COVID-19 Outbreak in the Greater Seattle Area

FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2022

Let's Talk! One-hour Conversation On-site Events: on Wednesdays, 2-3PM, starting May 4. More details about dates, levels, and conditions here.

Exams. The DELF TP & Junior B1, B2, and the DALF C1 & C2 in June are confirmed. The DAEFLE final test in June is also confirmed. Restrictions apply. Check the exam page on our website.


WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022

Following the release of new mask guidelines by the Washington State Governor and King County Public Health, the Alliance Française de Seattle is preparing for a partial return to on-site programs in 2022:

  • All Spring courses will take place virtually as scheduled.
  • The Summer quarter (June 21 – Sept 2) will be designed following a hybrid model: both in-person classes and virtual classes will be offered for adult courses as well as youth summer camps.
  • Starting in April 2022, AFSeattle will organize 1-hour French conversation events on-site at its Wallingford location. Stay tuned for the detailed schedule and safety requirements.
  • All Francophonie events will take place virtually as scheduled during the month of March.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2022

Exams. The DELF/DALF Tout Public Session in March 2022 is confirmed with restrictions. More details here


THURSDAY, JANUARY 27, 2022

Language Center and Library. The spring quarter will be held online. 

The library will remain closed until further notice, but we are working on opening times soon.

Events. Our signature-events (Morning Coffee in French, Happy Hour in French, Ciné-salon, Les Histoires de Sophie) will continue to be online. Given the Omicron evolution, at this time, we are not able to host the one-hour on-site conversations for advanced levels.

Exams. We organize TEFs with one candidate at a time; new dates available until May. The March DELF/DALF session cannot be confirmed yet. More details here.

Office Hours. Please keep in mind that our office has been 100% remote since March 2020. We cannot take phone calls; please email us instead at info@afseattle.org We invite you to visit our FAQ page for more details about enrollment procedures.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. Please do not hesitate to share your thoughts and concerns with us.


THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2021

Language Center and Library. The winter quarter will be held online.

The library will remain closed until further notice, but we are working on opening times starting January.

Events. Our signature-events (Morning Coffee in French, Happy Hour in French, Ciné-salon, Les Histoires de Sophie) will continue to be online. We are planning  for one-hour on-site conversations for advanced levels starting January. Details to follow soon.

Exams. We organize TEFs with one candidate at a time. The DELF/DALF sessions are back; strict conditions apply. The 2022 calendar will be published soon.

Office Hours. Please keep in mind that our office has been 100% remote since March 2020. We cannot take phone calls; please email us instead at info@afseattle.org We invite you to visit our FAQ page for more details about enrollment procedures.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. Please do not hesitate to share your thoughts and concerns with us.


FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2021

Language Center and Library. As the number of cases and hospitalizations as well as the transmission rate remain high in King County, out of an abundance of precaution, all of the courses of the fall quarter will be held online.

The library will remain closed until further notice.

Please keep in mind that our office is 100% remote since March 2020. We cannot take phone calls; please email us instead at info@afseattle.org We invite you to visit our FAQ page for more details about enrollment procedures.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. Please do not hesitate to share your thoughts and concerns with us.


TUESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2021

Language Center and Library. As the number of cases and hospitalizations as well as the transmission rate remain high in King County, out of an abundance of precaution, all of the courses of Fall 1 initially planned on site will be switched online. This decision concerns World News C1 Tue and Oral Communication & Grammar B1+ Mon, Fri. We are still keeping the option to have a few group courses on site in Fall 2; however, if the number of cases and hospitalizations as well as the transmission rate remain high, we will switch them online at the end of September. All of the private classes will remain online during the fall quarter.

The library will remain closed until the end of September, when we will reevaluate the situation.

Please keep in mind that our office is 100% remote since March 2020. We cannot take phone calls; please email us instead at info@afseattle.org We invite you to visit our FAQ page for more details about enrollment procedures.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. Please do not hesitate to share your thoughts and concerns with us.


FRIDAY, AUGUST 20, 2021

Language Center and Library. The Alliance Française de Seattle is actively monitoring the situation regarding the spreading of the Delta variant in King County and the state of Washington. As per WA Department of Health communication of August 19, the state reached a new all-time high of COVID-19 transmission and hospitalizations, and the risks of transmission are apparent event among vaccinated people.

If the transmission rate continues to be high, in an effort to reduce the risk of COVID-19 exposure and to protect the best we can our learners and staff, we might need to switch online the classes initially planned to be held on site during Fall 1. We will take this decision on September 3, two weeks after the new mask mandate would have been in place. 

The classes with a later start (Fall 2) will be kept on site for now, and the situation will be re-evaluated late September. 

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. Please do not hesitate to share your thoughts and concerns with us.


THURSDAY, JULY 22, 2021

Language Center and Library. The Alliance Française de Seattle is working on a partial reopening for adult courses in Fall 2021. Please read our guidelines for on-site and online courses. 


TUESDAY, JULY 13, 2021

Language Center. We start planning for a partial reopening for a few on-site classes starting September 2021. We are still planning to offer a majority of courses online. Official announcements will be made by the beginning of August. Thank you for your patience.


THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 2021

Exam Center. The DELF/DALF/DAEFLE sessions in June are canceled; the December sessions are to be confirmed. We are able to hold limited TEF sessions for essential purposes--immigration, citizenship, studies (read about the conditions here).  Please note that numerous French universities accept the Ev@lang test for admissions.

Language Center. The summer quarter, including the summer camps, will be 100% online. 


TUESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2021

Exam Center. DELF/DALF exam dates for 2021 are now available. Please note that all sessions have yet to be confirmed; AFSeattle will modify and update the status of exams as needed, following the guidelines of the state of Washington. View the DELF schedules here.


WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2020

Exam Center. Our Exam Center is re-opening for TEF certification exams with limited dates. Priority registration for WA and OR residents. Read our policies and register here.

Language Center. The Winter 2021 term will take place 100% online, as AFSeattle continues to follow the safety measures recommended by King County Public Health. 


MONDAY, OCTOBER 12,  2020

Exam Center. Due to the pandemic, there will be no DELF Prim in 2020, and June and December sessions are canceled for DELF/DALF, DELF Junior, and DAEFLE. Should you need an official evaluation of your level for immigration to Canada, French citizenship, or admission to a Francophone university, TEF will be organized with one candidate at a time. Please check the TEF page for further details. Some employees and universities in France accept an Ev@lang result; please check with them. If you need TCF-DAP, please send us an email at info@afseattle.org 


WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2020

Exam Center. On September 22, 2020, the Washington state authorities published new guidance for exams and tests that cannot be organized virtually. Be advised that we are preparing for the reopening of our exam center under strict conditions. A limited number of sessions for TEF will be organized starting the end of October, with one candidate at a time. The TEF policies are updated to reflect the COVID-19 safety measures for both candidates and AFSeattle personnel. In an effort to limit the spread of the virus, residents of the states of Washington and Oregon are given priority to TEF enrolments. Please make sure to sign up to our exam center mailing list so that you receive an email when we open registrations.

Please do not email us for additional questions or requests at this time; you will receive all our updates in due time via the exam center mailing list. Keep in mind that we are a small team, managing a language center, cultural programs, and now the exam center entirely remotely since March 2020. We know that the tests are essential for your life projects and we are doing our best to serve you. However, we cannot accommodate special requests. The TEF will be sold on a first come first served basis.

For residents of other regions in the USA: please check with the Alliances Françaises of Pasadena, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, and New York, who are also offering TEF or TCF sessions. 


WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2020

1) The fall 2020 term will take place 100% online, as AFSeattle continues to follow the safety measures recommended by King County Public Health. The schedule will be available on our website on August 10, and we have an early-bird special from August 13 to 16 on all group courses.

2) Our youth classes start in September 2020 and go until June 2021 (3 terms). Youth classes will be conducted online all academic year—fall, winter, and spring. The program will be announced on our website on August 10.

3) There will be no exams held at AFSeattle until King County enters into Phase 3 of Washington's Safe Start Reopening Plan. In the meantime, we are preparing guidelines for the potential reopening of our exam center. TEF and TCF-DAP tests could be offered under strict conditions.

4) All events on site are canceled until further notice. We will continue offering our free, open-to-all e-gatherings, which we launched in April. Details here

5) Follow us on Instagram for our French Fridays series launched in November 2019, which introduces interesting words, expressions, and dialects, and the recent Ce jour-là / On That Day, presenting diverse historical events of francophone countries. Since April, each Wednesday we publish on our Facebook page a portrait of a francophone personality. Our past curated conferences—in English—are available on our YouTube channel.  

Read our August e-newsletter.  


TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2020

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak and the latest announcements from the Governor of Washington regarding the phased out approach to reopening the state of Washington, the Alliance Française de Seattle is moving its French youth summer camps online.

Discover our new virtual summer camps program here.


MONDAY, MAY 4, 2020

Due to the latest announcements from the state of Washington and the Governor Jay Inslee, the Summer Term will take place online.

The adult Summer Term course program will be available on May 18, and the registration will launch on May 21 with an Early Bird sale from May 21 to 24, 2020. All adult group courses purchased at this time will benefit from a 15% discount (valid for online registration only).

Stay tuned for updates on the summer camps program.

Read our complete May e-newsletter here.


MONDAY, APRIL 6, 2020

On April 6, 2020, Washington Governor Jay Inslee announced the extension of school closures for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year. The proclamation prohibits in-person instruction through June 19.* What does this mean for the Alliance Française de Seattle? Don't worry, we have been preparing for this possible development! We are therefore confirming the following:

  • All Spring courses will continue to take place online until the end of the Spring term (group, private, and corporate courses – no exceptions).
  • Session 2 of the DELF/DALF and the DELF Junior/Scolaire, originally scheduled in June 2020, are canceled.
  • There will be no TEF or TCF certification exams scheduled until further notice.
  • All events are canceled until further notice.

Our office will remain closed until further notice. Our staff is continuing to work remotely according to the stay-at-home order. 

We are working on the Summer term (June 22 – Sept 4, 2020) while considering both online and on-site options, and will announce the program mid-May. The start of Summer registration is moving from May 7 to May 21, 2020.

More information can be found on the Governor's website.

Our policies during COVID-19 offer more flexibility. More information here.


WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2020

Our Spring courses will start 100% online. READ OUR LATEST COMMUNICATION HERE.

More information on online courses can be found here!


THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2020 at 4.30pm

Following the latest news from the state of Washington and the Governor's executive order to close all K-12 schools in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties, the Alliance Française de Seattle is taking the following measures:

1) All our courses in Winter 2020 are now moving online.

2) All our events scheduled in March and April are canceled. We will do our best to re-schedule them if possible.

3) We will send out an official communication about our Spring term on March 18. Any questions regarding online or on-site courses will be answered at that time, with both short-term and long-term plans moving forward.


THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2020

Please find below the list of additional courses that have been moved online starting on March 12:

  • Les Tortues A1.1 SAT with Pauline
  • Les Tortues A1.1 TUE with Pauline
  • A1.3 SAT with Pauline
  • Oral Communication B2 DAY with Lusiné

Important: the following courses are canceled for the rest of the Winter term. The last session will be refunded or credited to your account, and additional resources and homework will be shared via the e-learning platform Apolearn for those wishing to study at home:

  • Les Têtards A1.1 with Pauline
  • Les Grenouilles A1.2 with Pauline

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2020 AT 4.30PM

Following the latest recommendations from King County's Public Health department (published on March 11), the Alliance Française de Seattle is taking the following measures:

1) All events scheduled in March are canceled. 

  • Dictée Gabrielle-Roy scheduled for March 19 -- we are currently analyzing the possiblity of offering an online event. Details to follow.
  • Three films to celebrate Francophonie scheduled on March 24, 25 and 26

Please note that the French-American Chamber of Commerce of the PNW has also decided to cancel French Fest, scheduled for March 22.

2) Over 50 of our classes (group, private and corporate) are now being held online and it's going well. We have taken precautionary measures to move a high number of classes online since March 6, and have received very positive feedback from both our students and our instructors. At this point, King County does not recommend proactively closing schools, but they ask schools to take steps to prepare to a prolonged mandatory closure. Therefore, we are preparing for the possibility of starting our Spring term classes fully online. The official decision will be communicated by email and on our website on March 25, 2020.

3) The Alliance Française de Seattle continues to follow reinforced hygiene measures.

  • Each classroom is disinfected after and before each class (tables, chairs, doorknobs, light switches, etc).
  • Our staff is disinfecting all surfaces in the office several times throughout the day.
  • We are informing our staff, instructors and students of all necessary hygiene measures.
  • We are staying informed of the King County Public Health recommendations and updates.
  • We are applying a flexible cancellation and re-scheduling policy for all our courses, including upcoming classes in March and April.
  • Our staff and instructors are being monitored for any illness symptoms and all given the option to work remotely.

Please refer to the Washington State Department of Public Health for more information.  Do not hesitate to get in touch with us if you have any further question. In the meantime, stay safe and wash your hands often.


WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2020

Please find below the list of additional courses that have been moved online starting on March 11, 2020:

  • Book Club DAY with Danielle
  • B2.2 EVE with Cécile
  • B1.2 EVE with Cécile
  • B2.1 SAT with Cécile
  • B1.3 SAT with Cécile

All private courses with Cécile and Preson have been moved online.


TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2020

Please find below the list of additional courses that have been moved online starting on March 10, 2020:

  • A2.1 DAY with Preston
  • A2.1 EVE with Preston
  • A1.2 EVE with Preston
  • B1.2 SAT with Preston
  • A1.1 SAT with Preston

MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2020

Please find below the list of additional courses that have been moved online starting on March 7, 2020:

  • Les Orques B1 with Aurélia
  • Les Pingouins A2.1 with Aurélia
  • Les Caméléons A1.2 with Aurélia
  • A1.2 DAY with Isabelle
  • Oral Communication A2 EVE with Alina
  • C1.1 EVE with Pauline
  • One Week Intensive B1 Review with Pauline
  • Workshop "Making French Grammar Easy" with Pauline
  • Workshop "French for Travel" with Pauline

The Choir rehearsals of March 9 & March 16 are canceled


THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2020

Following the latest recommendations from King County's Public Health department, the Alliance Française de Seattle is taking the following measures:

1) All courses with instructors at higher risk* are moving online starting on Friday, March 6. They will take place at the scheduled time via video on the e-learning platform Apolearn. Specific recommendations will be sent to concerned students of the following courses:

  • A2.2 DAY with Hailey
  • A1.3 EVE with Hailey
  • A1.2 SAT with Gabrielle
  • A1.1 EVE with Hailey
  • French Grammar Through World News B1+ DAY with Hailey
  • Pas à Pas [DAY] - 2 Weeks Intensive with Camille
  • French & Gastronomy A2+ DAY with Hailey 
  • One Week Intensive A1 Review with Camille
  • One Week Intensive A2 Review with Hailey 
  • One Week Intensive B2 Review with Aimie
  • Book Club 2 EVE with Aimie
  • Private classes with Camille, Hailey, Gabrielle, Janice or Aimie

2) All other group classes can discuss the following options directly with their instructors: moving to an online course or staying on-site.

3) Private classes can move online, stay on-site, or get postponed. Please get in touch with your instructor.

Please take note of the Alliance Française de Seattle's internal policy regarding reinforced hygiene measures:

  • Each classroom is disinfected after and before each class (tables, chairs, doorknobs, light switches, etc).
  • Our staff is disinfecting all surfaces in the office several times throughout the day.
  • We are informing our staff, instructors and students of all necessary hygiene measures.
  • We are staying informed of the King County Public Health recommendations and updates.
  • We are applying a flexible cancellation and re-scheduling policy for all our courses, including upcoming classes in March.

Please refer to the Washington State Department of Public Health for more information. 


*
 People at higher risk include people:

- Over 60 years of age
- With underlying health conditions including include heart disease, lung disease, or diabetes
- With weakened immune systems
- Who are pregnant


MONDAY, MARCH 2, 2020

Dear students and members,

We are monitoring the public health situation around COVID-19. As per Washington State Department of Health recommendations, we will take some extra measures to stop spreading the virus:

1) Any staff member, contractor, or student who has symptoms of acute respiratory illness are recommended to stay home and not come to AFSeattle until they are free of fever (100.4° F [37.8° C] or greater using an oral thermometer), signs of a fever, and any other symptoms for at least 24 hours, without the use of fever-reducing or other symptom-altering medicines (e.g. cough suppressants). Please call your doctor for guidance.

2) Staff members, contractors, and students who are:

  • Ill with a fever, cough, or difficulty breathing AND have traveled from an affected area in the last 14 days,
  • Ill with fever, cough, or difficulty breathing AND have been identified by Public Health as a recent close contact of a confirmed COVID-19 case or had recent close contact with someone who is being evaluated for COVID-19 infection,
  • Ill with a severe lower respiratory tract infection and unknown contact during known community transmission,

should be placed in a private room away from others and asked to wear a face mask (available at the office next to the emergency kit). The local health department will be then noticed and will provide guidance. 

3) Staff and students who are well but who have a sick family member at home with COVID-19 should refer to CDC guidance for how to conduct a risk assessment of their potential exposure.

4) Staff and students are invited to avoid touching their eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands, and to clean their hands often with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60-95% alcohol, or wash their hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

5) AFSeattle will increase the cleaning frequency of all regularly touched surfaces, such as workstations, countertops, and doorknobs.

6) In the event that a staff member or a student is diagnosed with COVID-19, AFSeattle will follow the local public health authorities’ recommendations regarding the potential closure of our facilities. In the event of a closure, we will transfer all the classes (group, private, and corporate) online, on the Apolearn platform, using Zoom and/or Skype.

Please refer to the Washington State Department of Public Health for more information. 

Do not hesitate to get in touch with us if you have any further question. In the meantime, stay safe and wash your hands often.

Thank you for your cooperation.