Why learn FRENCH ? … some facts and figures…

Did you know French is a world language ?

Some figures In the world, people speak French. French is spoken on the 5 continents and is an official language in 32 countries. French is the third language of the Web after English and German.

Did you know French is a working language in many organisations ? United Nations Secretariat, the WHO, the European Court of Justice the African Union, Interpol, the Red Cross

Amnesty International, Doctors/Lawyers without Borders and Doctors of the World

UNESCO, NATO, European Council, the OECD.

French is one of the main languages for research. The first research institute in numbers of publications is French: le Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS). Ranking from SCIMAGO of the world research institutes based on data from Scopus (Elsevier). They used the quantity of publications as their only criterion.

France is 6th on a world wide scale for scientific publications. France is 4th on the European scale for patents and 8th on the American scale.

Publications Humanities and Social Sciences Publication websites:

MEDICAL, SCIENCE and TECHNOLOGY research websites:

Why do King’s postgraduates study French ? Some words from supervisors: “We have ongoing collaborations with research groups in France and the student will be visiting their labs during her PhD to learn and share techniques.” Centre of Human and aerospace physiological Science “We have ongoing collaborations with research groups in France and the student will be visiting their labs during her PhD to learn and share techniques.” Centre of Human and aerospace physiological Science “Our student is working on continental philosophy and sociology. He needs to have better knowledge of French in order to read and comment on works of Bourdieu, Foucault and others.” Philosophy “Our student is working on continental philosophy and sociology. He needs to have better knowledge of French in order to read and comment on works of Bourdieu, Foucault and others.” Philosophy

“Some original books in Mathematics are written in French. Therefore, the ability to read French would be very helpful for the student’s research.” Informatics “Some original books in Mathematics are written in French. Therefore, the ability to read French would be very helpful for the student’s research.” Informatics “Our lab has links with several French/French-speaking labs. So it is likely that the student will go visit them during his PhD to collaborate.” Randall Division of Cell and Molecular Biophysics “Our lab has links with several French/French-speaking labs. So it is likely that the student will go visit them during his PhD to collaborate.” Randall Division of Cell and Molecular Biophysics

“The student is researching in the important field of regulation of medical interventions, part of the literature for which is published in journals in French language.” Law “The student is researching in the important field of regulation of medical interventions, part of the literature for which is published in journals in French language.” Law “The important ESORICS informatics security conferences are held in France and many of the papers are given in French.” Informatics “The important ESORICS informatics security conferences are held in France and many of the papers are given in French.” Informatics

What can you learn at the MLC ? The MLC offers all you need to progress in French : Assessed Modules, if you want to take French classes as part of your curriculum Evening Classes Tailor made classes All of which from complete beginners to advanced levels !

Do you want to be able to work in French? We offer specialized French courses : French for Medics : This course prepares you for the “Diplôme de Français Médical” delivered by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Paris and provides you with a socio-cultural understanding of the French healthcare system and the patient-doctor relationship in France. Business French : All you need to know to understand and interact with ‘le monde des affaires en français’. You are also prepared for the ‘Diplôme de Français des Affaires’ de la Chambre de Commerce de Paris. Legal French : Intended for lawyers and law students, this course also prepares you for the ‘Diplôme de Français Juridique’.

How will you learn? A variety of teaching methods and methodologies are used in class to ensure the development of communicative skills in a range of social, educational and professional situations. Language is taught in its social, political, cultural and historical contexts to give it meaningful and real communicative value. Texts and discourses are linked to cultural world views and linguistic landscapes, and hence a variety of genres, registers and texts are covered.

Do you want to spend extra hours on your language skills ? The MLC offers top quality facilities. The Open Learning Centre (OLC) Where you will find books, CDs, DVDs, magazines and movies in French. The Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) An e-learning environment for self study that you can access anytime, anywhere as well as working at your own pace.

So why wait to learn French ?