On the occasion of the French language and Francophonie week, the Department of French in the Faculty of Arts, in collaboration with the Department of Language and Humanities Education in the Faculty of Education, has organised an event on campus which brought together University students and secondary school learners of French, in their common love for French language, culture and literature.
In their opening messages, Dr Marilyn Mallia (head of the Department of French), Prof. Mario Pace (head of the Department of Language and Humanities Education) and Mr Renaud Lallement, Cultural Counsellor at the French Embassy in Malta, all extolled the importance of foreign language education and the vibrancy of the French cultural scene in Malta.
For the main activity, based on the popular French TV programme ‘Si on lisait à voix haute’, students were invited to choose a French literary extract or song lyrics of their choosing and to interpret it in an engaging manner. Dr Marilyn Mallia coordinated the participation of seven University students from the BA programme, who chose extracts ranging from Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables and Baudelaire’s poems, to more contemporary choices such as Marguerite Duras’s ³¢â€™A³¾²¹²Ô³Ù and singer Lidia Képinski’s Andromaque.
The second part of the programme, ‘Les ‘pas si petits’ champions de la lecture’, was coordinated by Dr Anne-Marie Bezzina Busuttil, who invited a number of secondary school teachers to train students in the reading aloud of an extract, and who also invited their parents to attend. These young students, ranging from year 8 to year 11, accepted the challenge and did very well in their performance.
All participants were given certificates of participation and books, courtesy of M. Lallement from the French Embassy, and Ms Doreen Farrugia, Education Officer for French. The event was very well-received by students, parents and teachers alike, who appreciated this joint collaboration and celebration of French.
