Nine French teachers, all Seychellois, returning from training at Institut de CAVILAM, Vichy, France, are to help train others within the Ministry of Education, using their newly acquired skills and knowledge.
The nine teachers, who participated in the training program organized by the Ministry of Education with the support of the French Ambassador to Seychelles, Mr. Dominique Mas and the Alliance Française des Seychelles, shared with officials from the department and colleagues about the different innovative ways of teaching French as a subject at different levels, with the aim of reviving interest in the subject among students. It was in a ceremony organized last Saturday at the Alliance Française of Seychelles.
Through presentations and an interactive session at the Alliance Française, they shared ideas on how to integrate modern and traditional games, music and film to make the learning experience positive for all students.
According to the Principal Secretary at the Ministry of Education, Ms. Merna Eulentin, the Ministry is committed to this partnership with the Alliance Française and the French Embassy to continuously improve education. Primary and secondary educators stand to benefit, primarily through peer training.
“From this session today, there will be many sessions where our own Seychellois teachers will train other Seychellois teachers in our schools. Of course, as the Ministry of Education, we will act as a bridge to facilitate exchanges, but we want to use our people who are in the field, to empower others who are also in the schools. We are really positive, and we will not limit this to French, but for other subjects as well, using our own teachers and their expertise to move forward,” said Ms Eulentin.
A general training for French educators was originally planned for April, but did not take place. However, the return of the nine CAVILAM teachers presents an opportunity to do so.
The ministry intends to hold many sessions, each based on a theme, including music and film, in line with experiential learning theories.
Ms. Erina Rose, deputy director of Belonie secondary school, one of the nine educators described the one-month experience as an enriching experience.
“While we were there, there were teachers and professors from at least 62 different countries. We have acquired a lot of knowledge, and new things that we can share with other French teachers, and others too. These days we see a lot of resources online, and children today have access to digital devices, so if we can bring them into classrooms, and engage in a lot of activities that can revolutionize the subject French and the French language,” said Ms. Rose.
Harnessing the potential of digital technologies to promote learning is also among the ministry’s priorities.
“The internet is a challenge. But in terms of resources, we also have the support of the Ministry of Finance and the government, and we have already budgeted to be able to bring in more electronic resources and to further integrate the use of the Internet so that we can gradually move away from paper and pencils”, added the principal secretary at the Ministry of Education, Mrs. Merna Eulentin,
The group had left the Seychelles for France on July 29 and returned on August 28 with experiences not to be soon forgotten.
Source: Seychelles Nation