WEBINAR- 22 July 2020
The COVID-19 opportunity: Learn French
Thelanguageofthefuture -ANYTIME, ANYWHERE
In an All India webinar organized by the Embassy of France
/ InstitutFrançais in India and the Alliance Française network, in
collaboration with Campus France India, the Ambassador of France to India, H.E.
Mr Emmanuel Lenain, elaborated on French as an international language and its
rapid rise partly on account of increasing speakers in the African continent.
He highlighted the over 300 million francophonia
and an even larger francophile,
especially in the Indian sub-continent thanks to a shared history.
According to MrLenain, “The development of the French language is part of a global scheme
presented by President Emmanuel Macron in March 2018. India is a priority in
this plan and boasts of the largest network of Alliance Françaises in Asia. We
will encourage more Alliances Françaises in the country thanks to a large
demand”. The Ambassador also cited COVID-19 as a factor in the speeding up
digitalization of the network enabling access to students including those far
away from city centres.
He enunciated the benefits of learning French especially
in the context of higher education in France and working for French companies
both in India and France. On this subject the Ambassador mentioned, “Next year will not be a blank year as we
will make sure that students go to France to study even if it means a few weeks
of online learning in the beginning. I am confident that onsite teaching will
resume soon given the improvement in the sanitary situation of France. For now,
I advise you to apply and prepare everything so that once the visa services
begin, and this will be soon, your visa requests can be expedited”.
Dr Samuel Berthet,
Director of the Alliance Française in Hyderabad
highlighted that the Alliances Françaises in India, while discussing today’s
world were actively contributing to the future world. He traced the historical
context of French language in India– be it Toru Dutt’s first novel in French
written in 1879, the establishment of India’s first Alliance Française in
Pondichéry in 1889 or the role of business families such as the Tatas and the
Godrej family. The Alliance Françaisesare vehicles of technical and scientific
cooperation between India and France as well as dissemination of culture
besides discovery of both France and India.
Mr David Petit Jean,
Academic Coordinator for French Language at the Alliance Françaisein Mumbai, highlighted teaching of French as a foreign language as amongst the
fortés of the Alliance Françaisewhich embraced theCommon European Framework for
language learning, a global standard. He elaborated on the 6 levels of
proficiency, certifications of the French Ministry of Education and an
action-oriented approach to teaching. A critical strength during the pandemic included
adoption of a digital platform, ‘My Alliance’ which enabled continuity between
classroom and individual learning.
MsRhéa Cheryl
Shivan, Campus France Manager in Chennai,
informed on the 12-city network of Campus France, the agency under the French
Ministry of External Affairs and the French Ministry of Higher Education,
Research and Training. She highlighted the significance of the mutual recognition
of degrees between India and France as well as an increase in scholarships for
Indian students - scholarships worth over Rs 10 crore are awarded annually to
Indian students to study in France. In the wake of the pandemic, Campus France
remains fully operational online and continues to guide thousands of Indian
students wanting to study in France.
Mr Eric Perrotel,
Attaché for cooperation in the French language, based in Chennai, spoke about cooperation with Indian schools especially development of
training programmes in teaching French. 40 000 students are enrolled in French
language programmes in Indian Universities in addition to 6 lakh learners in
schools and others at the Alliance Françaises in India. He informed on the French
schools in India which accommodated around 1000 students including Indian
students. Finally, he mentioned the Assistants Programme wherein Indian and
French students got an opportunity to teach English and French respectively in each
other’s countries for a period of 7 and 9 months each.
French is one of the most popular and most learned foreign
languages in India. In a linguistically diverse country as India, Learning
French the French Way, without another connecting language like
English, comes naturally as evident from thousands of French learners and
speakers who picked up this asset without forsaking their native tongue. And
today, courtesy digital learning, one can learn French Anytime,Anywhere.
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