Revitalisation of French Language Study in Nigeria for Regional Integration

Abstract

French is one of the most widely taught foreign/second language in the West African sub region, and perhaps in the whole of Africa. Thus, Nigeria being the key player in the socio-economic and political activities in the sub region, the teaching of French as a foreign language becomes prominent in the country. However, that discipline has witnessed a lot of obstacles that have hindered its development over times, despite the fact that it is captured in the National Language Policy of the nation. The challenges of the study of French range from lack of effective implementation of language policy on the part of the Government and the stakeholders, lack of models to interact with, parental attitudes to the language, among other things. These impediments and many more are factors that are affecting the general lack of interest in French language learning, therefore causing the endangerment of French study in Nigerian schools. This paper aims at evaluating and discussing ways of revitalising French language teaching and learning in Nigerian schools while highlighting the crucial role it plays in the sub region. Thus, the conceptual framework of language ideology and language attitudes which are subfields within sociolinguistics will be used for our discussions. Through a qualitative approach we shall examine how language ideology and attitudes have significant impacts on the way Nigerians think about French language as well as their linguistic behaviours which have negatives impacts on the learning of French language in Nigeria. The paper concludes by suggesting strategies for French language revitalisation in Nigeria and the opportunities it offers as a powerful vector for integration in the sub region.