French in Normandy sponsors 4th annual Congress for French teachers across the Arab World (CMA) in Agadir, Morocco
This regional congress of the FIPF (International Federation of French Language Teachers) brings together teachers from North Africa and the Middle East but of course is open to teachers of French worldwide. The opening speeches and the fascinating paper presented by Jean Louis Calvet all gave different perspectives on the role and importance of the French language.
French is the official language of 36 countries with over 64 million French speakers second only to English which is the official language of 63 nations worldwide.
The statistics presented by J.L. Calvet on the different languages across the globe left us in no doubt as to the importance of the French language, not just today but also in tomorrow’s world as well as underlining the necessity for people to be able to speak more than one language.
The role of the teacher and their importance is at the heart of President Macron’s project for the promotion of the French language and France. The French language is a motor for a real plurilingualism which will facilitate integration, further study and open doors for millions of young people around the world.
French is the second most taught and used language in international universities (74% compared to 97% for English) and the excellence of French higher education is well known globally.
French in Normandy has several partners for further study in France encouraging students to come to Rouen to learn or perfect their level of French before starting on a course of higher education with local engineering schools such as the ECSI, INSA or ESIGELEC. We also provide an option for vocational excellence with the INBP (Institut Français de la Boulangerie et de la Pâtisserie), not forgetting the local university and business schools.
Learning to speak French changed the life of French in Normandy Director, Eleri Maitland, and so by definition changed the life of her husband and children’s experience. Speaking another language has given her an inestimable chance and has opened so many windows to the world. Passing those same opportunities onto young people, whatever their nationality or age, and transmitting the pleasure of a multilingual and multicultural life is French in Normandy’s ultimate goal.
French in Normandy is a convinced that learning languages is the way to bring peoples together, a force for tolerance and respect and a solid building block in the construction of a better, more equitable world.
Le français c’est une chance……
