SOME EXPERIENCES ABOUT TEACHING SCIENTIFIC

SUBJECTS IN FRENCH

L Cao Phan
Dalat Teachers training college

The French enrichment program (learn French and by French) is the

achievement of trilateral cooperation among The Ministry of Education and
Training of Vietnam, the Francophone University Association (AUF) and the
Embassy of French in Vietnam. The very first bilingual classes were offered in
1992 at Ho Chi Minh City. [1]
The purposes of this study were to point out some experiences about using
French to teach mathematics and physics for Vietnamese middle school students.
We are going to discuss about the advantages, difficulties and some suggestions
about theses classes bilingues.

Keywords : French bilingual class, scientific subject, mathematics.

At Dalat, the first bilingual class of the high school level was offered in
1996 which recruited students at the grade 6. At the same moment, the primary
school accepted the first pupils to adhere to the program learn French and by
French. So after 5 years, they would enter directly to the secondary school Bui
Thi Xuan to pursuit the same program.
The main characteristic of the bilingual classes was that beside French
which was considered as a second language, students must learn mathematics and
physics in the French language. Each week, students have 7-10 periods of French,
4 periods of mathematics and 2 periods of physics. After finishing the grade 12,
they have to pass an exam and receive two certificates: one by the Ministry of
Education and Formation, the other from the French ambassador.

Figure 1: Certificats delivered by the Ministry of Education and Formation and the
French Ambassy.

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 To respond the highly required qualification of the bilingual classes,
teachers were able to communicate in French in the classroom throughout the
period. Teachers will be able to choose and use appropriate instructional materials,
develop physics lesson plan in French, dealing with classroom problems, and
lifelong learning for improve their French skills and teaching.
The main limitations were language barrier and scientific teachers lack
confidence to communicate in French both in speaking and writing. To solve this
problem, the program selected among mathematics and physics teachers those who
has a basic level of French, then they had to pursuit a implementation of training
curriculum.
In addition, most teachers were not able to develop or select the appropriate
instructional materials for content knowledge and learning. At the first time, the
Minister of education translated directly Vietnamese manuals into French (fig2).
This project has many disadvantages, because the bilingual period had been
considered as an hour of translation. After that, with the association of the French
ambassador at Vietnam, new textbooks were created, in which, the content were
selected from the French program [3], [4], (fig 3).

Figure 2 : Textbook translated from vietnamese into French

Figure 3 : Textbook drawed up with the collaboration of the

French ambassador and the Ministry of Education and Formation
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 I had been teaching Physics by French at the high school Bui Thi Xuan,
Dalat from 1999 until 2012, so I point out some results and experiences about the
program.
Advantages
- Vocabulary is very essential to learn a new language. Learning a scientific
subject by another language enrich effectively the vocabulary. On the other side,
this effectiveness helps students to increase the capacity of learning French. In a
French atmosphere, students memorize the new words not by aggression or
pressure, but through the activities by practicing, debating, managing experiences,
by the repetition day after day, year after year, so new words keep memory
naturally as their mother language.
- Students can express the mathematics (or physics) idea by French. They
can communicate with the language of sciences.
- Students can improve the knowledge around the notion that they have
studied in the Vietnamese program. For example, in physics, the methodology
tends to approach a new conception by theory, meanwhile in the French program
the experimental processes are used frequently.
Theses two ways of approach will help students understand better.
- Students can read and understand scientific papers. When gone to the
university, they have no difficult in reading French textbooks, papers.
- The notes of mathematics and physics were always higher than French.
Compare to the Vietnamese program, the results are higher too. Some students are
astonished why the mathematics and physics in French are easier than Vietnamese
one.

Difficulties
- Almost parents though that learning mathematics or physics by another
language except native tongue is a very hard duty for Vietnamese children. So they
hesitate to lead their children to participate to bilingual classes. Parents were the
main factor to preclude the advancement of this course.
- Students must complete the two curricula at the same time: Vietnamese
and French programs. Its very tough for students, so the number of participants
drop out steadily, about 80% from the grade 1 to grade 12.
- The lack of the Vietnamese teachers who have good capacity of physics
(or mathematics) and French. Teachers must be able to communicate in French
fluently. However, the most important thing is that teachers need to correctly
communicate the content knowledge particularly in science concepts.
- Teachers sometimes returned to traditional method of teaching. They
speak almost Vietnamese instead of French and tend to work themselves in
classroom instead of organizing activities for students.
But the programs has a good deal of effectiveness : each year, the rate of the
entrance examination to the Universities is much higher than the national rate;
most of the bilingual students continue their studies in departments of French and
Francophone academics in Vietnam; several hundred others enter into major
French universities, etc. Now almost of them have great success in the career
activities.

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 Some suggestions for English-Vietnamese bilingual classes
Since 2008, the Ministry of Education and training has implemented a pilot
project to teach natural sciences and mathematics in the English language at high
schools in order to create an English ambiance for students [2]. Bilingual
education provides a number of benefits to pupils, including increasing:
exposure to language, both oral and written;
linguistic and subject discipline knowledge and skills;
capacity to think conceptually and take differing perspectives;
intercultural knowledge, appreciation of and respect for other cultures.
But until now, this program reveals many difficulties and has no progress in the
recent years.
With experiences accumulated through the French-Vietnamese bilingual
classes, we have some suggestions:
a. First of all, I definitively affirm that Vietnamese students of all level can
learn science or mathematics by English or another language. In the period of
massive cultural exchange through various means of media, students have very
early accustomed to English in daily life, so the school shouldnt drop out this
tendency.
b. About the textbooks: Using a foreign native textbook, dont translate
Vietnamese one into English. Students not only learn English but they need to
enlarge the different points of view of the content. They also grasp the various
approach to solve a problem. They enrich their multicultural expression by
studying foreign natural sciences.
c. About teachers : Qualified languages teaching staff with the required content
knowledge of the bilingual approach and a high level of competence in both
languages are essential.
The step of using English to teach scientific subjects varies with the level of
students. We divide into 3 levels:

Level Teachers qualifications Students skills

required
B1 - can count fluently.
Teacher mainly uses - can understand scientific terms, idea,
Vietnamese language laws and express in English
1 - can explain some basic notion.
- can understand simple questions and
information.
- can read and do simple exercises
2 B2 - can resume a paragraph.
Combine with a balance - can listen some simple and short
rate between English and dialog about scientific topics.
Vietnamese language. - can understand the main idea of basic
topics
- can give general meanings on familiar
topics for basic everyday needs.
- can explain scientific phenomenon

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 - can read and do exercises
B2 or higher - can listen all the lecture
Teaching almost in - can express fluently
English - can read scientific papers
- can read and understand English
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exercises without difficulties
- can speak about most transactional
needs and scientific situations.

Conclusion : With an selected and appropriate materials, learning mathematics or

scientific subjects by another language beside the vernacular is not tough for
students of all ages. Parents and students shouldnt hesitate to participate to this
curriculum. High school and universities should prepare to carry it on as soon as
possible.

Reference :

[1] Nguyn Thc Thnh Tn- Plaidoyer pour lenseignement scientifique dans
le programme des classes bilingues HoChiMinh-ville- Synergies Pays Riverains
du Mkong n 7 - 2015 p. 49-54
[2] Quyt nh 1400/Q-TTg ngy 30 thng 9 nm 2008- n "dy v hc ngoi
ng trong h thng gio dc quc dn giai on 2008 - 2020".
[3] Ministre de lducation et de la Formation Physique 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12-
Hanoi 2002.
[4] Ministre de lducation et de la Formation Mathmatique 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11,
12- Hanoi 2002.