To celebrate multiculturalism, the United Nations (U.N.) declared March 20 French Language Day. But why should students learn the language of Molière in a mostly English-speaking society?

“Well frankly, at first it was because it was mandatory and I didn’t want to fail Grade 1,” says Michelle Li, a grade 11 student at West Point Grey Academy. “But as I approached high school, it started to become a class that I really enjoyed because of the community that came with it. I’ve been lucky enough to have a really amazing group of people in my French classes.”

Dylan Hunter, a past French-immersion student, agrees. “I had to do French immersion when I was very young because my brother did it, and my parents made me,” he says. “But as I grew older, learning French became a choice of mine. Language becomes a part of you, I think.”

An opportunity for personal growth

L’Alliance Française is a non-profit cultural and educational organization dedicated to fostering a greater appreciation of French culture through events and French language courses offered to students of all ages. It is the largest cultural network in the world, with 834 centers in 132 countries, including Canada, and more than 490,000 students every year.

“Language becomes a part of you, I think,” says Dylan Hunter.

“Learning a new language greatly develops one’s critical thinking about the world,” says Florence Servais, a teacher at the Alliance Française. “It can be useful in different fields: at work, on holidays, at school, at home…depending on your goals.”

Elsa Toutin, also a teacher at the Alliance Française, agrees there are many advantages to speaking another language.

“It’s a great gymnastic for the brain, it opens our world to new cultures and it gives us new skills,” she says. “I also have a lot of students who come here just for fun!”

According to Servais, learning French at an early age is a great way to think differently, get curious and get to know the Francophonie better.

“Children and teenagers usually become aware of what they could do with the French language and culture outside of the classroom when they start to learn the language,” Servais says. “They could study in French and move to another part of the world for work, but they could also use the French language in an English speaking environment like B.C. to work in the tourism industry, in the import-export, at embassies, in high school, in the bilingual education system and so on.”

Connecting with people and culture

“I started to realize the possibilities that speaking another language had to connect a whole new network of people. Our world holds larger horizons than just the bubble of our English speaking society,” says Li who participated in an exchange program in France. “Learning how to speak different languages actively embraces the multiculturalism of our world and provides opportunities for friendships that I would’ve never had otherwise.”

Toutin also encourages French learners to seek learning opportunities outside of the classroom, through movies, books, geography and history.

“When you can speak several languages, you can live several lives,” says Toutin, whose mother tongue is French, but also speaks English and Spanish. “And to quote Nelson Mandela, ‘If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.”

According to Yann Desbiolles, another teacher at the Alliance Francaise, many scientific studies have proven the benefits of bilingualism.

“Bilingualism improves creativity, concentration and our capacity to plan, to adapt ourselves to different situations and solve problems,” he says. “It also seems that bilingual people benefit from better mental health.”

For Li, the experience remains deeply personal.

“To me, learning French is a vessel of empathy,” she says.

For more information, please visit www.alliancefrancaise.ca