and will launch a systematic follow-up starting in the beginning of January in order to collect these official documents.
The entire team of the Delegation General joins me in wishing you all Happy Holidays.
Sincerely,
Thierry