The Honorary Consulate General of France in collaboration with Professor Véronique Duché from the University of Melbourne, had the pleasure of hosting a forum on bilingualism/ francophonie in the objective of promoting and developing French language and culture.

A wide selection of language educators as well as representatives from the Department of Education and Training partook in the event on Friday 19 May and engaged in various workshop activities.

Writer and editor in chief of Global Challenges Foundation, Julien Leyre, gave an interactive presentation discussing the topic “What do we teach when we teach French?“. Challenges were thrown at the audience which highlighted the difficulties and limitations in teaching French (and any other LOTE) in Australia. 

Participant had the opportunity to discuss important issues in the context of language learning barriers in schools and the ideas that might overcome such limitations.

Making a foreign language a mandatory subject to enter university or ensuring that the community supports its language were two ideas that were brought forward amongst many.