BASSETERRE ST. KITTS (January 25, 2009) - With sponsorship from the French Region Guadeloupe, Cayon High School became the fourth high school in the Federation, after Sandy Point, Basseterre and Washington Archibald, to access the French e-learning programme created by the Alliance Française.
At a function held in the school’s modern languages room on Thursday, January 22, the programme EuroPass, dubbed Learn French Online Now, was launched to students of French language from forms three and four, witnessed by school Principal Addison James, Senior Assistant Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Education Jackie Flemming, and Director of Alliance Française Rita Schneider.
During the demonstration, the Alliance Française Director said that the e-learning programme is based on the curriculum for secondary schools from forms one to five, adding that it prepares students who are sitting the French language examinations, Diplôme d’Etudes en Langue Française (DELF) stages A1 and A2.
Schneider, who is also the creator of the programme, thanked Victorin Lurel, Président du Conseil Régional ; Jean-Louis Boucard, Directeur des Affaires Européennes et de la Coopération ; and Laurence Marianne, Chargée de mission aux Affaires Européennes et de la Coopération; all of the French Region Guadeloupe, for the role they played in making the sponsorship possible.
Giving remarks on behalf of the Ministry of Education, Senior Assistant Secretary Jackie Flemming thanked the Alliance Française and Rita Schneider in particular for expanding the “interesting and interactive” programme into the Cayon High School.
“It augurs well for the development of the French language in the various schools and Cayon High in particular,” observed the Senior Assistant Secretary. “It is the Ministry’s hope that the children would take advantage of the e-learning opportunity that is being presented to them so that they can master the art of speaking the French language.”
Principal James said that he appreciated the initiative saying that it would do well for the French language students at Cayon High School. He expressed his pleasure to the fact that EuroPass was a hands-on and interactive programme that made translation, grammar and pronunciation of the language all very easy.
“I think it would serve to motivate the students to do French, and those who are doing French already it would encourage them to go further in the French language,” commented the principal. “At this point I would like to thank the authorities of Guadeloupe through Alliance Française for this initiative and we recognise the tremendous benefits to the students, to Cayon High School, to the country and modern languages, and French as a whole.
“We are grateful for this initiative, and to the best of our ability we will use it as a benefit for our students, and I hope that this programme will serve to inspire our young people to be motivated towards French and to excel in French.”
Other remarks were made by Wilson Paulius, Head of Department of Foreign Languages; Marlene Yearwood, French teacher; and two form 4A1 students, Kadeem Tyson and Sherise McKoy; all who said that the programme would be beneficial to both teachers and students, adding that it would encourage more students to study the French language in future.
