Chinese Students’ Attitudes towards Their Learning of French in France

Abstract

For more than a decade, increasing numbers of Chinese students have chosen European countries, especially Spain, France and Germany, as their overseas study destination. The reasons for this choice generally are: to acquire a foreign language that is not commonly taught at school in China but is widely used in the world; to increase opportunities in finding employment after returning in China; to pursue personal interest concerning the chosen country; and to avoid continuing learning English because of low performance at school (since study in a Chinese university commonly means passing tests in English before graduation). Thanks to an action plan developed by the French government in 1998 to promote its universities worldwide and attract a larger number of international students, there were more than 216,000 international students attending French universities in 2008, a 77 per cent increase compared to 1998; 14.4 per cent of these international students were from Asia (Bangou and Bourdet, 2010). In 2009, there were more than 35,000 Chinese students registered in French universities (People’ Daily Online — Le Quotidien Du Peuple En Ligne). France was ranked in fifth place behind the United States, Britain, Australia and Japan for receiving Chinese students. As the French language is rarely taught in the Chinese education system, most students have to learn it on their arrival in France before enrolling at the university.