In his capacity as French Minister of Education, Jack Lang once stated, “I am convinced that mastering foreign languages is key to any student’s personal and professional success.”
Teaching foreign languages therefore became a priority for several French Ministers of Education: from Jack Lang and François Bayrou to Claude Allègre and Luc Châtel, the current incumbent.
90% of French schoolchildren choose to study English as their first foreign language when starting secondary school at the age of 11. More recently, following several reforms, languages have also been made accessible to French primary school children. France is therefore following in the footsteps of its Scandinavian counterparts (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, etc.), albeit 50 years later.
There is nothing better for foreign language learners than immersing themselves in the country and culture of the language they are learning. It is a fun, effective and successful way of honing language skills.
Every year, some 130,000 French pupils aged between 10 and 18 set off on extracurricular language courses abroad. The United Kingdom is chosen by a staggering 40% of young people (and their parents), followed by Ireland (28%) and North America (20%). Other destinations such as Spain, Italy, Malta and Australia are less commonly chosen although 9% of children look to combine sunshine and language learning.
Language learning is a major concern for people of all ages, since 15% of people who take part in this type of programme are over 30 years old! Learning a language while discovering a country and becoming immersed in the culture, is a very exciting way for French people of all ages to bring their language skills up to the level of their European counterparts.
As a leading company for translation and interpreting, CG Traduction & Interprétation strives to promote language learning and language diversity worldwide, with a specific focus on young people. » Lire la suite
