Our partners at the Institut français are sharing new French language and career resources and training opportunities for teachers of French, as well as debating and singing competitions for learners of French. Find out more below.
Resources and training for teachers of French
This is a new resource for teachers of French to advocate to young people to study or continue to study learning French. This toolkit helps teachers explain how speaking another language, particularly French, can broaden horizons and open new doors to young people.
Studying any foreign language has many advantages, and particularly French, as it is a constructive step towards new career opportunities and professional development. By 2050, it is expected that there will be 715 million French speakers in the world so will be a very sought-after language.
The ‘French – A language of opportunities’ advocacy toolkit provides links to documents, interviews and resources which help make the arguments for learning French and are simple for teachers of French to share with their class and students.
Click here to access the Advocacy Toolkit (one 4 paged leaflet and one 11 paged document) are available to download, as well as interviews with professionals and free resources to download.
The BELC Royaume-Uni 2023 is an intensive one-week training course organised by the Embassy of France and the Institut français du Royaume-Uni and is open to all teachers of French in the United Kingdom. It enables all participants to follow quality professional training workshops to help develop and strengthen their educational, management and evaluating skills to ensure greater success in the classroom.
The course is for professionals involved in the French as a foreign language i.e., teachers of French, French Head of Departments, assistant teachers of French. All participants will be able to choose from 7 workshops for a total of 30 hours of training from 17th to 21st July. The training will be conducted in French and there is a fee of £180 for workshops plus accommodation, or £120 for workshops only.
Download the BELC Royaume-Uni 2023 brochure in French and in English to find out more about the BELC Royaume-Uni 2023, the accommodation and to select the workshops you want to attend. Registrations opened on 1st December and close on 31st January 2023. Click here to find out more and how to register.
Competitions for learners of French
The Joutes oratoires lycéennes is a French debating competition open to all sixth formers in the UK – young people aged 16-19 and learning at a college or school.
A joute has two teams of two students debating against one another – one in favour of a statement and the other opposed to it.
This competition enables sixth formers to gain confidence in speaking French, develop control of the language and build coherent arguments. The final is held in London where winning contestants are awarded fantastic prizes related to French language and culture.
Regional competitions organised by schools take place across the UK between the months of November 2022 – February 2023. The final competition will be held at the Institut français du Royaume-Uni in London in March 2023, Francophonie Month.
- To participate email: projects-education@institut-francais.org.uk
- Click here to watch the teaser
- Click here to view the competition handbook
French Pop Video Competition
The French Pop Video Competition is a national competition organised by Francophonie UK in association with the Institut français du Royaume-Uni and supported by TV5Monde. It is open to students aged 7-18 in schools in the UK.
Students aged 7-18 write original songs, sing (or rap!) them and shoot a video. In 2022, 49 music videos were shot gathering more than 300 schools across the UK. This competition is a great way for young people to practice their French in a very different and fun way!
- Click here to register for the event (you must register before 1st February 2023)
- Click here to view the teaser
- Click here to view the website and see previous examples of competition winners
- Click to download: 2023 Handbook
- Click to download: 2023 Competition Flyer
- Submit your video before May 1st at projects-education@institut-francais.org.uk
Timeline of competition
- February-April: Videos are submitted
- May: Regional juries choose regional winners who will then enter the national competition and automatically enter the national final
- Week of 21st June: Grand national finals will be announced at the Institut français in London (World Music Day!)