More New Brunswick students are taking an interest in learning French under the government's new approach to second language learning.
Enrollment in the Grade 6 late immersion program is up 19 per cent over last year. The increase is being attributed in part to the Grade 5 Intensive French (IF) program, which was put in place province-wide last year. Intensive French takes a new approach to learning French as a second language.
"We know from evaluations done with our IF teachers in June that they are seeing a new enthusiasm and interest in learning French because of the new approach," said Education Minister Roland Haché. "It is a positive sign that more students are taking an interest in learning another language, especially since the ability to speak more than one language is an essential skill in the worldwide economy."
The provincial government overhauled its French second-language programs last year to give anglophone students, particularly those in rural areas, better access to quality French language programs. It eliminated the former ineffective core French program and replaced in with IF for all non-immersion students. The provincial government also moved the early entry point for immersion to Grade 3.
All students in kindergarten to Grade 2 are now being introduced to French language, history and culture through a series of learning experiences linked to curriculum outcomes. After Grade 2, students have three options: immersion starting in Grade 3 and continuing through high school.
Wednesday, 30 September 2009
Monday, 21 September 2009
French and German dairy farmers crying over spilt milk?
Protesting the price of daily products in Europe, French and German farmers have been dumping tens of thousands of gallons of milk. The demonstration on Saturday added intensity to a week-long strike — where dairy producers have refused to deliver milk.
The French and German farmers are trying to pressure the European Union into overhauling regulation of the dairy market. At the European Bridge — which spans the border of France and Germany — farmers poured urns of milk into the Rhine.
One protesting French farmer commented "You can see that there are French farmers and German farmers who are in the same hole with the same problems, and I think that from tomorrow it won't just be Germany and France, there will also be a strike in other European countries."
The protesting farmers then drove their tractors across the bridge and into Germany — where they sprayed tanks of milk over open fields.
"We are doing this because of the European connections. The two biggest milk producers in Europe are France and Germany, and we are working together and we have the same problems as each other and as the rest of Europe." a German farmer said.
The farmers are calling on the European Union to cut their milk quotas. The European Union plans to end milk quotas by 2015.
The French and German farmers are trying to pressure the European Union into overhauling regulation of the dairy market. At the European Bridge — which spans the border of France and Germany — farmers poured urns of milk into the Rhine.
One protesting French farmer commented "You can see that there are French farmers and German farmers who are in the same hole with the same problems, and I think that from tomorrow it won't just be Germany and France, there will also be a strike in other European countries."
The protesting farmers then drove their tractors across the bridge and into Germany — where they sprayed tanks of milk over open fields.
"We are doing this because of the European connections. The two biggest milk producers in Europe are France and Germany, and we are working together and we have the same problems as each other and as the rest of Europe." a German farmer said.
The farmers are calling on the European Union to cut their milk quotas. The European Union plans to end milk quotas by 2015.
Tuesday, 15 September 2009
French culture - FranceExpress in Korea
The new French ambassador to Korea aims to bring a personal touch to the French cultural extravaganza known as FranceExpress.
This year, the festival will run for four months during which time Ambassador Elisabeth Laurin assures that everyone will be treated to some spectacular, world-class French talent.
"To know about a country you have to know its people, its history, its sentiments," said Laurin. "One of the best ways to do that is through a country's arts."
Before coming to Korea a few weeks ago, Laurin was curious to know more about Korea, not its political situation which she can easily find out through the media and the French foreign ministry, but about its people and culture.
She did not have to go far in Paris to find a wealth of Korean culture. The future ambassador to Korea at the time not only discovered traditional performances but also more avant-garde or contemporary Korean art such as innovative design, films and literature. As well, there has been a big surge in recent years to translate Korean literature into French, thus bringing a whole new world to France.
Laure Coudret-Laut, cultural counselor and director of the French Cultural Center explained that there will be more than 40 events at this year's FranceExpress.
The festival will run between September and December and will offer musical performances, exhibitions, theatrical works and films.
"We will have more theater this year than in the past," said Coudret-Laut. "In total, 200 French artists will come to Korea for this festival."
To give the festival a Korean touch, actress Kim A-joong was appointed as the goodwill ambassador for FranceExpress 2009.
The festival will begin with a series of events called "Platform Seoul" with art exhibitions showcasing the works of Christian Boltanski, Vincent Ganivet, Alain Declercq, Elise Florenty and Thu Van Tran. These exhibitions will be shown at the Kimusa, which is the building that formerly housed the Defense Security Command.
A tribute exhibition dedicated to designer and architect Jean Prouve will take place at the Daelim Contemporary Art Museum from Friday until Nov. 29.
If that isn't enough French art, then check out the Georges Rouault exhibition which will showcase 160 of his works from the collections of Paris' renowned Centre Georges Pompidou. The exhibition will run from Dec. 16 until March 28 at the Hangaram Museum.
No festival celebrating French culture would be complete without a film festival, and the embassy has lined up eight different film events.
One highlight of the film aspect of FranceExpress will be the French film night at the Pusan International Film Festival in October.
This year, the festival will run for four months during which time Ambassador Elisabeth Laurin assures that everyone will be treated to some spectacular, world-class French talent.
"To know about a country you have to know its people, its history, its sentiments," said Laurin. "One of the best ways to do that is through a country's arts."
Before coming to Korea a few weeks ago, Laurin was curious to know more about Korea, not its political situation which she can easily find out through the media and the French foreign ministry, but about its people and culture.
She did not have to go far in Paris to find a wealth of Korean culture. The future ambassador to Korea at the time not only discovered traditional performances but also more avant-garde or contemporary Korean art such as innovative design, films and literature. As well, there has been a big surge in recent years to translate Korean literature into French, thus bringing a whole new world to France.
Laure Coudret-Laut, cultural counselor and director of the French Cultural Center explained that there will be more than 40 events at this year's FranceExpress.
The festival will run between September and December and will offer musical performances, exhibitions, theatrical works and films.
"We will have more theater this year than in the past," said Coudret-Laut. "In total, 200 French artists will come to Korea for this festival."
To give the festival a Korean touch, actress Kim A-joong was appointed as the goodwill ambassador for FranceExpress 2009.
The festival will begin with a series of events called "Platform Seoul" with art exhibitions showcasing the works of Christian Boltanski, Vincent Ganivet, Alain Declercq, Elise Florenty and Thu Van Tran. These exhibitions will be shown at the Kimusa, which is the building that formerly housed the Defense Security Command.
A tribute exhibition dedicated to designer and architect Jean Prouve will take place at the Daelim Contemporary Art Museum from Friday until Nov. 29.
If that isn't enough French art, then check out the Georges Rouault exhibition which will showcase 160 of his works from the collections of Paris' renowned Centre Georges Pompidou. The exhibition will run from Dec. 16 until March 28 at the Hangaram Museum.
No festival celebrating French culture would be complete without a film festival, and the embassy has lined up eight different film events.
One highlight of the film aspect of FranceExpress will be the French film night at the Pusan International Film Festival in October.
Tuesday, 8 September 2009
French kissing goodbye to 'la bise'
It's a ubiquitous French tradition, as familiar as a baguette or an espresso at the neighborhood cafe. Now, "la bise," the cheek-to-cheek peck that the French use to say hello or goodbye, has come under pressure from a globalized threat: swine flu.
Some French schools, companies and a Health Ministry hotline are telling students and employees to avoid the social ritual out of fear the pandemic could make it the kiss of death, or at least illness, as winter approaches.
Mainland France has so far only counted three swine flu deaths. The tally is worse in French southern hemisphere holdings now in winter, like the South Pacific island of Nouvelle Caledonie, with seven deaths and 35,000 cases overall, according to local officials.
Across France, authorities and school officials are taking few chances — while trying to avoid stirring panic when the academic year started last week. In recent months, a few schools in France have been temporarily shut after cases of swine flu emerged.
For kids in two schools in the town of Guilvinec, in France's western Brittany region, the first lesson of the year came from local officials: no more cheek kisses to teachers or other students.
"I asked the children not to kiss anymore," town mayor Helene Tanguy said by phone. "I felt that the protections sought — to wash hands regularly, not throw used handkerchiefs around, and not cough any old way — had no meaning if we let the kids keep kissing."
"It seems we were the first town to do so," she said. It's just part of an effort to adopt new and more sanitary habits, and there's no punishment involved for those who do exchange bises, she added.
As a playful alternative, some teachers in the town have set up "bise boxes": Pupils slip heart-shaped greetings inside before they're exchanged in class, Tanguy said.
Many in France see a threat to cherished customs.
"Swine flu has already changed our life," read the headline of an article in Monday's Le Parisien about banning the bise.
The national government isn't calling for a ban. But the French Health Ministry, on its swine flu phone hotline, recommends that people avoid "close contact — including shaking hands and giving the bise."
Some French schools, companies and a Health Ministry hotline are telling students and employees to avoid the social ritual out of fear the pandemic could make it the kiss of death, or at least illness, as winter approaches.
Mainland France has so far only counted three swine flu deaths. The tally is worse in French southern hemisphere holdings now in winter, like the South Pacific island of Nouvelle Caledonie, with seven deaths and 35,000 cases overall, according to local officials.
Across France, authorities and school officials are taking few chances — while trying to avoid stirring panic when the academic year started last week. In recent months, a few schools in France have been temporarily shut after cases of swine flu emerged.
For kids in two schools in the town of Guilvinec, in France's western Brittany region, the first lesson of the year came from local officials: no more cheek kisses to teachers or other students.
"I asked the children not to kiss anymore," town mayor Helene Tanguy said by phone. "I felt that the protections sought — to wash hands regularly, not throw used handkerchiefs around, and not cough any old way — had no meaning if we let the kids keep kissing."
"It seems we were the first town to do so," she said. It's just part of an effort to adopt new and more sanitary habits, and there's no punishment involved for those who do exchange bises, she added.
As a playful alternative, some teachers in the town have set up "bise boxes": Pupils slip heart-shaped greetings inside before they're exchanged in class, Tanguy said.
Many in France see a threat to cherished customs.
"Swine flu has already changed our life," read the headline of an article in Monday's Le Parisien about banning the bise.
The national government isn't calling for a ban. But the French Health Ministry, on its swine flu phone hotline, recommends that people avoid "close contact — including shaking hands and giving the bise."
Wednesday, 2 September 2009
French Trader gets Trial Reprieve
Jérôme Kerviel, the French trader who is accused of orchestrating a huge trading scandal at Société Générale, won a last-minute reprieve on Tuesday after an order sending him to trial was frozen by France’s highest appeals court.
French bank Société Générale said in January 2008 that it had lost 4.9 billion euros ($6.4 billion) after more than $70 billion in unauthorized bets were placed on derivatives just as the market turned.
The loss was more than double the lender’s 2008 net income, and pushed it to undertake a 5.5 billion euro rights offer to restore its capital. France’s Banking Commission fined the bank 4 million euros in July 2008 for internal control failures related to the loss.
Mr. Kerviel faces as much as five years in prison and a fine of 375,000 euros if found guilty of causing the losses.
French bank Société Générale said in January 2008 that it had lost 4.9 billion euros ($6.4 billion) after more than $70 billion in unauthorized bets were placed on derivatives just as the market turned.
The loss was more than double the lender’s 2008 net income, and pushed it to undertake a 5.5 billion euro rights offer to restore its capital. France’s Banking Commission fined the bank 4 million euros in July 2008 for internal control failures related to the loss.
Mr. Kerviel faces as much as five years in prison and a fine of 375,000 euros if found guilty of causing the losses.
Monday, 24 August 2009
French factory workers bare all to save jobs
Workers at a crisis-hit boiler factory in France have stripped off for a nude calendar in a bid to save 204 jobs slated for redundancy. Staff at the Chaffoteaux et Maury factory in Brittany will use the proceeds to fund a trip to Italy where they plan to stage a protest at their parent company, Ariston Thermo Group (ATG), which pulled the plug on the site earlier this year.
"Our aim is to show there are workers here who will do anything to save their jobs, even take their clothes off," said Brigitte Coadic, representative of the CGT union at the site and the woman behind the calendar, which is due out in the autumn.
The operation is the latest in a line of colorful protest stunts by French workers after "bossnappings," threats to blow up factories or pollute the Seine river, as well as the traditional dumping of agricultural produce by angry farmers.
But Coadic insists that the Chaffoteaux action, in which 13 male workers pose nude covered only with masks or helmets, is completely peaceful.
"We don't want to destroy anything," she said. "We want to show what we can do, tell the management that, if they keep us, we can turn all this media attention into something positive."
Coadic said she was inspired by the stylish "Gods of the Stadium" calendar in which the muscular stars of Paris rugby club Stade Francais bare all in an annual display of discreetly lit beefcake.
The project also carries echoes of Britain's Calendar Girls -- the ladies of the Yorkshire Women's Institute who bared all for a charity calendar -- and the stripping steel workers of the 1997 British film "The Full Monty."
Coadic said that French workers had been prompted to action when ATG said at the start of the summer that it would close production operations in northern France, cutting 204 jobs out of a total of 250 at the site.
"Our aim is to show there are workers here who will do anything to save their jobs, even take their clothes off," said Brigitte Coadic, representative of the CGT union at the site and the woman behind the calendar, which is due out in the autumn.
The operation is the latest in a line of colorful protest stunts by French workers after "bossnappings," threats to blow up factories or pollute the Seine river, as well as the traditional dumping of agricultural produce by angry farmers.
But Coadic insists that the Chaffoteaux action, in which 13 male workers pose nude covered only with masks or helmets, is completely peaceful.
"We don't want to destroy anything," she said. "We want to show what we can do, tell the management that, if they keep us, we can turn all this media attention into something positive."
Coadic said she was inspired by the stylish "Gods of the Stadium" calendar in which the muscular stars of Paris rugby club Stade Francais bare all in an annual display of discreetly lit beefcake.
The project also carries echoes of Britain's Calendar Girls -- the ladies of the Yorkshire Women's Institute who bared all for a charity calendar -- and the stripping steel workers of the 1997 British film "The Full Monty."
Coadic said that French workers had been prompted to action when ATG said at the start of the summer that it would close production operations in northern France, cutting 204 jobs out of a total of 250 at the site.
Monday, 10 August 2009
French star Deneuve booed at Italy performance
French actress Catherine Deneuve was booed during a stage performance in Italy by people demanding a refund.
Deneuve, 65, and Italian actor Michele Placido performed a reading in French and Italian at the cultural festival in Marina di Pietrasanta, Tuscany, which was greeted by whistles and boos.
Police had to intervene to calm down about 200 people shouting, "Thieves. We want our money back,". Organizers responded by offering free tickets to another show at the La Versiliana festival as compensation.
Deneuve declined to comment, while Placido, who also is a director, downplayed Wednesday's incident.
"These things happen," he told SkyTg24 TV channel. Placido also suggested it might have been "a mistake" to have Deneuve read her part in French without subtitles.
The two actors performed a reading from George Perec's book "Je me souviens" (I Remember) — a recollection of memories from postwar decades accompanied by music.
Deneuve was nominated for an Oscar for her role in 1992's "Indochine."
Deneuve, 65, and Italian actor Michele Placido performed a reading in French and Italian at the cultural festival in Marina di Pietrasanta, Tuscany, which was greeted by whistles and boos.
Police had to intervene to calm down about 200 people shouting, "Thieves. We want our money back,". Organizers responded by offering free tickets to another show at the La Versiliana festival as compensation.
Deneuve declined to comment, while Placido, who also is a director, downplayed Wednesday's incident.
"These things happen," he told SkyTg24 TV channel. Placido also suggested it might have been "a mistake" to have Deneuve read her part in French without subtitles.
The two actors performed a reading from George Perec's book "Je me souviens" (I Remember) — a recollection of memories from postwar decades accompanied by music.
Deneuve was nominated for an Oscar for her role in 1992's "Indochine."
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