A farewell to french: Liliane Toss reflects on NGU’s French program
Treasure Hardwick, News and Feature Editor
Photo courtesy of Liliane Toss
On Oct. 30, 2025, Paul Thompson, Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at North Greenville University, informed students that French courses will no longer be offered after the spring semester of 2026.
In the email to the students, he wrote, “As dean of the College of Humanities and Sciences I am writing to inform you of the very sad news that next semester will be the last semester North Greenville will offer courses in the French language. The administration has decided that the total enrollment in French courses is too low for us to continue to offer the language after this school year. I am not happy about this decision but it’s in the best financial interest of the university.”
For Liliane Toss, who has taught French at NGU since 2005, this news brings a mix of sadness and gratitude.
Originally from Egypt, Toss did not foresee herself coming to the United States to teach. However, while teaching in Egypt, she was invited to speak at a French culture and civilization conference at the University of South Carolina. It was at the event that she met a faculty member from NGU who was looking for a French professor.
The move all the way from Egypt to the tiny town of Tigerville was a major transition for Toss.
In Egypt, she taught at the second largest university where 90% of the students were Muslim. While Toss was close with her students in Egypt, she explained that she had to find ways to share Christ’s love with these students without giving advice from scripture or offering prayer.
So, when she moved to North Greenville where Christianity is cherished, she embraced the opportunity to speak about Christ freely to those around her, especially her students.
At NGU, Toss taught courses in French one, two, three and four, as well as Intermediate French Conversation, Intermediate French Grammar, Introduction to French literature and Masterpieces in French literature for different centuries. One year, Toss even created and taught a class for teaching French for a specific student who was interested in French immersion school.
Along with these classes, Toss also worked with the department chair to create the French minor.
In addition to teaching French classes, Toss also taught Arabic at NGU while the program was still offered.
For Toss, the most rewarding part of teaching French has always been watching her students take what they have learned and go out and apply it in the real world.
She explained that she had a student who have moved to Canada and started a church, some students who have moved to France, students who have gone to Lebanon and even students who have moved to Egypt.
“Just having the privilege of having students do this, for me that is something valuable and priceless,” Toss said.
Despite its small size, the French program at NGU fostered a sense of community and family.
Toss said, “Within the French program, we try to stay together as much as possible, and we try to stay also involved in the community as much as possible.”
The French students often came together through cultural and community events. They served together at French celebrations, presented class projects to the larger French community in Greenville, attended French-speaking churches and visited French bakeries together.
One of Toss’s favorite memories at NGU comes from a class she taught that took the French culture a little too literally.
After spending weeks teaching France’s famous tradition of going on strike when wanting more time off work or to accomplish a task, her students decided to “go on strike” themselves, refusing to take an exam. When they gathered by the bell to protest on exam day, Toss could not help but find the situation funny and to give them more time to study.
“What can I say? It was an application of the French culture,” she said.
Although the news of the program’s closing has been difficult for Toss, she has felt love and encouragement from her students. She explained that several have reached out to her with heartfelt emails, reminding her that God has a plan for her life and thanking her for the impact she has had on them as a professor.
As she looks ahead to what is next, Toss is choosing to trust God with the future. She explained that God made a way for her to teach at NGU, and He will continue to make a way in her life, whatever that may look like.
“The Lord opened the door for me to teach. It was a miracle, and it was His plan. It was like the way everything worked in such a short time was nothing but God’s hand. Now this door is closed, so I will just wait to see what He has in store for me next,” she said.
