Core Academics

World Languages — French

Grade bands served: Grade 3 through Grade 12 where offered

Liberia is surrounded by francophone neighbours, and French opens regional trade, ECOWAS employment and diplomatic opportunity. Where offered, the French programme builds practical communicative competence: greetings and classroom language in the elementary grades, everyday conversation, reading and writing in the middle grades, and functional written and spoken French for travel, trade and study in high school. Cultural study of francophone West Africa accompanies language work.

Why this subject matters

Regional mobility, trade and international organisation employment often require French. Second-language study also strengthens first-language literacy.

Overall learning goals

• Communicate in French in everyday situations.
• Read and write practical French texts.
• Understand francophone West African culture.
• Build pronunciation and listening accuracy.
• Use French for regional trade and study contexts.

Core competencies & skills

• Listening comprehension
• Speaking and pronunciation
• Reading
• Writing
• Cultural competence

Scope by grade band

Kindergarten – Grade 2

Exposure only where staffing allows: greetings, songs, numbers and colours.

Grades 3–5

Greetings, classroom language, numbers, family, food, and simple sentences with songs and games.

Grades 6–8

Present and past tenses, everyday conversation, short compositions, and dialogues for market and travel situations.

Grades 9–12

Extended conversation, reading of authentic texts, formal writing, and French for business, travel and regional cooperation.

Typical learning activities

• Conversation drills and role play
• Listening practice with authentic audio
• Vocabulary and grammar practice
• Cultural study
• Language exchange where possible

Project examples

• Recorded French dialogue
• Bilingual class dictionary
• Francophone country cultural presentation
• Simulated cross-border trade negotiation in French

Assessment methods

• Oral proficiency interviews
• Listening and reading tests
• Written compositions
• Performance role plays

Real-world & career connections

• Regional trade
• Diplomacy and ECOWAS institutions
• Tourism and hospitality
• Translation and interpretation

FutureTech & AI integration

Learners use free language apps and AI conversation practice while being taught the limits of machine translation for nuance and formality.

Expected learner outcomes

• Graduates hold a practical conversation in French.
• Graduates read and write functional French texts.