EDUCATION MINISTER INAUGURATES IMMERSION PROJECT AT THE FRENCH RESOURCE CENTRE

The Minister of Education, the Hon. Louis Galea, officially inaugurated the "Immersion Project" at the French Resource Centre, as part of the initiatives being taken as part of the local European Year of Languages programme.

This year (2001) has been declared by the Council of Europe and UNESCO as the European Year of Languages. The aim is to raise awareness and promote the linguistic heritage of Europe, to motivate all European citizens to learn languages including those which are less widely used, and to support life-long language learning as a way of responding to economic, social and cultural changes in Europe.

In view of this, the French Resource Centre will be launching an ongoing immersion stimulation project. The aim of this project is to enable students to immerse themselves in the target language for a couple of hours at the French Centre which for the occasion, is being transformed into a shifting nook of the target country.

More specifically, the idea is to transform part of the French Resource Centre into a French Region. There are 22 French Regions and therefore one could change the region every year for 22 years if one desires. This is why the project aims to be an ongoing one. Once the region has been chosen, it will be explored in various ways: through its geography, prehistory, history, costumes, customs, kitchen, leisure activities and so on.

Students will be invited to participate fully and interactively during the visit in an attempt to create the feeling that one has left Malta and travelled to a French Region even though for just a short while. Every possibility will be offered for the extensive use of the target language. Students will also be given the opportunity during the visit, to initiate contacts, through the Internet, with schools and other institutions in that particular Region.

The first region chosen for this year is Brittany.

The Minister said that this year is an opportunity for all of us to try and pick up a new language or to improve our knowledge of languages we just have basic knowledge of. The Minister said that the ability of the Maltese people to learn new languages and use them for their own benefit is of paramount importance. History has shown us that the knowledge of languages has been a catalyst for the socio-economic development of our country.

Dr. Galea was pleased to see that the European Year of Languages initiatives are starting to take shape and that these services are being offered to the nation. The Minister concluded by encouraging all to take this opportunity and immerse themselves into the French culture by participating in this programme.