French in Jamaica / Le français en Jamaïque

The "Let's keep RFI in Jamaica" petition

2012-01-24T03:52:00.003-05:00

The international French radio station, Radio France internationale (RFI), located at the Alliance française in Kingston is currently discussing its withdrawal from Jamaica due to budgetary constraints.

In order to let the station know of its invaluable contribution to the teaching and learning of French in Jamaica, you can sign the petition at:
1) www.english.rfi.fr.aef_contact for the English page.
2) www.rfi.fr/contenu/nous-ecrire for the French page.

The Alliance assures us that RFI will not be withdrawn in the near future but needs your input to keep it in Jamaica.

Fun facts about France

2011-12-04T23:52:00.004-05:00

1. The most famous bicycle race in the world is the Tour de France. Cyclists cover over 2100 miles in 23 days.

2. Beer is considered a luxury drink saved for special occasions and wine is free with most meals.

3. The concorde first flew from Toulouse, one of the centres of the aerospace industry in Europe.

4. The Statue of Liberty was made in France and given to the US to celebrate its centennial.

5. The jeans material was imported from Nîmes by Levi Strauss to California to make tough clothing for gold diggers.

Strange but true ...

2011-12-04T23:42:00.003-05:00

A French rock group called "Jamaica" ... It's a duo of Antoine Hilaire and Flo Lyonnet and neither is from Jamaica ... They used to be called Poney Poney ... Even stranger, they have an album called "No Problem".

The French in Jamaica

2011-12-04T23:25:00.002-05:00

Did you know that the largest influx of French into Jamaica began in 1791? Why? The beginning of the Haitian Revolution on the then island of Hispaniola. Thousands of Frenchmen and women fled to Jamaica. (source: http://jamaicanfamilysearch.com)

Today, French nationals come to Jamaica for business and leisure.

We welcome the new Linguistic Attaché at the Embassy of France

2011-11-25T10:39:00.001-05:00

Bienvenue en Jamaïque Mme Lorène Vidal!

Free French music - live! - on your BB!

2011-11-25T10:22:00.009-05:00

You can listen to the live French radio station located in Ile-de-France - Chante France - for free on your BlackBerry. Do a search in BB App World then download it! It's that simple. Non-stop musical pleasure ... with a few ads in between to tease your ears. (NB: It may not work on some models.) Chante France is also available online at http://www.chantefrance.com. Chante France c'est le meilleur de la chanson française! Bonne écouté!

Creation of the Translators and Interpreters Association of Jamaica (TIA)

2011-11-24T14:38:00.003-05:00

This specialist group, made up mainly of classroom teachers, was officially presented at this year's Foreign Languages general meeting at the Ministry of Education, Caenwood, Kingston on September 26.

Follow the (Jamaican) English Language Assistants in France on Facebook ...

2011-11-24T14:18:00.003-05:00

Search for the group: Les Postes d'Assistants and join! They are having fun in France! Follow their joys (and sometimes their grief).

Major holidays in France - Les jours fériés en France

2011-08-16T16:49:00.003-05:00

Le Jour de l'An (le 1er janvier)
Fête du premier mai (le 1er mai)
Fête de la victoire 1945 (le 8 mai)
Fête nationale (le 14 juillet)
L'Assomption (le 15 août)
La Toussaint (le 1er novembre)
L'Armistice (le 11 novembre)
Noël (le 25 décembre)

Of course there are religious festivals like our such as mercredi des cendres (Ash Wednesday), dimanche de Pâques (Easter Sunday), Pâques (Easter) and la Pentecôte (Pentecost).

Want to be an English Language Assistant in France?

2011-08-16T16:38:00.005-05:00

Spend a year on the government of France's annual programme l'assistanat, that is, as an English Assistant in France. For details, see previous post on this blog entitled "Work for a year in France, the French government's assistant programme". Type title in the search bar in the top left hand corner.

Also, join the group of Assistants on Facebook at "Les Postes d'assistants". It's buzzing with information from past and present Assistants that will surely help prospective ones.

The official site for the programme is www.ciep.fr/assistantetr/index.php/. Info en français!

Veteran French teacher defends her PhD in teaching French

2011-08-16T16:29:00.003-05:00

Jean Small, co-founder of the Jamaica Association of French Teachers and retired French teacher par excellence, successfully defended her dissertation entitled "Creativity and the use of Drama in the teaching of French language and literature". Chapeau Jean!

JAFT News - Updates

2011-08-16T16:20:00.004-05:00

1. The Jamaica Association of French Teachers (JAFT) has a new executive committee: Mrs. Elizabeth McLeod-Taylor; Mrs. Mylène Ferriera; Ms. Lola Francis; Mr. Guillaume Debray; Ms. Kathy Grant; Ms. Francine Thompson. Toutes nos félicitations!

2. The new logo was launched on April 6, 2011 at a reception at the French Embassy.

3. CXC preparation days and the French literature seminar were successful.

4. The French festival was held on May 3, 2011. The winners were 1st prize - St. Georges College (junior and senior categories); 2nd prize - Belair and Meadowbrook High (junior category) and Meadowbrook High (senior category)

Let us continue to participate in our association. Vive le français en Jamaïque!

Interesting French facts

2011-03-09T23:22:00.003-05:00

- With its départements and territoires, France is on 4 continents: Europe, N. America, S. America and Antarctica.
- If you laid out the cables used in the lifts of the Eiffel Tower end to end, they would stretch for 16 kilometres.
- The bikini was invented at the same time in 1946 by two French designers working independently of each other!
- The Mona Lisa, the most famous painting in the world, has no eyebrows. It was the fashion in Florence at the time to shave them off.
- Compté cheese is best eaten 30 months after it is made.

La semaine de la langue française

2011-03-01T21:52:00.006-05:00

Each year La semaine de la langue française is celebrated internationally in March. Activities vary from country to country and include the well-known poetry competition on les dix mots. These ten words show the richness of the French language with words from different origins. The week's activities culminate in La journée internationale de la Francophonie on March 20. Rendez-vous sur le site web du Ministère de la Culture et de la communication.

French Textbook for Children : Made by a Jamaican, for Jamaicans!

2010-08-19T17:53:00.007-05:00

Mes Premiers Pas: An Introductory French Course for Children has just hit the market! It's a friendly interactive approach to teach children French whether alone or at school. Mimicking in part the topics covered in the Ministry of Education's Spanish primary curriculum, the text teaches children the basics in French while allowing them to acquire simple structures useful in everyday interaction. Adults who already know French can use it to introduce French to children.

Le français? C'est facile! with Mes Premiers Pas! Call 301-2103 or 478-9149 for more details.

Can you guess the answer ...?

2010-05-25T09:49:00.002-05:00

What do the following celebrities have in common?

Elton John
Pope John Paul II
Halle Berry
Jodie Foster
John Travolta
Johnny Depp
Julio Iglesias
Robin Williams
Lance Armstrong
Michelle Obama

Ans.: They all speak French!

The French Olympics???

2009-10-02T12:31:00.006-05:00

Did you know about the French Olympics??? or "Les Jeux de la Francophonie"??? This event is celebrated the year after the traditional Olympic Games. It began in 1989. It's called the Francophone Games in English. Sporting events include: Athletics, basketball, boxing and table tennis. Cultural events include: Photography, poetry and sculpting. The image on the left is the flag of the Francophone Games.

Arts + Sports + French culture = Les jeux de la Francophonie!

The event can be summarized in French as "Quand le sport s’allie à la culture pour témoigner de la solidarité francophone, cela donne les Jeux de la Francophonie, une formidable rencontre entre 3000 jeunes artistes et athlètes venus du monde entier."

Typing French accents on an English keyboard

2009-09-21T12:13:00.003-05:00

Tired of going to "Insert" to add your French accent(s) when typing your documents? Don't have a French keyboard to make typing French accents easy? Here's an easier way: typing Alt + certain number combinations. See below.

Alt 130 é

Alt 131 â

Alt 133 à

Alt 135 ç

Alt 136 ê

Alt 137 ë

Alt 138 è

Alt 139 ï

Alt 140 î

Alt 147 ô

Alt 150 û

Alt 151 ù

Information on Jamaica and the Caribbean ... en français!

2009-07-14T11:46:00.007-05:00

This link is for anyone who wishes to have information on Jamaica ... en français! You can also see a map of the Caribbean and get information about other Caribbean countries ... en français!

http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/amsudant/Jamaique.htm

Learning/Teaching French in Jamaica

2009-06-17T10:40:00.017-05:00

Preparatory schools – Les écoles élémentaires
KINGSTON
Mona Preparatory

WESTMORELAND
Westmoreland primary

MANCHESTER
El Instituto de Mandevilla
Belair Early Childhood Centre
West Indies College Preparatory

High schools – Les écoles secondaires
KINGSTON
Alpha Academy
American International School (private)
Camperdown High
Excelsior High
Calabar High
Ardenne High
The Queens School for girls
Hillel Academy (private)
Immaculate Conception High
Kingston College
St. Georges College
Holy Childhood High
Jamaica College
Meadowbrook High
Merl Grove High
St. Andrew High
St. Hugh’s High for girls
Wolmer’s Girls School

ST. CATHERINE
St. Jago High
St. Catherine High
Greater Portmore High
Bog Walk High

PORTLAND
Morant Bay High
St. Thomas Technical

CLARENDON
Knox College

MANCHESTER
Bishop Gibson High for girls
deCarteret College
Belair High
Victor Dixon High School
May Day High
Manchester High

ST. ELIZABETH
Munro College

Universities/Teachers' College – Les universités/l'IUFM
MANCHESTER
Northern Caribbean University (NCU)

KINGSTON
University of Technology (UTech)
Shortwood Teachers’ College
University of the West Indies (UWI)

Private institutions for all levels - Les établissements privés pour tous les niveaux
KINGSTON
The Alliance française de la Jamaïque
The Language Training Centre (LTC)
Centre of Language and Culture (CLC)

MONTEGO BAY
The Language Training Centre (LTC)

French curriculum now a reality

2009-06-14T08:07:00.011-05:00

The national French curriculum for secondary schools is now approved by the Ministry of Education and ready for use in September 2009. On Friday, June 12 the Minister of Education, Honourable Andrew Holness, accepted a copy of the document and gave his support to the teaching of French in Jamaica.

Minister Holness was the keynote speaker at the launch held in his conference room at the Ministry's head office at 2 Heroes' Circle in Kingston. The new curriculum and teachers' guide is for grades 7, 8 and 9 as grades 10 and 11 follow the CXC curriculum.

A copy of the curriculum is available at the Ministry of Education's website: http://www.moey.gov.jm/divisions/ed/core/JAFT09%20GRADE%207-9%20FRENCH%20CURRICULUM.pdf.

To see the article from the Jamaica Information Service (JIS), see http://www.jis.gov.jm/education/html/20090613t000000-0500_20023_jis_new_french_curriculum_presented_to_education_minister.asp

French Radio and TV station in Jamaica

2009-02-16T14:20:00.011-05:00

Radio France Internationale or RFI is available on 96.5 on the FM band in parts of Kingston, St. Catherine and Clarendon. Programmes are in both French and English. Bonne écoute! TV5Monde, the national TV station from France, is available in Kingston on the Telstar cable network. TV5 is also available elsewhere in Jamaica on cable with FLOW. Bonne visualisation!

Why study French?/Some tips for doing well in French

2008-08-06T17:09:00.012-05:00

See http://www.fll.vt.edu/french/whyfrench.html and http://sandbox.ea.ecu.edu.au/projects/french_resources/motivation/whyfren.htm for answers to the question: "Why study French?"

TIPS

1. French is a foreign language, foreign means different so don’t ask too many “why?"s, just learn to follow the patterns you observe. Accept the language as it is; the language is simply different. Learn the differences and apply the rules. As English-speakers you may not know why what you say is right, likewise, a French teacher can't always tell you why things are the way they are in French.

2. Culture is as important as language. French is not only spoken in France. There is a French-speaking world or Francophone world. Learn the culture of the people who speak French.

3. French grammar is different from English grammar. Simply put, parts of speech go in different positions in French sentences. The sentences may sound awkward if you try to impose English grammar onto the sentences. For example: in English, adjectives come before nouns: eg. "My favourite colour". In French nouns normally come before adjectives: eg. "Ma couleur préférée".

4. Mastery of French requires mastery of English. The rationale for mastering English when learning French is that most textbooks use English grammatical terms to explain the grammar of the foreign language. Only a good grasp of English will help you to understand what’s being explained, so improve your knowledge of English grammar.

5. Practice makes perfect. Like all other subjects, French needs to be practised to be mastered. Make every effort to listen to the CDs that accompany textbooks, speak with persons who speak French whether they are natives or not, even your classmates. The Internet has radio and TV stations where you can listen to live broadcast (news, weather, sports, music, documentaries) just as though you were in the foreign country. There are also websites that have free grammar exercises that you can do and test yourself or you can receive daily/weekly/monthly lessons. Check the "interesting links" section of this site for more information.

6. How much you learn is up to you. Why not challenge yourself to learn a new word/expression every day! Go beyond what is taught in class. Everything you learn benefits you later in life. You will never know where life will take you; you may get a job offer in Canada, Belgium, Senegal or France.

7. Keep a vocab book and record new words/expressions you hear/see.

8. Be optimistic. You can learn French. Many others did, so can you!

Work for a year in France - The French government's Assistantship programme

2008-01-15T22:19:00.020-05:00

The French government allows 25 Jamaicans to work as English Language Assistants in France each year. You may choose to work in a primary or high school or a Teachers' College. Between 2002 - 2009, over 150 students from Jamaica have participated in the programme. Each participant is given a copy of the "Guidelines for language assistants in France".

The programme is open to all students of French with a minimum requisite level of Intermediate French so that they will be able to communicate effectively when they get to France.

THE APPLICATION PROCESS (in 10 easy steps)
1. Get an application form.
Either (i) Download application form from http://www.ciep.fr/. Go to "Programmes de mobilité" then "comment s'inscrire". Then click on "Jamaique" and "dossier d'inscription" or (ii) Pick up a form at the French Embassy.

2. Fill out the form (in triplicate) and submit it directly to the French Embassy in Kingston with the relevant documents toward the end of January. The supporting documents include an official transcript from your institution, 2 teacher appraisals (forms provided), your birth certificate translated into French (Language Training Centre or the Alliance can do this for you - at a cost), a medical certificate (form provided) and a photograph.

3.The French Embassy emails and/or calls you to attend an interview. This usually takes place in March and is conducted in both French and English or only in English. The main aim is to ascertain your motivation to participate in the programme. Dress casually.

4. Applications are sent to France for selection. Results are sent back to the French Embassy in Jamaica.

5. If successful, you will receive your acceptance email/letter by April. If not, you will also be told that you were not successful.

6.The Ministry of Education in France sends your "Arrêté de nomination" in May/June to the French Embassy. The Embassy will contact you when it is received. The "Arrêté" tells you where you'll be working (which "département" and school) and the contract period. This is not your contract. You sign your contract when you get to the school.

7. The French Embassy puts you in touch with other assistants who have been to your "département" or school and hosts a send off for all assistants, usually in the summer.

8. Get ready to go! Get in touch with a travel agent to ask for special airfares, contact the school to which you have been assigned to tell them of your expected arrival date, contact any previous assistant(s) who may have been at your school/"département" for more informal information, get your visa from the French Embassy.

9. Vous êtes prêt(e)!

10. Bon voyage!

The French Embassy/L'Ambassade de France à Kingston is located at 13 Hillcrest Avenue, Kingston 5. The telephone number is 946 4000.

Teachers and students can sit an internationally recognised exam in French

2007-12-30T13:39:00.013-05:00

It is always good to sit an internationally recognised exam that will let current and/or future employers/school administrators (if registering for a university in France) know your level in French. You don't have to go to France to sit them. You can do these exams at the Alliance française right here in Jamaica. You can choose between the TEF (Test d'Evaluation du Français - for immigration to Canada),

the DELF, the DELF Junior or the DALF or sit all of them over a period of time to see how your French is improving.

What is the Alliance française? The Alliance française (AF) is a non-profit organisation whose mission is to promote French language and culture outside France. Its primary concern is teaching French as a second language. The Alliance caters to as young as three and as old as ... there's no age limit to learning a language! There is a library of magazines, books and audio-visual material (CDs, DVDs, VHS cassettes) which you can borrow. The Alliance is located at 12b Lilford Avenue (off lady Musgrave Road) in Kingston 10. The telephone number is 978 – 6996.

ABOUT THE DELF AND THE DALF

DELF (Diplôme d'Etudes en Langue Française) and DALF (Diplôme Approfondi de Langue Française) are official qualifications awarded by the French Ministry of Education to certify the competency of candidates from outside France in the French language. There is also a specially adapted version of the DELF diplomas for teenagers.

The 6 diplomas that make up DELF and DALF are completely independent. This means that candidates can register for the examination of their choice, according to their level.
At each level, 4 skills are evaluated: listening, speaking, reading and writing.

If you are not French and would like your French skills to be recognised for personal or professional purposes, you can take DELF and/or DALF.

If you are a non-French-speaking French person, you can obtain authorisation from the National Commission for DELF and DALF to take the DELF examinations.

Which diploma should I take?
The DELF and DALF diplomas are independent, so you can take the examination of your choice. You can also sit the examinations for a number of diplomas during the same examination session.

Where do I register?
At the Alliance Française in Kingston, 12b Lilford Avenue (off Lady Musgrave Road). Telephone 978 – 6996.

How much does registration cost?
For 2009, the cost is $1800 JA per unit for members of the Alliance and $2000 JA for non-members.

These exams are usually held in June.

French presence in Jamaica

2007-12-30T13:04:00.009-05:00

How many of you have ever considered the contribution that the French have made here in Jamaica?

The Highway 2000 project is currently being run by a French company: "Bouygues Travaux Publics".

Total gas station is a subsidiary of a French company.

French has been taught in Jamaica since the 1800s. French is taught in all parishes except St. Mary, Portland, Westmoreland and St. Elizabeth.

Jamaica has a vibrant French teachers' Association called the Jamaica Association of French Teachers (JAFT).

The Alliance française in Jamaica has its annual expo at the Hilton, Kingston called a "Touch of France", which showcases French fashion, food, cars and businesses here in Jamaica.

French-speakers from French Canada, Haiti, Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Belgium, Switzerland, French Africa and France live and work in Jamaica.

Vive le français en Jamaïque! Long live French in Jamaica!