Teachers and the Realisation of Nigeria’s French Language Agenda

Abstract

The French language is strategically positioned in international relations, regionalism, and cultural one-on-one communication, especially in Africa where there is the convergence of lingo and policy factors. Nigeria is one of the many governments that have adopted French as part of their education systems in line with the bilingual agenda of the African Union as well as the global francophone project. Nevertheless, the achievement of this agenda does not require policy documents only but the teachers as effective agents of implementation. The paper considers the complex role of teachers in French language agenda, their roles as policy brokers, policy encouragers, cultural brokers, and pedagogical brokers. It also brings out the structural issues that teachers are experiencing including lack of training, resources, and policy-practice gaps. The study is informed by a qualitative approach based on document analysis and review of existing literature through thematic analysis. The results indicate that the effectiveness of teachers has a direct impact on the attitudes of learners, their performance in terms of proficiency and finally the sustainability of French language policies. The research concludes that until there is substantial investment in teacher capacity-building, resources, and ongoing professional development then the French language agenda will be aspirational as opposed to realised. Recommendations are made with regard to policy support, intercultural training, and creative pedagogy which can provide the teachers with the ability to play their key role in language planning.