Foreign language learning in Zambia:

the French classroom experience

Abstract

Foreign language learning has been considered to be an added value to education attainment in every society.  Despite its obvious advantages at country, institutional and personal levels, the teaching and learning of French in Zambia has not yielded the expected results. This has been so in spite of objectives and strategies put in place for a fruitful teaching/learning process. The scope of this paper does not include the obvious challenges faced at national or institutional level such as policy issues, lack of learning materials and many others, but focuses on overtime observations of students as they interact with the target language within the classroom setup in the acquisition of the four language skills.  An analysis of several factors pertaining to the learners’ individual and collective features could help us understand the challenges faced in teaching/learning and suggest ways to assist students achieve their goals. This analysis is meant to help the prospective learner to consider foreign language learning as a dynamic process; thus, learners should be proactive if they have to rise above those challenges.