Abstract:
This study was designed to examine the history of foreign languages in Lebanon and its
influence on students' academic, professional, and social life, and to investigate the
causes of the shift from French medium schools to American universities. Two methods were used to collect data in order to assure reliability and validity ofthe findings. The
researcher, in order to collect information, employed semi-structured interviews to
interview French educated students who shifted into American universities and to
interview parents, and distributed questionnaires to American university students in
Lebanon. The analysis of the findings revealed many similarities and some differences
between beliefs about foreign languages in Lebanon. The researcher concluded that
English is substituting French in Lebanon and students believe that the French language is tough whereas the English language is easy. All students agreed that being graduates of
American universities will help them to improve their professional life. These beliefs
pushed French educated students to shift into American universities. The results also
pointed out that there are academic and social differences between French and English
educated students.
