French, the most practical foreign language

Echo-Fle > INFOS > Why learn French?

While any language will be useful for some jobs or for some regions, French is the only foreign language that can be useful throughout the world as well as in Australia. French as a foreign language is the second most frequently taught language in the world after English. The International Organisation of Francophonie has 51 memberStates and Governments. Of these, 28 countries have French as an official language. French is the only language other than English spoken on five continents. French and English are the only two global languages.

When deciding on a foreign language for work or school, consider that French is the language that will give you the most choices later on in your studies or your career.

French, along with English, is the official working language of
– The United Nations
– UNESCO
– NATO
– Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
– The International Labour Bureau
– The International Olympic Committee
– The 31-member Council of Europe
– The European Community
– The Universal Postal Union
– The International Red Cross
– Union of International Associations (UIA)

French is the dominant working language at
– The European Court of Justice
– The European Tribunal of First Instance
– The European Court of Auditors in Luxembourg.
– The Press Room at the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium

One example of the importance of French can be seen in a recent listing of international jobs (14/09/04) distributed by the US State Department: 130 required or preferred French, 57 a UN language (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish), 39 Spanish, 5 Arabic, 2 Portuguese, 3 Russian, 3 German, Italian 1, other 5.

Of the various types of professional positions for which international organisations recruit, five required French, two Spanish, one Portuguese, and one Arabic, according to the fact sheet released by the UN Employment Information and Assistance Unit Bureau of International Organisation Affairs U.S. Department of State, December 1, 2000.

Economic relations with France: huge potential

France is a powerful economy:
• The fourth largest economy in the world after the U.S., China and Germany.
• The second largest market in the European Union, behind Germany.
• The world’s second largest exporter of services and farm products, and the fourth largest exporter of goods (mainly durables).
• France is the world’s leader in the production of luxury goods.
• The world invests in France: in 2003, France was the second largest destination for foreign investment in the world.
• The most popular tourism destination in the world, attracting 75 million visitors in 2003.
• Exports from France to Australia increased by 22% in 2004.
• France is the 13th largest exporter to Australia and holds 2.2% of market share.
• France is Australia’s 14th largest trading partner, and ranks seventh for stocks of foreign investments. With 3% of its foreign investments in Australia, France ranks fourth among E.U. countries (behind U.K, the Netherlands and Germany).
• Almost 250 French companies are established in Australia, employing approximately 70,000 Australian salaried workers.

A real Scientific and Technological power

France is:
• The site of the world’s first nuclear fusion reactor, the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor
• The fourth largest producer of automobiles in the world (Renault, Peugeot, Citroën) and the third largest exporter.
• Fourth in research among countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development (after Japan, Germany, and the US).
• A major world research centre in the field of high-energy physics.
• A world leader in medical research: French doctors first isolated the AIDS virus.
• A leader in medical genetics (the Human Genome Project is located in Paris).
• The world’s third largest manufacturer of electronics equipment.
• European leader in aerospace (Aérospatiale, Arianespace, Airbus…).

Moreover

• Most commercial satellites are put into space on French Ariane rockets.
• The fastest train (TGV) is French.
• The ocean liner Queen Mary II was built in France.
• France is also the world’s third military power (after the US and Russia), and has the world’s second largest defence industry (i.e. Exocet missiles, radar technology).
• The world’s second largest builder and exporter of civilian and military aircraft and helicopters (Airbus is the world’s second largest fleet of commercial airliners, and many of the US Coast Guard helicopters are made by Aérospatiale in Toulouse.)
• France has one of the most advanced systems of telecommunications in the world. Fibre optics was invented in France.
• France is the world’s largest manufacturer of television sets (HDTV was invented in France).

Cultural cooperation

With the exception of Great Britain, France is Australia’s most important European cultural partner.
This cooperation is run by means of a partnership, and mainly funded by Australian operators (festivals in Sydney, Melbourne & Adelaide; famous Australian museums including an exhibition of Impressionists in Melbourne in 2004, and exhibitions of “Picasso” in Sydney, and of “Bonnard” and “Musée Fabre à Montpellier” in Canberra in 2003).

France plays a prominent part in Australian cultural life, notably through participation of French artists in the important festivals and thanks to a network of 33 Alliances françaises.

The French film industry has been very successful in Australia. French films represent the most popular foreign cinema in Australia. Every year in March, the Alliances Francaises organise the “French Film Festival” which gives more than 45,000 Australians the opportunity to discover new French cinema releases, and Australian cinemas often have one-off seasons dedicated to French cinema.

Importance of French in school and work

Only one in five Australian students learn a foreign language. French benefits from an Australian education policy of “multiculturalism”, and is the third most popular foreign language studied. French maintains its status as an important international language and has been established within the education system for a long time now.
The teaching of French provides work for more than 3,500 Australian teachers. With almost 185,000 people learning French, the number of people learning the language remains stable.
In terms of global numbers, French ranks fourth, behind Japanese, Indonesian and Italian. In year 12, French ranks second, a long way ahead of other languages. In the 20 universities, which provide French courses (among a total of 35 universities), French (with 4,500 students registered) is just behind Japanese and is in fact well ahead of other foreign languages.

In humanities and the social sciences, many of the most important works of literature originate from France. Students and researchers who know French have been able to access these works for several years before they were translated into English. Many significant works have never been translated and remain accessible only to those who know the language. In addition, most graduate schools require knowledge of at least one foreign language, and French remains the most commonly used language after English.

High school students should consider studying at least four years of a foreign language. College students should seek to earn a minor in French or have French as a primary or secondary major. With French they have access to the most widely spoken foreign language in the world after English and they become familiar with a culture that significantly influences our own. The French economy is one of the strongest in the world and is increasingly a leader in technological innovation. To summarise, French is the language of the future, the international language to master, indispensable along with English.