Four local students recognized for French speaking talents with internationally-recognized diplomas

By JEREMY APPEL on February 11, 2020.

jappel@medicinehatnews.com@MHNJeremyAppel

Four Grade 12 French immersion students at Monsignor McCoy High School have become officially certified by France’s government as francophones.

The DELF-B2 diploma – or Diplôme d’Études en Langue Française – is awarded by the French ministry of education to students who demonstrate a proficiency in the French language after a series of exams.

There are four components to it – writing, listening, speaking and comprehension.

Hugues Sonna – the Medicine Hat Catholic Board of Education French immersion teacher – told the News the diploma is recognized worldwide and for life.

He says it’s particularly valuable in a bilingual country like ours, but can also assist students if they want to study abroad.

“The DELF is, first of all, one of the certificates you can use to get into any francophone university, in Canada or outside,” said Sonna.

“It’s also an exam that shows different skills, which can be used for work in different organizations that require French, especially the Canadian government.”

Mikayla Clarke has been learning French since preschool, so she regards the exam as a logical conclusion to her “journey.”

For the oral component, the students had to pick a topic out of a hat and deliver a presentation on it to two examiners. Hers was feminism.

“That’s a pretty hard topic,” Clarke confessed. “I had to speak about my values with feminism and then other values. Hugue would test me and ask questions and I had to respond with proper French grammar and language.”

She then went into a room with the examiners to deliver her 30-minute presentation.

André Mueller also saw his DELF exam as a “nice little conclusion to my time in French immersion,” which he began in Grade 1.

“I just wanted to wrap it up on a good note and having to prove I am officially bilingual, that’s internationally recognized and will give me more opportunities,” said Muller.

For his oral examination, he delivered a presentation on archaeology.

Mueller plans on going to McGill University in Montreal next year, while Clarke has her eyes set on the University of Alberta.

The other two students who passed the exam are Zachary Jacobs and Dawson Sorensen.

For Sonna, who originally hails from Cameroon, teaching French immersion hits close to home.

“As a francophone speaker, I must say that when I got my Canadian citizenship, I went downtown to the government building to establish passport and was surprised to learn there was no one who could read my birth certificate, which was in French,” he said.

At the time he lived in Edmonton, so he had to travel down to Calgary to find somebody who could understand the document.

“I got a little bit frustrated,” said Sonna. “I encourage people – the community and government – to come together and see how we can improve our French program, because we really need French people around here, in the town and province, so what happened to me doesn’t have to happen to other French-speaking people.”

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