French Resources
Resources at Middlebury College
- Research by Subject: French - Start your research here.
- LIS Links for Faculty - Shortcuts to library and technology pages used by faculty.
- Faculty Advisory Groups provide advice, feedback, and guidance to LIS on behalf of faculty. The French Department representative is Professor Brigitte Humbert.
- Have a question about LIS? Ask your liaison. The French Liaison is Joy Pile, Reference and Instruction Librarian, Davis Family Library Room 210, (802) 443-5140, pile@middlebury.edu.
- The Lexique site of FR205 presents concrete vocabulary with examples, images, and web activities.
Francophone Vermont
There are many francophone activities in Vermont:
- The Middlebury-area French Conversation Group meets officially for lunch the second Saturday of every month all year through, at 1 p.m., in a central Middlebury location, which can vary depending upon the season. All abilities and ages are welcome. There is just one requirement: French language only! If you feel shy, you are welcome to just come and listen at first, then join in when you feel comfortable. You will always find a large group on the second Saturday. For more information, please email slater@middlebury.edu.
- Channel 22 (cable) broadcasts RadioCanada from Montréal.
- Vergennes celebrates French Heritage day in July, with Franco-American music, French Canadian fiddling, French response songs, step-dancing, clogging, re-enactors, French food, a fencing demonstration, the Bastille Day Waiter's Race, narrated English and French historical walking tours, and more.
- Va-et-Vient, a local francophone music group, often performs in the area, including at the College. Other French-language music groups that have performed recently at Middlebury College include Le Vent du Nord, Les Cowboys fringants and Gadelle.
- Chimney Point State Historic Site has a Museum of Native American and French Heritage.
Some historical facts:
- Samuel de Champlain discovered Lake Champlain in 1609.
- In 1666, Pierre de Saint-Paul, Sieur de la Motte established Fort Sainte-Anne, a settlement on Isle La Motte.
- In 1755, the French constructed Fort Carillon on the Vermont/ New York border.
- The city of Vergennes is named after the Comte de Vergennes, who negotiated the 1783 Treaty of Paris, ending the Revolutionary War.
- The nineteenth century saw a large influx of French Canadians, coming to work in Vermont factories and mills, and many of their descendants live in Vermont today.
For more information:
The French Settlement Of Vermont: 1609-1929
Regional Educational Technology Network




