Teaching-Learning of French Language through Hindi Medium

INTRODUCTION

Over the last couple of decades Teaching-Learning of Foreign Language has mushroomed all over and come up with the possibilities and opportunities for all age groups across India. It has become not only an indispensible part of University curriculum but as well has become an additional part of school system. There is no doubt that the interest in Foreign Language learning has increased amidst school and university students in India. Apart from the students, parents as well the professionals too are showing their keen interest in Teaching-Learning of Foreign Language to develop their overall skills and to fulfill their expectations. To fulfill the demand, Teaching-Learning process has equipped with new trends and technologies to make it more fruitful. Good command over a Foreign Language has yield dream come true opportunities by providing the scholarship to visit, to study and to work abroad at a very early stage. It curbs the boundaries and develops the cross cultural interest. Language Teaching-Learning is never an easy task. It needs much more dedication from the teacher and learner point of view to make it feasible. It needs continuous effort, drill practices to overcome the challenges. The educator‘s role is pivotal as he/she deals with different age group and different intellect mind. At the same time the educator has to keep himself update with the surroundings. In today‘s world a foreign language Teacher has a multi dimensional responsibility to develop linguistic, and cultural approach; to make every impossible thing possible; he/she needs to update himself/herself with new methods, techniques and pedagogies; he/she should be savvy with technologies to integrate it according to class; he/she should develop skills (writing, reading, listening, speaking and culture) of the learner. The paper specifically deals with French Teaching-Learning which is not restricted to urban areas. The learners from the rural areas for whom English poses as a threat as a Foreign Language are also showing their keen interest in learning the restricted to a particular area or at national level rather it has spread at International level. Among the different foreign languages offered in India French language remains the most coveted for the learners. This paper focuses on the importance, possibilities and challenges of teaching learning of French Language in India through various ICT based applications especially with Hindi Language.

In India Teaching-Learning of Foreign Language has started in the second half of the twentieth century. But it has extended its roots in late nineties. At present many central universities as well the private universities, institutions and schools have made Foreign Language more or less an indispensible part of their curriculum. Among all Foreign Languages French Language remains the utmost priority among the learners of all age groups. Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi University, Wardha had commenced Teaching-Learning of Foreign Language in late nineties with two languages, Spanish and Chinese. Later French and Japanese Language had been introduced. Across India English remains the language of instruction to teach and facilitate a Foreign Language but MGAHV is the only university where Teaching-Learning of French and other Foreign Languages is done through Hindi medium to make it possible for non English speakers. Teaching-Learning of a Foreign Language through English Language seems quite disappointing for few learners. Since long in India English has became a compulsory part of the syllabus but still a majority of the population is yet unable to read, speak and express themselves in English. For them MGAHV is making it possible with Hindi medium as it is most widely spoken language of India.

There is nothing permanent in this world; change is the law of the nature. These lines fit very true in the field of education. With the new discoveries and with the approach to make it possible, things surrounding us is changing rapidly. Earlier it was just teacher centred approach but technology has made his way in people‘s daily life. In other words we can also say that earlier the learner was totally dependent on educator but now they can enrich themselves with the technologies within the reach of their hands. Teaching-Learning of Foreign Language has transformed rapidly its way from the Grammar-Translation Method to the technology based methods and approaches. These methods have gained insights how to assist our students to acquire and use the target language. either English or the target language which is used in class room to facilitate the learner. But in the mean time we may witness a shift in this approach too. Not only in India but in other countries as well the use of mother tongue or regional language is making it facile to understand, communicate and learn the target language. As mentioned earlier Teaching-Learning of French and other foreign languages at MGAHV, Wardha is done through Hindi medium. Below we will discuss few methods and ICT based tools and applications which are used to facilitate learner of different age groups. • Flipped Classroom: One of the blended method of learning which is already popular among the teachers and learners of all age groups. Keeping the level of the learner at times small videos are provided to understand and learn the language at home and to come up with the results and problems to discuss. • Online French-Hindi Dictionary: Numerous online French-English and vice-versa dictionaries are available but French-Hindi is rare in number yet they are used frequently to develop French-Hindi vocabulary power. • Social Networking Sites and Platforms: Present generation has endless options over various platforms available at their fingertips to keep themselves updated through networking sites. These platforms are also helpful to learn by sharing the information and materials which they come across. • Online instant correction exercises: Language Teaching is never complete without implementation of grammar rules. For the application of grammar certain online available grammar exercises links are shared to students to comprehend grammar. • CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) to MALL (Mobile Assisted Language Learning): Foreign Language teaching is much more dependent on the online resources which are accessible through computers and laptops. For every student, of different economic strata, it is not possible for every student to have access to such technologies. Though they do have the option available in university i.e. computer labs, but they prefer the upgraded smart phones to access the

• French-Hindi Grammar and Dictionary Apps: There are a few dictionaries and grammar apps available at play store. These apps are very helpful in learning French language as they can be accessed at the click of a fingertip. • French-Hindi Visual Dictionary: Now a days this new sort of dictionary seems to be very helpful for the language learners to build the vocabulary power in a very effective way. The vocabularies related to a topic can be explored at one glance. • Apart from these ICT based Teaching-Learning methods there are many other possibilities of Learning French Language through Hindi Medium. • MGAHV has MOU with few Institutions of European Countries like France, Belgium etc.. Students coming from France to learn Hindi are the best companions for French Leaning students. Students imbibe French language, pronunciation and culture simultaneously. • Students from other European countries also have a fair knowledge of French Language who give their best to Hindi speakers who are learning French by formal and informal interactions. • MEA websites produces the same news in different languages. In which French and Hindi or vice-versa news gives students an opportunity to know the terms and translation techniques. Apart from all the above mentioned methods there are many more effective and innovative methods of teaching which are used such as active learning methods and enacting stories, teaching through conversations and role play, games, student centric approaches, teaching through sense of humor etc.

English and French languages are more or less related to each other. Most of the English words are derived from French language and many English words have their origin from French words. French and English both the languages have many similarities from the grammar point of view. It is true that one who has good knowledge of English grammar can understand the French grammar easily. But when we compare French language teaching through English; and French language While explaining ‗Les Pronoms Sujets‘ with the English Translation, the 2nd Person Singular form ‗Tu‘ which means ‗You‘ and is informal way of representing; and in 2nd Person Plural form ‗Vous‘ also means ‗You‘ but it is the formal way for representing someone. Now when the same thing is explained with Hindi we find ‗Tu‘ means ‗तुम‘ and ‗Vous‘ means ‗आप‘, now here with the Hindi explanation it becomes easy for students to understand and differentiate between them (Tu and Vous) and they apply it accordingly in the sentence. Apart from this grammar explanation difference there exist many vocabularies, sentences and expressions which are easy to understand through Hindi. Similarly expressions of proverbs and phrases can be better understood through Hindi as generally people are no acquainted with English proverbs to this extent.

In this cosmopolitan world language is playing a pivotal role to shorten the boundaries. Over the past few years Hindi speakers have settled all over the world for various reasons and requirements. Hindi has spread itself at an international level, especially in Europe and America almost a large group of the population belongs to the Hindi speaking community. More and more people are willing to learn Hindi language. They are interested to know about the Indian culture as well. In this regard there are various opportunities for French-Hindi learner. • Embassies, Immigration Offices, Custom Services require candidates who have a fair knowledge and command on French and Hindi. • Freelance Translator and Interpreter not only in India but as well across the globe. • Teacher, Lecturer and Corporate Trainer in France and other Francophone countries. • Travel, Tourism, Leisure & Hospitality Industry search for people who possess a good knowledge and command on Language. • Import / Export Sectors require suitable candidates with French-Hindi and vice versa command apart from other qualifications.

No doubt that ICT and various methods have made Teaching-Learning easier but apart from that there are many drawbacks of these ICT based tools. These methods, tools and the efforts of educators fail to give an expected result. There exist many challenges for both educator and learner to teach and to learn French language through Hindi. Here we will focus on some of the common issues. • One of the most common issues is with Non-Hindi Speakers. The regional language impacts much more than any other language and it is very challenging to deal with other language in the class. • At the basic level all the learners have the curiosity of writing the pronunciation in Devnagri lipi or in their mother tongue. It is not possible to write the exact pronunciation in Devnagri lipi for each and every French word. • Translation of Expressions in Hindi: There are many expressions whose translation is difficult to give in Hindi. They may change the sense after the translation. • Lack of Online and Offline resources: There are a handy number of online and offline materials available to teach and to learn French through English but it is rare in Hindi. • French Hindi Manuals: With the limited number of French-Hindi manuals it becomes difficult to deal and to refer with the particular objective. • Grammar Exercises: The French-Hindi version of the grammar exercises is not available at all. At the at the beginners level it doesn‘t seem difficult but at intermediate and advance level the grammar exercises become quite challenging to be provided in Hindi. • Lack of Awareness and Motivation: Learners of Foreign Languages through English are more or less aware of the opportunities available in market but Hindi medium learners are not aware of opportunities and at times they feel uncomfortable with the choice. • At times thorough teaching in Hindi makes it monotonous: It‘s very true that the continuous teaching of French language through Hindi becomes monotonous for the students especially for Non-Hindi Speakers. resources available in Hindi it is necessary to provide more and more Teaching-Learning materials at higher level.

Over the past few years Hindi has become one of the important languages of the world. It has widened all over the world and became an international language. In France and Francophone countries people are taking interest in Teaching-Learning of Hindi. At International level there are institutions which are making it possible. In Indian context Teaching–Learning of French Language through Hindi needs to be popularized among the learners. Apart from the materials available the scholars, educators and learners need to develop materials in Hindi to make it more goal oriented. We have to look for more possibilities to promote the Teaching-Learning of French through Hindi medium to fulfill the needs of the market at International platform.

1. A. Pritchard (2007). Effective teaching with internet technologies (London, UK: Paul Chapman Publishing). 2. A.W. Bates and G. Poole (2003). Effective teaching with technology in higher education: Foundations for success (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass). 3. H.D. Brown (2000). Principles of language learning and teaching (White Plains, NY: Pearson Education. 4. J.C. Richards and T.S. Rodgers (2006). Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching (Cambridge University Press). 5. M. K. Kolkova (2007). Tradition and innovation in the methods of teaching foreign languages (St Petersburg: KARO). 6. M. Romano (2003). Empowering Teachers with Technology: Making it happen (Lanham, US: The Scarecrow Press – Rowman & Littlefield). 7. W. M. Rivers (1981). Teaching Foreign Language Skills (Chicago: University of Chicago Press).

Centre for Foreign Language, MGAHV, Wardha, India sandeepfrs@gmail.com