FACTORS INHIBITING THE TEACHING AND LEARNING OF FRENCH IN NIGERIA: THE CROSS CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

French language has been in existence as far back as the 6^th Century. It is ancient as the world itself. The language is foreign, widely accepted and spoken by native speakers and foreigners all over the globe. French is a beautiful language, well loved by all races. There is no continent in the world where its speakers cannot be found, therefore, the importance of French language as a medium of communication cannot be over emphasized. Based on this, globalization has turned the entire world into a global village through scientific and technological innovations which are capable of enhancing the teaching and learning of French. Besides, African culture is dynamic, ever-changing and ready to accommodate foreign cultures. Previous studies on challenges and opportunities of globalization and African culture have been carried out extensively but with little attention paid to their impacts on the teaching and learning of French as a second official language in Nigeria. This paper is therefore designed to examine their relevance on French language with a view to determining future prospects on Nigerian youths. The study adopts cultural hybridity as a theoretical framework that helps to understand the functional nature of globalization and African culture. It also adopts close reading techniques as a methodology which gives us the opportunity to examine critically the essence of cross-cultural interactions in global world. This presentation examines the concept of globalization and African culture. It discusses the importance of French language. It analyses the positive and negative impact of globalization on African culture in teaching and learning of French as a second official language in Nigeria. Finally, it states the factors militating against the growth of French in Nigeria and the practical solution to its growth. The paper concludes that the importance of French cannot be over emphasised given the large number of speakers globally and also considering its growing impacts on education, culture & civilization & science & technology.