Reunion MP Frédéric Maillot has just tabled a bill to integrate regional languages into the common core of school programs. The text aims in particular to promote the academic success of students who hear languages other than French spoken at home.
“I support regional languages and their learning”, declared the Minister of National Education, Gabriel Attal, on October 17, before the Committee on Cultural Affairs and Education of the National Assembly. The minister, noting that this position “was not always supported by his ministry”, notably cited the example of Reunion Island, where “you have 85% of students who speak Creole at home” and where experiments have shown that kindergarten students educated in bilingual classes performed better in French than the others.
Frédéric Maillot (GDR), deputy for Réunion, asks the minister “to follow through on one’s convictions.” The elected official filed a proposed law on the subject Tuesday October 24. More than two years later the generalization of the teaching of regional languages as an optional subjectthis new text intends to integrate them into the common core of school programs.
The proposed law, although it does not relate specifically to Creole, is defended by several overseas elected officials, representatives of Reunion, Guyana, Martinique and Polynesia. “The observation is clear: our regional languages are withering away, declining, alert the deputies, It’s undeniable, but it’s not inevitable.”
The objective of the text is twofold: to preserve regional languages and cultures, but also to facilitate the learning of French, and more broadly the academic success, of students who use a regional language at home. The deputies see in the generalization of the teaching of regional languages a lever to fight against illiteracy, a scourge which particularly affects overseas territories.
We see that in Creole-French classes, the students speak French better than in 100% French classes. This is a very telling example of the role of regional languages as a bridge to the French language, particularly in our overseas territories.
Gabriel Attal, Minister of National Education.
“The Creole language, for us, is the cement of our identity. Accepting our language means recognizing ourselves and no longer considering ourselves as an option. The Creole language is spoken by 10 million people around the world. recalls Frédéric Maillot.
Creole, Corsican, Basque, Tahitian, Alsatian… Millions of French people speak a regional language. There are around twenty in France and around fifty in the overseas territories.
2023-10-27 12:00:14
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