How does one teach the French language to Indian learners who come from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds?

For language teaching to succeed, it must be closely linked to adaptability to cultural mindsets. Thus, teaching French to a Tamil-speaking student has to be approached in a different manner than teaching French to a Hindi-speaking student.

This was among the new approaches examined at a seminar held here recently titled, ‘New Approaches in Teaching of French as Foreign Language in India’ at the Kanchi Mamunivar Centre for Postgraduate Studies.

The seminar was organised in collaboration with the Association of Indian Teachers of French.

Given Puducherry’s history and the status of French as an ‘official’ language here, it was only natural that the seminar brought scholars from different places like New Delhi, Assam, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala to gain an understanding of good teaching practices of the language.

At the helm was Professor Yves Loiseau, the resource person from the Universite Catholique de l’Ouest, France, who has several years of experience in the field.

Through regular visits to India, he has specialised in new trends suitable to the Indian context, said Dr. Jeyaraj Daniel, Head, Department of French, Kanchi Mamunivar Centre for Postgraduate Studies.

The seminar addressed the issue of filling the lacunae of traditional language teaching methods like translation method.

“By introducing principles of the Common European Framework (CEF) which is followed across Europe to teach the language, we hope to better the teaching and learning process. But this CEF has to be tailored to suit the specific language needs of our students,” said Professor K. Madangobalane, president of the Association of Indian Teachers of French (AITF), while addressing participants at the seminar.

“We have to adapt language teaching based on the cultural background of the student. We have to answer the questions ‘to whom are we teaching’ and ‘what are the specific needs of the student’,” said Dr. Daniel.

There has been a significant growth in those interested in learning French, he said. As a result, the college offers the basics of French language to students of other disciplines. In fact, even this has been divided into specific courses, like ‘French for tourism and hospitality,’ he said. Students who have acquired good language skills in French are recruited by MNCs and alumni of the department have joined companies like Amazon, HSBC, TCS and HP, said Dr. Daniel.

However, Mr. Madangobalane warned about the consequences of considering French only as a means for job prospects. “There is a diminishing interest for in-depth studies in the language. The inherent values that a language propagates are blatantly ignored. Culture studies are forgotten and literature is sidelined,” he said.

Dr. Daniel said the French Department and the AITF were planning for more seminars and academic events which would strengthen French teaching practices here.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com