The institutional dynamics of Prince of Songkla University directed to the secondary schools in the southern region : French language and culture skill competition, a place for sharing and experimenting with French language

Abstract

As part of academic services or academic awareness, the French Section of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of Prince of Songkla University, as the higher education French section in the southern region with competent native and non-native lecturers who are eager to participate in the improvement of French teaching and learning quality in the schools and to promote French language networks and dynamics, organizes French language and culture competition for secondary school French language students in the region every year. The competition is aimed at rewarding the students for their linguistic efforts and abilities, to encourage them to progress through a friendly competition as well as   to promote French learning in the region. It consists of different types of tests: reading and listening comprehension, improvised role-play, drawing according to dictation or to a text, poem recitation, dictation, French language singing contest and French culture test. Once the project completed, the organizing team conducted the project evaluation in order to study the satisfaction of participants from different schools in the South of Thailand (including 138 students and 10 teachers in 2013, 110 students and 11 teachers in 2014, 140 students and 16 teachers in 2016 and 103 students and 18 teachers in 2017). According to the evaluation surveys of the organized project, the findings revealed that most of the participants, either French language students or teachers, are satisfied with the project. It can therefore be asserted that the competition has become an important place for sharing and experimenting with French language for French language learners and teachers as well as a significant measure to improve French teaching in the South of Thailand.