On Tuesday 8 January, during a mission dedicated to French-English bilingual education in New York City public schools, French Senator André Ferrand visited a French Heritage language class in the Bronx, a great occasion for a staunch Representative of French citizens abroad to discover the new faces of Francophonie in the City.
Over the past 10 years, New York City has lived a real revolution in the development of bilingual programs throughout its elementary public school system. This bilingual boom has recently taken a new turn with the opening of two bilingual programs at middle school level in Brooklyn and Manhattan. With over 300,000 French speakers, more and more NY parents are seeking to provide their children with the advantages of a strong English education without losing a French language background that is perceived as a strong asset for their future. More than 2,000 children are concerned by these programs today. Created in 2005 as part of the effort to help meet this growing demand, the French Heritage Language Program now offers free French classes to 150 newly arrived immigrants in up to 8 public high schools of the Internationals Network for Public Schools in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Servir tous les francophones
One of the objectives of the program is to serve French-speaking populations that have been traditionally overlooked by educational authorities, be they French or American. Coming in majority from Haiti and West Africa, these recent immigrants are making up an increasing part of the French-speaking population in the United States, especially in big urban areas like New York, and they consider French as an important part of their identity.
With a significant number of new immigrants from West Africa, the Bronx is emblematic of these new American pockets of Francophonie. Jesseca Long, Principal of Crotona International High School and a stalwart Francophile, explains: “Among our 110 9th and 10th graders, 25 students come from French-speaking African countries, and the figure keeps rising." The French class offers a real opportunity for these kids to better adapt to their new environment, it’s like a new home to them,” she added.
Travailler ensemble pour mieux apprendre
Senator Ferrand, who was also accompanied by Sean Lynch, Principal of the Lycée Français de New York, seized the opportunity to award prizes to some of the French class students, who had recently been working on self-portrait presentations. "I admire you, your commitment to keep learning French is a model", he said.
Naomie, who won the first prize, told the Senator: “At first I understood nothing of the English language and I thought people were mocking me. Finding other French speakers here really comforted me, I was not alone anymore.”
The Senator, who lived for several years in Africa, made a point to encourage these students and congratulate their teacher, Laura Murruni, who has been teaching in the French program thanks to an educational exchange with the Académie of Montpellier.
Sean Lynch, head of the Lycée Français, also addressed the class and reaffirmed his willingness to increase cooperation projects between the Lycée and the French Heritage Language Program. Among projects to come, two French heritage classes will take part in the Lycée’s theater contest in February as well as a short-movie competition in May.
With so many exciting prospects ahead, what better way to start the New Year?
Benoît Le Dévédec, Coordinator of the French Heritage Language Program
Since 2005, the French Heritage Language Program has helped over 1,500 students from underserved communities of francophone background enrich their knowledge of the French language and keep strong bonds with their respective cultures and identities. Today, our program serves more than 700 students from elementary to high School levels, and is present in New York, Florida, Maine and Massachusetts.
Learn more about us at http://www.facecouncil.org/fhlp/index.html
Visit our new page on http://frenchlanguage.frencheducation.org/learn/french-heritage, and our interactive program map!
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