SEVEN students of Shortwood Teachers’ College recently leaped across the chasm that separates the type of French taught merely on a theoretical base from that delivered within the context of the French culture.

The students – Nordia Dixon, Nardinia Lewis, Georgia Miller, Anna-Kaye Smith, Shurnett Granstan, Kecia Burnett and Leon Laing – journeyed last November to the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe where they participated in a two-week workshop.

They were exposed to 40 hours of instruction in the linguistic and pedagogic (teaching methodology) aspects of the French language.

The programme – a partnership between the teachers’ college, the French Caribbean Institute of Co-operation and the embassy of France in Jamaica – forms a bridge between the completion of studies at Shortwood and entrance into the classroom as a qualified professional.

At a February 8 reception hosted by French ambassador to Jamaica Francis Hurtut in honour of the seven students, there were strong commendations from students, teachers and officials from the embassy.

The ambassador himself expressed pleasure at the programme’s success over the years, and pledged renewed commitment to its continued development.

The only male in the group, Leon Laing, said he had high expectations of the workshop.

“After living there though for two weeks, I am now able to communicate better in the French language because I had to be eating, drinking, sleeping French,” he said.

Thanks to the trip, Shurnett Granston – the oldest of the six females in the group – finally understands the language to be a way of life.

“(In the same way that) English or Patois here is a way of life, French is really a way of life there for those who speak French. And when you go to Guadeloupe, that comes alive (because) there is no one there who is speaking your language,” she noted, adding she hope that her students would realise the language has practical use.

Granston admitted, however, that adjusting to the new way of life was challenging.

“It was difficult to a certain extent because you had to be thinking in the language at that point. When you’re in Jamaica… it’s not necessarily like that; you can slip a little English in there sometimes,” she said.

Shortwood principal Elaine Foster-Allen told the Sunday Observer that she supported the programme because it creates the link between the theory and practice, which together make up the language.

“It serves as a reference point,” she said.

President of the Jamaica Association of French Teachers Desrine Bogle-Cayol also had high praise for the programme.

“A programme like this is very good for teachers in training, because it allows them to get first-hand knowledge of French culture,” she said.

“Not only do they improve their linguistic skills but, definitely, the cultural aspect they get allows them to be better teachers. I say that all French teachers should get the opportunity to go away because it will help them in the classroom later on,” Bogle-Cayol added.

Shelley Wong, one of the two teachers who accompanied the students to Guadeloupe, attested to this.

“Although I’ve been a French teacher for years, it was my first time going to a French-speaking country so that was a milestone. I liked the combination of classes in the morning and sightseeing in the afternoon,” said Wong, a teacher at St George’s College.

“We got to visit tourist sites and other places of interest. Sometimes we got the opportunity to take the bus and go down to Point-a-Pitre to experience the real living. It was good to live in the language and in the culture for two whole weeks,” she added.