Events ArchiveReport from the 2004 Atlanta ConferenceXIème Congrès Mondial de la FIPF The FIPF World Congress takes place every 4 years. The Congress organised by AATF was attended by some 1200 teachers belonging to FIPF through their affiliated associations of French teachers. Elections for the next FIPF executive committee always take place during the World Congress. The French Teachers Associations in Australia are federated (FATFA) and also belong to the CAP, the Commission Asie-Pacifique. Dario Pagel (Brazil) has been re-elected as the FIPF president. Theme: "Le Français : Le Défi Dans La Diversité." The opening speech was by Abdel Diouf, the secretary general of the international Organisation of Francophonie. European teachers confirmed that learning and speaking at least one other foreign language is a requirement in schools in the European Union - now the biggest market in the world. Job applicants who are proficient in at least 2 languages are at a distinct advantage in the EU. English and French are the languages most on demand closely followed by German. AATF brochures for the promotion of French:
An expression very much brandied around at the Congress was "espace francophone". M. Xavier Darcos, Minister for cooperation, development and francophonie declared: "Là, où on enseigne le français se crée un espace francophone". La mondialisation : globalisation. Now you can even talk about "altermondialisation". Le "Français dans le monde", the review of the FIPF. Highly recommended. A source of current pedagogical material in particular "les fiches pédagogiques" www.fdlm.org "Apprendre et enseigner avec TV5": a source of diverse tools for teachers and students of French. Weekly programs are available for your perusal at www.tv5.org . On this site, you can access exercices on line to go with the programs and a variety of interesting material such as video clips, songs, news etc. Michel Boiron (Cavilam) shared tips on how to enthuse students. iling frequently in the classroom - use your sense of humour as much as poss
les TICs or ITC DIDALOG: a new "sytème-auteur en ligne" to help you create your own multimedia exercises on line. It is based on the previous VIF@X system. (Bordeaux University) Websites looked at briefly during presentations: www.ceo-fipf.org the internet site of the CEO, Commission de l'Europe de l'ouest de la FIPF A "digital francophone space" to enable communication between French speakers. It offers a pedagogical and training support for teachers as well as being an interactive tool for the spreading of French culture.
New textbooks: "Taxi" by CLE International (niveau, 1,2, 3) (beginners to advanced- perhaps more for adult learners) Radio France Internationale or rfi. www.rfi.fr go the "la langue française" to find multimedia tools to help you teach French. There is a multimedia library, an electronic magazine and a written chronicle about new words, languages of today and francophone words, exercises on line and tips on how to download the news bulletins from RFI. Carole Fredericks, a black American singer who lived in France and sang in French with Jean-Jacques Goldman until her untimely death, www.carolefredericks.net or www.shine.fr.st In the evening, we were entertained by African Drummers, Zachary Richards an American Acadien from Louisiana and a Québecois band "les nouvelles crues" (folk style music) During the conference, I also attended a marvellous lecture on the friendly relationship between George Sand and Gustave Flaubert and another on the references to G. Sand's works by Marcel Proust in his "A la recherche du temps perdu". The most memorable lectures were delivered by Mme Carrère d'Encausse and Mme Henriette Walter. Jacqueline Meunier |