Get ready to make teaching and learning French engaging, effective, and accessible for all French heritage language students.

As French continues to play a vital role in international diplomacy, culture, and education, supporting the teaching of French as a heritage language in the United States is more important than ever before. For many students, French is not only a subject but a link to their family history, cultural identity, and multilingual future.

Recognizing the unique needs of heritage language learners, Villa Albertine, The French Institute for Culture and Education, has curated a collection of free, high-quality educational resources to support teachers across the U.S. These tools are designed to help educators foster meaningful language learning experiences that connect students to their linguistic roots, while promoting the broader values of diversity, inclusion, and cultural awareness.

Explore our selection of free pedagogical resources for French Heritage Language educators below.

While this page is dedicated to French Heritage Language Educators, we encourage you to also explore the Immersion DLI section, which includes several resources that are relevant to your teaching context.

1. Heritage Language Programs and Professional Development
2. Digital Libraries and Literary Resources
3. Arts, News, Music, and Interdisciplinary Resources
4. Specific Educational Tools and Resources

1. Heritage Language Programs and Professional Development

• French Heritage Language Program (FHLP)

Villa Albertine and Albertine Foundation offer the French For All Summer Institute for French Heritage Language teachers. This professional development opportunity promotes a sense of community, best practices, and empowers educators to refine their pedagogical approaches and acquire new expertise. Costs for training, lodging, and meals are covered (transportation costs are the responsibility of participants). Check out the 2025 call for participants here.

In addition, the French Heritage Language Program helps students who recently immigrated to the US leverage the French language skills they use at home as an asset in their new life through programs such as AP coursework, college prep, and programs in the arts, all with a focus on West African and Caribbean cultures.

The program distributes annual grants of up to $30,000. Discover our 2024 – 2025 call for projects here.

• French Heritage Language Program Google Classroom

French Heritage Language course, created for Villa Albertine’s FHL program, empowers students to embrace their heritage language as an academic and professional asset, equipping them with tools to succeed in higher education and beyond.

Our experts consolidated and curated this project-based pedagogy course tailored for heritage learners with resources from TV5Monde, RFI, and FHLP’s own curriculum bank and based on the ACTFL’s 5Cs (Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons, Communities).

Please contact Yann Gaboriau, French Heritage Language program officer, to learn more and request access: yann.gaboriau@albertinefoundation.org.

• AP French Language and Culture Course

The AP French Language and Culture course is designed to be equivalent to an intermediate-level college course in French. This course is especially valuable for French heritage language learners because it validates and formalizes their language skills in an academic setting. It helps with college credit, placement, and showcases bilingualism on college and scholarship applications.

The website contains resources specifically for teachers to help them prepare students with course and exam descriptions, scoring guidelines, etc. The curriculum is organized around six thematic units:

1. 1. Families in Different Societies
   2. The Influence of Language and Culture on Identity
   3. Influences of Beauty and Art
   4. How Science and Technology Affect Our Lives
   5. Factors That Impact the Quality of Life
   6. Environmental, Political, and Societal Challenges

2. Digital Libraries and Literary Resources

• Library of Congress, France, and the French Collections

The Library of Congress offers a variety of open-access resources in French, including materials on U.S. history. The Open Access Resources page also contains an impressive list of external links to French resources.

• Collège de France, Free Books and Open Lectures

Collège de France is a prestigious higher education and research institution located in Paris, France. Unlike traditional universities, it offers no degrees or diplomas; instead, it provides free and open lectures to the public, given by some of the world’s leading scholars and scientists.

Start navigating all their courses and discover cutting-edge lectures, such as:

• • The differential evolution of French around the world
  • Evolution of the verbal paradigm of French-based Creoles
  • The trajectory of Louisiana Creole from the perspective of language ecology
  • The Africanization of French, or French as an African language

• (OIF Resources) Conte-moi, a Platform Dedicated to Sharing Francophone Tales and Oral Heritage

Conte-moi is an educational project managed by La Francophonie (OIF) that collects and showcases traditional tales from various Francophone regions, including Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, Haiti, and Morocco.

Each story is presented in both French and the local language (such as Bambara, Wolof, or Haitian Creole), accompanied by audio recordings, animated films, and pedagogical materials that can be downloaded.

The platform aims to promote cultural diversity and foster a deeper understanding of the Francophone world through storytelling.

• (Canadian Resources) Bibliothèque des Amériques by the Centre de la francophonie des Amériques

Free, unique, and 100% Franco-American. The Bibliothèque des Amériques provides access to thousands of digital books by Francophone authors from the Americas. Its unique offering is both diverse and specialized. It stands out by gathering, preserving, and sharing the documentary heritage of Francophone communities or related to Francophone communities across the Americas.

Created in 2014, the Library of the Americas is an initiative of the Centre de la francophonie des Amériques, an organization of the Quebec government. It is accessible free of charge if you become a member…for free. Whether you are from Brazil, Colombia, Haiti, the United States, Canada, etc.

In addition, visit the Zone pédagogique (pedagogic corner). Designed for French teachers in primary and secondary education, it offers a selection based on the literary quality of the work, inclusion of cultural references from the Americas, its potential for educational use, and its region. For instance, for 5 to 12-year-olds, check the Cahiers Virgule! It also offers great reading guides.

3. Arts, News, Music, and Interdisciplinary Resources

• CinéSchool by Villa Albertine for Students Aged 4-18

CinéSchool, launched in 2021 by Villa Albertine and Albertine Foundation, is an educational film program designed specifically for students aged 4-18. These films help develop language skills while exploring diverse Francophone cultures with curated French-language cinema accompanied by comprehensive educational resources. The program is open to French teachers in public and private schools, accredited networks, Alliances Françaises, and FLAM (French as a Mother Language) programs across the country.

• Albertine Cinémathèque by Villa Albertine for Adults and Universities

Albertine Cinémathèque is an educational and grant program of Villa Albertine and Albertine Foundation, supported by the CNC and the Franco-American Cultural Fund. This initiative is designed to expand access to French cinema and support film programming at American colleges and universities.

Albertine Cinémathèque’s annual film selection engages with some of the greatest issues of our time, while fostering a lasting appreciation for this diverse and evolving art form. By offering grants and providing extensive resources, the program helps to enrich educational environments and deepen the connection between French culture and American audiences through cinema.

Free Membership for US higher education faculty to Albertine Cinémathèque allows you to:

• • Book films from our COMMITTEE PICKS list for on-campus events or festivals.
  • Apply for our FESTIVAL GRANT to help fund your very own French film festival on campus.
  • Access semi-annual virtual FILM SERIES, available to members and their students online to build into in-class curriculum and discussions.
  • Invite FILMMAKERS for post-screening conversations with students, whether in-person or virtually.

• TV5Monde, Teach with Authentic Videos and Cultural Programming

The French-language network TV5 Monde contains numerous online resources: categorized by levels and topics, including educational videos, articles, and authentic documents. It is especially helpful in preparing high school students for the AP French Exam.

TV5 Monde also offers rich programming changing every month, including premium films, new series, and engaging documentaries. Villa Albertine publishes a monthly round-up of must-see programs.

• RFI français facile, Learn and Teach French through Slow News and Podcasts

RFI (Radio France International) has all you need to learn French with international news, podcasts, exercises, and language tests to learn and practice French, for all levels. Also check “La salle des profs” sharing ready-to-use lesson plans, tips for teachers, and podcasts. It even contains an interactive map to listen to different French accents.

• Alors on chante !, a Collaborative Initiative by the Institut Français and the Centre national de la musique

The Institut Français and the Centre national de la musique have teamed up to develop the ‘Alors on chante!’ program.

This initiative offers a collection of Francophone music, accompanied by teaching resources designed to facilitate the integration of music into French language instruction. The songs are categorized by proficiency level, and the teaching materials are available for download, providing song lyrics, artist introductions, and questions for pre-listening, during listening, and post-listening activities.

Additionally, we encourage you to explore the What the France website, which features a wealth of engaging articles, documentaries, and news related to Francophone music. The site also offers excellent playlists, such as ‘Playlist of the Month’ and ‘French Hits in France’.

• 1 Jour 1 Actu, Explain the News to Children Aged 8–14

1 Jour 1 Actu is designed to provide current events to kids with accessible, simplified, and pedagogically structured content. You can create a teaching account for free and download pedagogical resources such as a weekly poster covering culture, science, history, politics, environment, etc.

The website helps students not only learn the language but also think critically about what’s going on in the world.

4. Specific Educational Tools and Resources

• Agence Française de Développement, Teach Students Sustainable Development

The Agence Française de Développement is the agency supporting France’s policy on development and international solidarity.

It has developed tools to discover and learn about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. You will find pedagogical guides, quizzes, and a pedagogical book available for free.

Also, discover documents and guides available for download in PDF format on the Éduscol website.

• French Heritage Society, Learn About the Origins of the French Presence in North America in French

French Heritage Society (FHS) is an American nonprofit organization whose mission is to protect the French architectural and cultural legacy in France and the United States.

They propose teaching materials intended to assist teachers of French who wish to help their students learn about the heritage of the regions that were known in the era of La Nouvelle France as le pays d’en haut and le pays des Illinois.

• (OIF Resources) Boîte à outils pour l’enseignant to Explain Francophonie

The Boîte à outils pour l’enseignant offers a curated collection of resources to explain Francophonie. It contains a map, the organization chart, and related websites.

• (Canadian Resources) Acadience Learning, Early Literacy Assessment Tools in French for K–6 Educators

Acadience Learning contains free resources such as the Acadience® Reading Français manuel d’évaluation. Acadience resources make it easier to detect K-6 students who are at risk for early reading difficulties in French, to provide timely instructional support, to prevent the occurrence of later reading difficulties, and support the multi-tiered system of instruction known as Response To Intervention (RTI) that aims to provide high-quality education to students with disabilities.