French Studies – Best places to learn the popular foreign language in India

The course curriculum in central universities across the country tends to be broadly the same as they follow Universtiy Grants Commission guidelines for under-graduate, post-graduate, MPhil and Ph D courses. Among the well-known universities that offer French are: Jawaharlal Nehru University, Loyola College which falls under the university of Madras and Pondicherry University that offer a BA degree in French.

Pondicherry University is the other top university in the country that offers French language although at the MA level. Pondicherry or Puducherry is well-known as a former French colony and the language is still spoken there by the people on the street and it has an expat community. However, the university does not offer under-graduate courses. At the MA level in Pondicherry University, there is an all-India entrance exam. There is also Bharati Dasan college for Women in Pondicherry that comes under the Pondicherry University, where admission is on the basis of marks. This college offers under-graduate courses.

Pondicherry University has an aura as it benefits from the fact that Pondicherry was a French colony and like JNU, it offers hostel accommodation. Loyola college is the only college under the University of Madras that offers a BA degree in French. A frequent Board of studies meeting updates the curriculum and new courses are offered for the students to ensure that students are well exposed to standard French as it is taught world over. Like all colleges and universities that teach French language in India, the Department of Foreign languages in Loyola College maintains linkages with the French embassy so as to ensure that scholarships and the latest methods of teaching French are made available to French students. To ensure standards are maintained, students are offered French history in a graded manner down the three years and French literature that includes poetry, prose and theatre down the centuries is offered including a reading of the literary texts.

Those who wish to pursue extra qualifications can do so from the Alliance Française which is situated close by to the college. Entrance to the course is based on interest and to some extent on marks. After completing a BA at Loyola College, an MA can be pursued at the University of Madras. There is no entrance examination for the MA course in French at the University of Madras. Those who wish to pursue an MPhil and PhD can do so here as well as Pondicherry University.

A course very similar to the one offered in JNU and University of Madras is offered by English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU) in Hyderabad in the state of Telangana. Both undergraduate and post-graduate courses are offered in EFLU which is well-known all over South Asia. Like all central universities, it has an entrance exam. Perhaps not so well-known is the fact that in western India MSU, Baroda and University of Mumbai have Diploma/ Advanced Diploma programmes. The University of Mumbai, Department of French offers Masters and Doctoral programmes and the courses are structured similar to JNU as per UGC guidelines.

Apart from this, those students who do not wish to pursue a degree course can opt for international certification DELF (Diplôme d’Etudes en Langue Française) and DALF (Diplôme Approfondi de Langue Française) in French from the Alliance Françaises across the country. Certificates are offered all over the world in these categories according to the common European Framework for Reference for Languages and issued by the French ministry of education. The categorisation according to proficiency are A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2 depending on the level, A1 being the lowest and C2 being the highest. These certificates issued in whichever country are valid all over the world. So gear up, and opt for French!

About the Author:

Dr C Jayanthi

Dr C Jayanthi who has a PhD in Indo-French bilateral relation, is Assistant Professor, Department of Foreign Languages, Loyola College, Chennai. She has taught earlier at the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai and prior to that she was Assistant Professor, Communications, French & English, and Print Journalism at Apeejay Stya University.

Dr Jayanthi started her career as a writer and has 20 years of rich journalistic experience in senior editorial roles at leading media houses including The Times of India, The Pioneer, Gulf News, The Financial Express, and Deccan Chronicle.