Parlez-vous l'anglais ?

The French government has taken action in a push to see that its teens are bilingual by the time they leave school. This could create more job opportunities for those with a TEFL qualification in the future. France is traditionally very conservative of its language and culture and the teaching of English has been somewhat overlooked. Ministers have now admitted that the schools are failing to sufficiently teach English and as a consequence its graduates are being held back when looking for work in a world that is increasingly dependent on the English language. Education Minister Xavier Darcos even went as far as saying that not speaking English is a “handicap” and that the President, Nicolas Sarkozy, had laid down the challenge for him to “make France a bilingual nation”.France has always been very proud of its education system, and rightly so. But it now sees it is need of rapid change to keep up with other countries, not just in the EU but worldwide, if it is to hold any influence and compete on the world stage of work and business. Previous governments have been fiercely protective of the language and have even changed legislation in an attempt to preserve the “French way”. In 1994, all radio stations were forced to see that at least 40% of music sent out over the airways was French, public bodies were fined if they used Anglicism’s and former president Jacques Chirac even stormed out of an EU summit because a French business leader addressed the room in English.As well as more English being taught in school time the proposal includes free extracurricular intensive courses available to all during holidays, e-learning and extra support lessons to those struggling. Classes outside of the regular curriculum will be taught by teachers that volunteer to do so during school holidays, in return for tax-free overtime, or alternatively English students from abroad. Although these extra courses are voluntary, expectations of application levels are high and are expected to begin by 2010.For latest TEFL courses and jobs join our TEFL newsletter.