Experts Outline Educational, Career Opportunities As French Week Kicks Off

French language experts have said that there were a lot of benefits, educationally and career-wise that could be derived from learning French and adopting it as a second language in Nigeria.

Speaking on Saturday at the kick-off of this year’s French Week celebrations tagged ‘French Up Your Career’, at the University of Lagos’ Multipurpose Hall, experts drawn from both France and Nigeria, led attendees and guests through the different ways they could get or progress an international career just by having knowledge of the French language.

The French Week event, organised by the French-Nigerian Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the French Embassy in Nigeria, brought together academics and professional players involved in creating opportunities for young Nigerians learning French language.

Hosted by the University of Lagos (UNILAG), the event drew hundreds of students and attendees not just from the institution but other universities as well.

The Linguistic Attaché for the French Embassy, Magaly Losange, pointed out that the National Policy on Education states that French is the second official language in Nigeria and that its teaching is compulsory at lower secondary level. Moreover, she added that the teaching of French remains a priority for many universities, which are convinced of the importance of the language, given the economic and diplomatic links that unite Nigeria with neighbouring French-speaking countries.

“While this statutory and socio-political framework should allow for the optimal development of the French language in schools and universities, many challenges remain to train young learners of French in the best possible way, and to make them competitive in the job market,” she said.

As part of further educational and linguistic cooperation, the French Embassy also launched a project, “Developing the employability of young people in Nigeria through specialised French”. The embassy said the objective was to support the creation of adapted language programmes in Nigerian universities and to mobilise a network of educational and economic actors with human resource policies that are supportive of bilingual professionals.

Part of the concerns raised by attendees at the event, such as the best way to acquire solid oral skills; career opportunities for French speakers; how to officially certify one’s level of French and how best to prepare for a job interview, among others, were all addressed by the representatives of the French Embassy and other academic and professional partners present.

The event featured roundtable discussions and conferences with experienced feedback from professionals; Inter-University eloquence competition; a CV writing seminar; an Information booth (French language learning, certifications and higher education in France) and company stands.

Main partners of the event included Kemi Dowokpor of Mind Your Language (MYL International), who was the event coordinator; University French Teachers‘ Association (UFTAN or ANEUF in French); Campus France Nigeria and the French-Nigerian Chamber of Commerce.

The ‘French Up Your Career’ event was part of the French Week celebration, aimed at strengthening France-Nigeria business ties while celebrating existing relationships.