Russian language education in French public high schools : situation and prospect
While 2010 was announced as the “Year of Russia” in France, what in fact is the status of the Russian language within the French public education system since the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991? What are the language policies of both the French republic and the Russian federation with regard to the teaching of the Russian language in Metropolitan France? Why do pupils choose Russian as their first or second foreign language? Finally, what image do French students and teachers have of Russia? In order to answer these questions we must firstly examine the current situation with regard to the teaching of Russian in France. We will look at the establishments where Russian is taught, the number of pupils at both the academic and national levels, and the changes since 1991 (due to public or associative activities). Secondly, starting from a representative sample (case study) of fourteen academies in France, the sociolinguistic representations of pupils and the teachers’ testimonies were studied. The research methodology is based on survey by questionnaire andindividual interviews. These studies are then used to determine the motivations, analysing the representations and deducing the problems encountered in the teaching and learning of Russian. Finally, the prospects and promotion strategies of Russian language in France were given.