Focus on French
Is
this the start of a new dawn for language learning?
We would all like to
think so.
With
177,288 GCSE entries in 2013 French remains the most popular language taken by
students. This is an increase in uptake of 15.5%. This increase in
entries is thought to be due to the EBacc performance measure. Would it be totally unrealistic to
hope that students , and their families, are finally beginning to see the world
of opportunity that can open up to them with the addition of a modern foreign
language ?
As
ambassadors for the French language we hope the known benefits we extoll are
reaching young people and this increased interest in French can be sustained.
Cultural awareness and interests, the ever- increasing popularity of city
breaks and gap- year travel are all excellent reasons to encourage our
protégées to embrace the French language.
The
obvious benefit of hugely enlarged employment opportunities for French speaking
individuals can be seriously underestimated by students. Not only could they
gain employment in one of 33 countries, where French is the official language
but, only today, on one website alone, I have seen an additional 482 jobs in
London and the UK available to fluent French speakers
Apart
from occasionally passing on such facts to our students and constantly seeking
new and exciting teaching methods and activities, how else can we motivate
their learning?
Approx.
360 French teachers and 30,000 students from 120 schools each year choose to
focus classroom learning by hosting our live French theatre performance in
their school.
Building
on the quote from the National Curriculum‘ learners who enjoy learning progress
‘ Bon Voyage, http://www.flyingtheatre.com/bon-voyage-178.html the new production
currently touring the UK, is gathering excellent reviews from teachers – I
quote
“Not one pupil was without a smile on their face and the
interaction encouraged the children to take part. The language they learnt was
very topical to their studies and I am sure the memories of the show will stay
with them forever.”
And “Fantastic Play and great
acting! The students understood more than they thought and a lot of words are
part of their curriculum in French. I am sure it will inspire a lot of students
in French in the classroom and beyond!”
Inspiration - we all need it
!
Interesting
links
http://www.all-
languages.org.uk/news/news_list/gcse_results_the_headlines_for_languages
http://french.about.com/od/francophonie/ss/whatisfrench_2.htm
http://www.toplanguagejobs.co.uk/language/French
The Flying Theatre Company have
submitted