French Talent Program

Led by the French Talent Fund and supported by the French Embassy in China and Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU), French Talent Program is a school that works with Alliance Française de Pékin on characteristic French courses as well as educational and cross-cultural communication between China and France. The "characteristic French courses for primary and secondary education" is the key project.

Purpose of this program

In answer to the New Course Syllable to integrate French language into the high school curriculum released by the Ministry of Education of China in September 2018, this program aims to foster multilingual talents excellent in English and French as second languages, provide students with a broader space for development and contribute to the China-France friendship by equipping primary and secondary schools in Beijing with high-qualified French teachers. A high level of proficiency in English is a prerequisite for introducing French as a second foreign language to primary and secondary education. Till now, the program has been carried out in Beijing 101 Middle School Petroleum Campus and the Affiliated Primary School of Beijing Petroleum College.

Development of “Special French Courses” in Beijing 101 Middle School Petroleum Campus

On August 31, 2014, at the signing ceremony on universities supporting primary and secondary schools in Haidian district, BLCU signed with the Education Commission of Beijing Haidian District on the establishment of the Primary School Affiliated to Beijing Petroleum Institute and the Middle School Affiliated to Beijing Petroleum Institute, Beijing 101 Middle School Petroleum Campus. kicking off University Support Affiliated School project of BLCU.

In March 2018, during the University Support Affiliated School project, AF de Pékin launched French courses in a number of primary and secondary schools supported by BLCU in Haidian District. High-qualified French-speaking teachers at AF de Pékin developed French courses and rich cultural activities in the Primary and Middle schools affiliated to Beijing Petroleum College and the Third Experimental Primary school in Haidian District with the great support of the French Embassy in China.

On October 22, 2018, AF de Pékin, on the occasion of its 20th anniversary, established the French Talent Fund. As a non-public fund affiliated to BLCU Education Foundation, it is dedicated to support excellent students to learn French, especially those struggling with economic hardships, in order to train French language talent in China. One of the key projects is the French Talent Program, which aims to promote French language in primary and secondary schools. To date, four students in this project have won a scholarship of RMB 15,000 respectively.

On May 24, 2019, Yaël Blic Ripert, wife of the French Ambassador to China, Thierry Lasserre, General Delegate of Alliance Français in China and French Director of Alliance Française de Pékin, Li Zhijian, Head of General Office of BLCU and Bao Yuehong, Chinese Director of Alliance Française de Pékin attended the opening ceremony of the first French Talent with teachers and students of the Primary School Affiliated to Beijing Petroleum College.

In May 2019, the High School Affiliated to Beijing Petroleum College was merged with Beijing 101 Middle School into Beijing 101 Middle School Petroleum Campus. The two institutions conceived the cooperation on the long-term project of Characteristic French Language Courses. After a series of discussions, AF de Pékin developed a comprehensive and systematic curriculum on the long-term French courses for Beijing 101 Middle School Petroleum Campus based on the features of the Petroleum Campus and the European second foreign language teaching methodology based on Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

On September 1, 2019, Mikaël Hautchamp, Minister Counselor for Culture, Education and Scientific Affairs of the French Embassy in China, Zhang Baojun, vice president of BLCU, Thierry Lasserre, General Delegate of Alliance Française de Chine and French Director of Alliance Française de Pékin and Bao Yuehong, Chinese Director of Alliance Française de Pékin, attended the opening ceremony of Beijing 101 Middle School Petroleum Campus under invitation and the long-term French Courses project. Beijing 101 Middle School Petroleum Campus hence has become a member of the French Talent Base.

Features and advantages

1. Rely on the top French language institute to guarantee the high quality of teaching
Founded in 1998, Alliance Française de Pékin is a non-profit language institute jointly established by two prestigious language institutes, Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU) and the Alliance Française (AF). It is one of the earliest programs launched between China and other countries.
According to statistics, by 2018, AF de Pékin has provided the French language and cultural courses of different levels to a total of 135,000 people, as well as thousands of cultural and artistic activities to approximately 2 million people. High-quality French language teaching is guaranteed with rich teaching resources, experienced teachers, scientific teaching modes and efficient after-school instructions.

2. Enrich courses and cultural activities with the help of instructors from China and France
Instructors apply the teaching method of Alliance Française to 40 students for Class No. 7 of Grade 7 at Beijing 101 Middle School Petroleum Campus. To ensure that students communicate in French in class, teachers have slowed down the pace of teaching to make the key parts clear by repeating them many times and changing the learning environment. With every teaching procedure carefully designed, AF de Pékin aims to enable students to acquire communication skills step by step and be well-prepared for the college entrance examination at the same time after 3 to 6 years of long-term study without increasing the academic stress or impeding English learning.
About the teaching design, in addition to the fixed three hours per week, French-speaking teachers at Alliance Française organize an activity each week to check if students have acquired the linguistic abilities expected within the scheduled time.
Equipped with rich Chinese-French cultural exchange resources of AF de Pékin, we will introduce French youth culture projects into the campus from time to time for students to have a taste of the diversified French culture in a distinctive way besides language courses.

3. Carefully design the curriculum in accordance with the second foreign language teaching system in European primary and secondary schools and the features of the Chinese school to make it easier for students to master French
Taking Beijing 101 Middle School Petroleum Campus as an example, the teaching group of AF de Pékin carefully designs the curriculum for the school to adapt to its meets. Courses start from grade 7 to grade 12 for 6 consecutive years with 3 hours class per week and 45 minutes per class, which allows students to fully digest what they have learned in class when they are at peak attention. And the next class is immediately arranged in case students forget what they have previously learned to ensure students can be exposed to the French-speaking atmosphere. Based on the features of Beijing 101 Middle School Petroleum Campus, the curriculum is designed for students to learn French and French culture from grade 7 to grade 12 easily and progressively.

4. Teach English and French as second foreign languages to provide double assurance for students in the college entrance examination
Founded in 1998, Alliance Française de Pékin is a non-profit language organization jointly established by two prestigious language institutes, namely Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU) and the Alliance Française (AF). It is one of the earliest programs between China and other countries.
According to statistics, by 2018, AF de Pékin has provided French language and cultural courses of different levels and types to a total of 135,000 people, as well as thousands of cultural and artistic activities to approximately 2 million people. High-quality French language teaching is guaranteed with rich teaching resources, experienced teachers, scientific teaching models and efficient after-school instructions.

5. Seek and connect quality overseas study programs with outstanding students through the strong competence of AF de Pékin in French education.
According to the latest data released by UNESCO in 2018, France is the world’s fourth largest host country of international students, ranking first among non-English-speaking countries. The appeal of France lies in its time-honored tradition of first-class higher education. The prestigious Sorbonne university was founded in 1253. Since then, French higher education has become world-famous, among which are French business schools that have been at the top of international rankings for years.
Alliance Française de Pékin and Campus France China are the two major organizations of the French Embassy in China responsible for optimizing the service for study in France. With a close relationship and frequent communication, they seek and connect good overseas programs with students through cooperation.

6. Cultivate “Language + X” versatile talent to enhance students’ competitiveness
As China advances its “going global” strategy in culture and economy, especially the proposal and implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative, language as a key tool and vehicle for cultural communication and trade exchanges becomes increasingly important. Nowadays, a good command of more than one foreign language can not only sharpen the mind but also open up channels for acquiring knowledge. It helps to improve students’ problem-solving abilities and makes them competent in academic study and future employment.

Cooperation pattern
In general, this program will operate in a way in which kindergartens, primary schools, middle schools and universities involved are responsible for financing Chinese and foreign teachers, and the French Talent Fund for funding international cultural activities and offering scholarships for outstanding students. Schools interested in our program are welcomed to contact us for more details.