On the evening of November 22, the French Embassy hosted a reception in honor of some 200 French teachers from all over Cambodia to mark International French Teachers’ Day, which is being celebrated around the world for the 6th consecutive year.
This Day, instituted on the initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron, is designed to highlight French teachers as major players in the promotion and influence of the French language worldwide. The theme of this year's French Teachers' Day is “All champions, bearers of the Francophone flame”, in connection with the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
During the event, attended by H.E. Mr. Samedy Sivathana, Secretary of state at the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, and the French Ambassador, Mr. Jacques Pellet, teachers who had spent a month in France on a language and teaching internship as part of a project run by the French Embassy in Cambodia, spoke about their intercultural experience and the discoveries they had made. This was followed by a presentation of “DELF” diplomas to teachers who had taken courses funded by the Embassy. Finally, the evening showcased the best work of 80 French-speaking students from Cambodian public schools, who created posters and objects for the “My Mascot for the Olympic Games” competition.
The evening was followed on Saturday November 23 by the General Assembly of the Association des professeurs de français du Cambodge (APFC), whose organization is supported by the French Embassy in Cambodia and the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF). Nearly 300 French teachers from all over the Kingdom gathered at the National Institute of Education in Phnom Penh to elect a new board of directors, and discuss the issues and challenges facing French language teaching in Cambodia. Issues such as the professional integration of French-speaking students, the career paths of teachers and the opportunities offered by learning French were also discussed.
In Cambodia, French is taught to almost 3,000 students in bilingual classes, and as a modern language 1 or 2 to almost 22,500 students in many public schools. French is also taught in a number of private secondary schools. Cambodia also boasts 14 member establishments of the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF), and several French-speaking higher education courses in a variety of fields (medicine, law, engineering, etc.).
For the past two years, the French Embassy in Cambodia has been piloting a project to support the teaching of French in Cambodian public secondary schools, which has given nearly 350 teachers the opportunity to benefit from training courses in France, the Asia-Pacific region and Cambodia. France has also continued its support for the Teaching of French master’s degree at the National Institute of Education, the only training program of this level for French teachers. Finally, in collaboration with France Volontaires, this support is accompanied by the deployment of an ever-increasing number of “Francophonie volunteers” in Cambodian schools. These young French people help teachers in the classroom and promote a youthful, up-to-date image of the French language and culture among Cambodian pupils.
France will continue its support for educational Francophonie in the run-up to the 20th Francophonie Summit, which will be hosted by Cambodia in 2026.
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