Christiane Métral

A dual citizen of France and Switzerland, Métral’s field of specialization is foreign language pedagogy and cross-cultural communication. Intercultural thinking is at the heart of her pedagogy whether she teaches language or culture courses. She teaches "Zooming with the French”, a course with a cross-cultural focus that connects Smith students with students from a grande école in Paris for weekly Zoom conversations. 

Her interest in intercultural matters also lead her to co-create with an Italian colleague a course entitled “Becoming Foreign: Acquiring Global Competence to Study Abroad”. With the support of two grants she has also deepened her interest in global sustainability and climate change. She has been working on integrating environmental justice issues in the language curricula, exploring cultural practices, public policy and climate-action initiatives. Her research interest on contemporary society and culture steered her to publish a book chapter on French youth which offers a sociological perspective on the diversity of youth in France, looking at cultural values and socio-economic circumstances. More recently she headed to the Smith College Archives with her students, guiding them through cultural differences across time and space. Her most recent article reports on this pedagogical project.  

She joined the faculty at Smith in 1996 and co-directed the Smith Program Abroad in Geneva in 2004–05. Outside of Smith, she has worked as a consecutive interpreter for the US State Department, working with francophone groups on their 3-week visits to the U.S.

Selected Publications

Métral C., "Abroad in the Archives: Engaging Students Across Cultures and Through Time," The Language Educator, Volume 19 (3), 2024.

“Les jeunesses en France : économie, culture, sociologie” in La France contemporaine: unité et diversités, polarisations et solidarités. Sous la direction de Michel Gueldry et Armelle Crouzières-Ingenthron. AATF, The French Review Book Series, Volume 2, 2020.

Métral C. & Vanpée J., "Speaking (like the) French: The Success of a Three-Week Domestic Immersion Program," French Review, Vol 91:3, 2018.

Skorupa C., Métral C., Mack M., Benenson J. & Pietrucci S. “« Cross-Cultural Connections » Mediation in a Bilingual Telecollaboration and Cultural Exchange between Télécom-ParisTech and Two American Universities,” Acteurs et formes de médiation pour le dialogue interculturel. GLAT Padova 2016. Actes du Colloque international (Université de Padoue, 17-19 mai 2016), May 2017.

Métral C. & Benenson J. “« Cross-Cultural Connections » Echanges synchrones et asynchrones transatlantiques 2003-2010 France/USA,” French Review, Vol. 85.2, 2011.

Métral C., Benenson J. & Skorupa C., “Echanges synchrones transatlantiques. Le projet « Cross-Cultural Connections »” Distances et Savoirs, TICE, enseignement supérieur et formation, ed. Rizza C. Vol. 7, 2009: 253-272.