The Alliance Française has been making its contribution to the development of the French language in Mauritius since it was set up. With the arrival of Chantal Jauneau about a year ago, the institution has introduced an additional innovation. ?As soon as I arrived in Mauritius, I explained to all teachers here how I wanted them to teach French. I wanted the pupils to become more responsible for their own learning,? she says.

Courses at the Alliance Française start for pupils aged from 5 upwards and in fact Chantal?s method suits this age group the best. The teacher is not there simply to provide them with knowledge and the child is no longer a passive recipient. ?The pupils will build up their knowledge with the support of teachers,? she explains. And learning ?is no longer purely academic but becomes a play-activity?. Teachers suggest a problem and pupils are led to find a solution to the problem for themselves. As a result, they are not spoon-fed and the knowledge will remain for much longer in their heads.

This method is being applied in every field in the French educational system but the Alliance Française applies it to the teaching of French, of course. ?Books and listening to stories play a great part in our classes. And then teachers organise activities to make sure that pupils have understood the stories and will base themselves on these stories to encourage them to write. Learning the language should go with learning the culture. This is why it is important to add a cultural dimension to all classes,? Chantal Jauneau adds.

The extra touch

During these classes, teachers have realised that pupils have some difficulty in understanding French. ?They are not used to the French accent and that can give rise to a few problems at the beginning. That is why we try as much as possible to get them used to various accents,? she points out.

Although many Mauritians manage French quite well, Chantal Jauneau acknowledges that it is in fact ?Mauritian French?. French is not the Mauritians? mother tongue but they are exposed to it at an early age. ?I had no problem asking my way when I arrived in Mauritius. Everyone spoke French to me,? she says.

However, she acknowledges that our French is a mixture of French, Creole and English. ?The concept of ?francophonie? recognises the existence of different types of French and this only adds to the riches of the language but you might be faced with situations where you will need ?proper? French and this is why it is important to learn it even if you will not use it everyday,? the head of programmes of the Alliance Française explains.

But she believes that it is important for the educational system to adapt to the children?s backgrounds. This is why ?we have no objection to the pupils using Creole when they have just started courses. Teachers are there to establish the link between Creole and French and pupils are gradually led to use French?.

In fact, the main problem that pupils usually face is French grammar. They are used to Creole constructions and it may be hard for them to adapt to the French expressions. This is why learning is done gradually and teachers do not hesitate to call upon Creole when they feel that a concept is not fully understood.

But, according to the Alliance Française director, Mauritians should not be worried about their French. ?You have a special flair for the language and all that is missing is that little extra touch to make you fully competent in French,? she concludes.