THE importance of French language was brought to the fore recently when the Centre for French Training and Documentation (CFTD), the Oyo State government and the French Embassy in Nigeria partnered to further stir the interest of French language among students in Oyo State.
This was done through a competition, French Inter-Pilot Schools Competition, which brought together students from nine secondary schools in Oyo State.
In her opening remarks on the occasion, the Deputy Director, CFTD, Ibadan and Oyo State French Coordinator, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Mrs Kikelomo Adigun, commended the French government through the French embassy in Nigeria for its efforts towards further promoting the language in the country.
Mrs Adigun also commended the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and the Oyo State governor, Mr Seyi Makinde, for their support for French language learning in the state.
Speaking on the competition, Mrs Adigun said it was just a way for the students to learn new things and enjoy themselves.
“I want to charge you students not to be shy in expressing yourselves; you will learn from your mistakes and have a better understanding of the French languag,” she said.
Also speaking, the Coordinator, Nigeria Association of French Teachers (NAFT) and Project Coordinator of CFTD, Prince Ola Junior, said the competition was an opportunity to bring together students of French language so that they could learn more in an atmosphere of love.
Prince Junior charged the students and their teachers not to focus on the position they would attain in the competition, but on what they would learn.
He said: “Although this is a competition, it is, however, more of an opportunity to learn from one another, so teachers should not be that desperate for their students to perform well at all cost.
“What we are after is just to see that these students love the French language and they can immerse themselves in it.”
On the competition, Prince Junior said the students would be assessed on spelling, poetry recitation, song and stage performances.
Nine schools competed in the maiden edition of the competition, and they are, Anglican Commercial Grammar School, Oritamefa, Ibadan; Saint Annes School, Molete; Government College, Ibadan; Bishop Phillips Academy, Iwo Road; Methodist Grammar School, Bodija; Iseyin District Grammar School, Iseyin; Fiditi Grammar School, Fiditi; Olivet Grammar School, Oyo and Saint Patrick Grammar School.
At the end of the competition, Government College, Ibadan came first and won N30,000, Olivet Grammar School came second and won N20,000, while Saint Annes Grammar School came third and won N10,000.
In addition to the cash prizes, all the participating schools were awarded N10,000 each for logistics to the venue of the competition, which was held at the Alliance Francaise, Ibadan.
At the end of the competition, the Director of Alliance Francaise, Mr Gerard Nouasse and Chief (Mrs) Wuraola Adepoju, commended the students for their performances, just as they charged them to give their all to the study of the French language.
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