The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : A boon to Pondicherrians

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 16, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

A boon to Pondicherrians

T here was a time in Pondicherryw here French was the official language. Today French is slowly being forgotten in Pondicherry. Accent François - a new institute has now been started with the noble intention of saving French from this impending disaster.

Were Nehru Street intersects with Canteen Street, a flight of north-facing stairs leads us to the first floor of a commercial building occupied by the `Saviour' institute.

With a centralised AC system and a colourful reception hall, that accommodates a plethora of movie CDs, Accent François imparts French knowledge through the audio-visual medium.

Mr. Prakesh (Service Ingénieur) and Mr. Felix Paulraj (Attaché de Direction) ushered us into a theatre spacious enough to accommodate forty viewers.

The films that are shown here focus on French culture, history and literature. Since language has to be taught in the way it is spoken today, these film shows help the learners of French to have a grasp over the apt usage of the language.

Adjacent to the theatre are two well-furnished classrooms equipped with giant-size CD players and TV screens. Each classroom is provided with two teachers. While one teaches, the other corrects the mistakes the students commit on paper. This healthy combination of efforts brings in the best results.

What is the purpose of starting such an institute at a time when people of Pondicherry are losing interest in French? We can't resist the temptation of asking this question.

Pat comes the answer from the two young men who took us around: "A good number of students opt for French as second language to score over others who opt for Tamil or Hindi, for the examiners in French magnanimously mark them sky high. Secondly, several Pondicherrians still manage to get jobs in France and they find their way there by marrying Tamil girls whose families are settled in France.

"They need to learn the French language before they leave India. Above all several scholars in literature and language evince a keen interest in learning this romantic language to add a feather to their cap. And this institute satisfies the needs of such people."

Started by Mr. P. Nataraj, who has spent a decade in France teaching school children and making a fortune as an electrical engineer, the Accent François offers courses are offered at four levels: 1. Beginners, 2. Intermediate, 3. Advance and 4. Spoken. Each course is conducted for 45 days for two hours a day, except Sunday. The course is economical and class sizes small.

As for the future, Mr Natraj says, "It is too early for comments, but if all goes well, we may start 4-level courses in Spanish, Italian and German."

P.RAJA

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