French
French (français) is a Romance language spoken, around the world, by about 130 million people as a first language (mother tongue), by 190 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 54 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France, where the language originated. The rest live essentially in Canada (Quebec), Belgium, Switzerland, Francophone Africa, Luxembourg, and Monaco. Most second-language speakers of French live in Francophone Africa, arguably exceeding the number of native speakers. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the Francophone country with the largest population.
French is a descendant of the Latin language of the Roman Empire, as are national languages such as Portuguese, Spanish, Italian and Romanian, and minority languages ranging from Catalan and Occitan to Neapolitan and many more. Its development was also influenced by the native Celtic languages of Roman Gaul and by the Germanic language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders.
It is an official language in 29 countries, most of which form what is called, in French, La Francophonie, the community of French-speaking nations. It is an official language of all United Nations agencies and a large number of international organizations. According to the European Union, 129 million (26% of the 497,198,740) people in 27 member states speak French, of which 65 million (12%) are native speakers and 69 million (14%) claim to speak it either as a second language or as a foreign language, which makes it the third most spoken second language in the Union, after English and German. In addition, prior to the mid 20th century, French served as the preeminent language of diplomacy among European and colonial powers as well as a lingua franca among the educated classes of Europe.
French Language Learning
Le Français au Canada
Gonzalo Peralta explains how Languages Canada is making the country
an even more attractive destination for French immersion
Learning French in Canada has never been easier, the quality never better, and students never better protected. Why is Canada such is a great destination for you to learn French — and why are Languages Canada member programs the best choice for students? First, let’s take a look at the landscape that students step into when arriving at a recognized French program in Canada. Canada’s quality of life has been ranked in the top three for seven years in the United Nations Quality of Life Index. Canada, it is renowned for its world-class talent, having the highest penetration of post-secondary education in the world, eight of the top 100 business schools in the world, 18 of the top 40 engineering schools, the highest computer literacy in G-8, and is 1st first in the world in management practices (WCY).
The cultural, scientific, and social contributions of Canadians are too long to list, but perhaps the most important benefits of studying French in Canada stem from the relationship of language to the Canadian identity and the ensuing value placed upon language. It is safe to say that language is a cornerstone of Canadian identity. Bilingualism is embedded in the constitution and in the history, second language is favoured in education, and the federal government alone invested over $1.1 billion in Official Languages (French and English) in the “Roadmap for Canada’s Linguistic Duality 2008-2013.” In such an environment, it is little wonder that students receive the best that French language training has to offer.
Languages Canada was created to help students choose programs and Addedadd to the benefits of a great country that values and invests in language, so that students can also count on the highest-level and also have the assurance of quality and student protection from an external organization. The Languages Canada Quality Assurance Scheme is more demanding than that of Canadian provincial education standards – which is no small feat when Canadian education is considered one of the best in the world. Any program that is accredited under this scheme, whether public or private, has been inspected, the teacher qualifications reviewed, homestay guidelines enforced, care of juniors approved, and all aspects of program quality audited. When studying at a Languages Canada accredited program, you know the bar has been set high!
Additionally, Languages Canada offers eCAPä, the Education Completion Assurance Plan, which guarantees students that their French program tuition is protected, no matter what happens. This means that students can be assured that they will receive their training. The combination of quality and protection offered by members from Languages Canada translate into ease of mind for students and their parents.
So which is the right French program for you? You can do a search of programs using your preferences in our website. For further information and to consult a list of approved programs, visit http://www.languagescanada.ca/ (look under Approved Programs).
Gonzalo Peralta, is executive director of Languages Canada, a non-profit association that represents Canada’s language schools. Their work in advocacy, standards and quality is aimed at creating a solid sector that offers the best in language training to students in Canada and from abroad.
