ALLIANCE FRANÇIASE

The Alliance Française, a National Association for the propagation of the French language in the colonies and abroad, was founded in 1883 – a time of historical change for France. From its institution its purpose was to promote not only the French language, but also the culture of La belle France while strictly adhering to the exclusion of political and religious connections or associations. The groups thus formed throughout the world focus, to this day, on Literature, Art, History of France and of course on teaching the French language.
The Board of Directors of the Alliance Française in Paris was installed on the 10th of March, 1884. It included illustrious names: Ferdinand de Lesseps, Louis Pasteur, Ernest Renan, Jules Verne, Colin… Barcelona was the first country to host Alliance Francaise in Europe, outside France.

The Alliance Française de Paris was recognized as a public utility in 1886. Since then the Alliance Française network spread all over Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australasia and in the Americas.

The Alliance Française Foundation was created on the 26th of July, 2007 with the objective of modernizing the existing Alliance Française network with the cooperation of the French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs. It conducts hundred of events worldwide to promote French culture and language as also the culture of the host country.

If you plan to learn French, learn it at the Alliance Française closest to you. You get participate in many important cultural and literary events and your exposure to the Francophone world will be unrivalled. Contact the Embassy of France in your country to find out the Alliance Francaise closest to you.

Common European Framework of Reference for Languages

No matter where you learn French, your level of French language will be judged in accordance with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, devised by the Council of Europe. The Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) presents a foundation for the common recognition of language qualifications, thus making possible educational and occupational mobility. It is progressively employed in the restructuring of national curricula and by global consortia for the evaluation of language certificates. The levels are scientifically designed and define the expected level of proficiency for a specified level. The Levels of the Common European Framework of Reference are divided into 6 categories:

Basic (Elementaire)
A1 Breakthrough (Introductif ou découverte)	A2 Waystage (Intermédiaire ou de service)
Independent (Independent)
B1 Threshold (Niveau Seuil)		B2 Vantage (Avancé ou independent)
Proficient (Experimente)
C1 Proficiency (Autonome)		C2 Mastery (Maîtrise)

There are exams that help you determine your level according to this classification but more about that next time

Welcome to the Francophone World

Welcome Dear Entrant to the Francophone World!

You have now become a part of a 200 million strong community spread across 40 countries in all the continents that identifies itself as the “Monde Francophone” due to their regular usage of the French language either because its their maternal language, their medium of instruction at school or the administrative language in their country or two or more of these cases.

You may have chosen to study French due the following reasons:
1. You work for a French, Swiss, Belgian or Canadian company/institution that requires you to deal with French speaking clients.
2. You have chosen French as your Second Language in school.
3. You are migrating to Quebec, Canada.
4. You want to work as a French Translator/ Interpreter / Teacher.
5. You work in the Travel and Tourism sector.
6. You plan to work or study in France.
7. You have nothing to do and are learning French for killing time constructively i.e. Learning French out of personal interest.

No matter what is your reason, learning a new language is not a piece of cake but you can make the ride smoother by inculcating some practices in your study routine for a prolonged period of time. I have my share of ups and downs during this very enriching and satisfying journey of learning the French language and in the process discovering a whole new world.