A new Website to add in your favorites

I Love French is the name of a new website set up by the Embassy of France in Wellington in order to showcase the place that France and the French language hold in the hearts of New Zealanders : www.ilovefrench.co.nz

21 New Zealanders, of whom 8 are living in France, explain in detail the reasons for their love of things French in film segments 1.5 to 2 min in length.They give their personal impressions and remind us of the place that foreign languages should occupy in today’s world - especially in New Zealand. A few months before the general introduction of compulsory foreign language teaching in the New Zealand education system, they thus make an essential contribution to the debate on foreign languages.

Currently, 12 of the 21 films produced are posted on-line, these being the ones of the New Zealanders living in New Zealand. The films of those who have settled in France will be available on-line soon.

Among the personalities filmed are Sarah Bradley, TV presenter, Seddon Bennington, Te Papa's chief executive, as well as Bill Gosden, director of the New Zealand International Film Festivals. School students, university students and New Zealanders living in France complete the picture. Although they all share a strong love for France, their relationship to the French language varies: some master the language perfectly and use it on a daily basis, and the others explain how the study of French has enriched their careers or why they have gone back to learning French.

Each film presents convincing arguments to parents and teachers who wish to see French courses being offered in schools.

The site will be active during the whole school year 2009, with other videos and competitive games to be added, and between February and March 2009 each school will receive an A3-size poster to make the site better-known with parents and teaching staff.

 

for more information, please contact:

Dominique Suquet,

Attaché de coopération pour le français

Ambassade de France en Nouvelle-Zélande

Tél. : + 64 (4) 802 77 81

Fax : + 64 (4) 384 25 78

www.ambafrance-nz.org - rubrique "Langue et éducation"

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