After Spanish classes DepEd to offer French next year

CEBU, Philippines – Bonjour to French classes in public schools.

Focused on preparing Filipino students for their role as global citizens, the Department of Education is set to offer French classes in selected public high schools in the country starting next schoolyear.

Seven schools here in Central Visayas are selected for the pilot phase of the Special Program in Foreign Languages.

These include science high schools in the cities of Cebu, Mandaue, Toledo, and Lapu-Lapu and the towns of Minglanilla and Medellin; as well as Tagbilaran City in Bohol.

“On account of globalization, our graduates are competing with people from other countries when they join the workforce. Learning a widely used international language early on will give our graduates that competitive advantage,” said Education Secretary Jesli Lapus.

Lapus and French Ambassador Thierry Borja de Mozota inked an agreement yesterday to formally introduce French in 13 Science high schools starting schoolyear 2010- 2011.

Other schools are from the National Capital Region that include Science high schools in the cities of Quezon, Makati, Manila, Caloocan, Mandaluyong, and Muntinlupa.

These pilot schools obtained high mean percentage scores in English. They are expected to serve as lead schools in their regions in mainstreaming the Special Program in Foreign Languages.

Through the program, the DepEd gears up students for a more pro-active role in a linguistically and culturally diverse global workplace.

Earlier, Spanish was offered in 17 selected regional schools in the country.

The program also eyes the development of students’ skills in listening, reading, and writing, speaking and viewing as basic skills to acquire communicative competence in a second foreign language.

“The program is likewise expected to expose our students to other peoples’ circumstances which could lead to better understanding and appreciation of cultures other than our own,” Lapus added.

Last May of this year, selected teachers from the participating schools underwent a month-long intensive training program at the Alliance Française in Manila and Cebu. The teachers are currently in the second phase of their training which runs until March 2010.    The Alliance Française de Manille and the Alliance Française de Cebu (formerly Les Amis de la France) serve as long-term support centers for the continued training of more Filipino teachers.  

The program is spearheaded by DepEd’s Bureau of Secondary Education with its director Lolita Andrada. – Johanna T. Natavio/MEEV   (FREEMAN NEWS)