A class of excellence enables motivated school pupils to express their potential and develop their academic ambitions, by offering them optimum working conditions and a reinforced educational project
Why create a class of excellence in French?
The Gambia is landlocked in Senegal, a country where French is spoken and where French culture is deeply rooted.
Learning French and have a solid level of written and oral comprehension will increase the chances of finding a job both inside and outside the country.
Other countries not very far from The Gambia speak French (Guinea-Conakry, Togo…).
French is compulsory in Gambian schools.
The teachers who teach French are either Gambian or come from Guinea Conakry or Senegal.
The resources made available to French teachers to carry out ambitious educational projects are limited due to a lack of funding.
Among the students learning French there are those who are gifted in learning French and who would benefit from an appropriate learning environment.
This class is intended for the best students in French, who will represent the school at official performances, in particular with the Alliance française.
There are three elements to learning a foreign language: Understanding the structure of the language, i.e. ‘grammar’ Memorising the words of the language, i.e. ‘vocabulary’ Communicating in the language until it becomes automatic, i.e. ‘practice’.
What are the advantages of learning a foreign language?
1 Promoting professional integration
2 Opening up to the world
Being able to read literature without translation, sing songs by actually understanding the words and watch foreign films without subtitles: mastering a foreign language means opening up to a whole new world.
Speaking a foreign language also equips you to go beyond cultural stereotypes and prejudices, by gaining a better understanding of the associated culture.
If learning another language can make students more aware of cultural differences, it will also help them understand why these differences exist and the importance of respecting this diversity of cultures. Learning a language inspires solidarity, tolerance and understanding.
3 Strengthening concentration skills
4 Improve understanding of their own language
Learning another language also means improving your mother tongue. When students learn a second language, their knowledge of grammar improves. This linguistic awareness is then transferred to their mother tongue.
5 Developing students’ cognitive skills
As well as being a stimulating activity, learning a new language has benefits that go beyond the excitement of being immersed in a different culture.
Students sharpen their minds by learning to read, speak and write in a new language.
Studies show that learning a language has many cognitive benefits, developing memory, mental agility, decision-making and task management skills*.
When the brain switches from one language to another and receives information in a variety of forms, it evaluates meaning in two ways and attenuates complex patterns. This strengthens the student’s ability to analyse, synthesise and concentrate.
What actions will be taken ?
The teaching of a language cannot be dissociated from the culture it represents. Language carries cultural knowledge, as an instrument of culture.
That’s why we’re setting up various workshops to help students immerse themselves in French culture:
Music workshop
An introductory French music and singing workshop with guitar and piano will be proposed.