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Nigeria French Language Village
The Nigeria French Language Village was established in December, 1991, as an Inter-University Centre for French studies, operating within the ambit of the National Universities Commission (NUC) to provide Language Immersion Programme (LIP), as a domestic alternative to the  mandatory erstwhile  foreign-based (year-abroad) component of the B.A/B.Ed French programmes in Nigerian Universities and also the acculturation programme for students of French in Nigerian Colleges of Education

The village is located in Ajara-Bagary, along the Lagos-Seme highway, in the coastal and historical city of Badagry, about 50 kilometres away from Lagos. Indeed the French Village is 15 kilometres to Seme, the border town between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Benin Republic. The proximity of the village to Benin Republic is an added advantage in terns of the availability of Francophone junior workers and periodic international excursions. It also offers the Village the much needed human contacts with the francophone culture and the French Language.

The Nigeria French Language Village was established as a result of the economic recession of the 1980s in Nigeria, which made it more difficult for the country to send students of French in our Universities and Colleges of Education to Francophone countries for the mandatory French Language Immersion (year abroad) Programme. In 1988, the then Federal Minister of Education, Professor Jubril Aminu, set up a Committee that was saddled with the task of carrying out feasibility studies on the establishment of Centres for the active teaching and learning of French, Arabic and Nigerian Languages. His successor, Professor Babatunde Fafunwa took giant strides towards the establishment of the Nigeria French Language Village.

On Monday, December 16, 1991, the Government of Lagos State officially handed over to the Federal Government, the site and infrastructures of the former "Teacher Training College", which it had earlier renovated for that purpose. On January 6, 1992, the Nigeria French Language Village received its pioneer batch of undergraduate students. The Government of Nigeria provides funds for infrastructural and Library development, as well as staff recruitment and payment of staff salaries.

The Village, as it is fondly called, has been designed as a centre to replicate the realities of a francophone environment from both linguistic and socio-cultural perspectives. The strategy is to create an ambiance akin to that of the French-speaking countries where Nigerian students used to have thier year abroad programme. In the Nigeria French Language Village, French is the lingua franca; studies, leisure activities and appointments with friends as well as interactions with the staff are all manifest in French. Everything is put in place to enhance a pragmatic and natural way of teaching and learning French.

MISSION AND VISION OF THE NIGERIA FRENCH LANGUAGE VILLAGE
The NFLV was established with the aim to achieve the following missions and visions as stated in the NFLV “Mission and Vision Statement Booklet, 2016 on page (i) of the Students’ Handbook.

Mission

“To develop an outstanding center of excellence for the study, research and development of French in Nigeria using skilled and innovative personnel and applying appropriate modern technology and teaching methodology to foster a culture of transnational bilingualism for nation building, regional integration as well as international cooperation and understanding”(NFLV Mission and Vision Statement  Booklet, 2016)

Vision

“To empower all persons irrespective of age, culture, creed or sex, with appropriate communication skills in the effective use of French language at both professional and inter-personal levels”.

THE MANDATE OF THE NIGERIA FRENCH LANGUAGE VILLAGE
The Nigeria French Language Village is a simulated environment for the teaching and learning of French. The mandate of Nigeria French Language Village encaspulates the following functional objectives, according to the Bill 2021 establishing the Nigeria French Language Village.


 * To provide domestic alternative to the erstwhile foreign-based year-abroad programme for under-graduates of French in Nigerian tertiary institutions, precisely in Universities and in Colleges of Education,
 * Service Tertiary institutions in Nigeria with adequate human, material and infrastructural backing for effective teaching, learning as well as conduct of research in French,
 * To make the Village, the resource centre for specialized professional services to the public and private sectors of the Nigerian economy,
 * To offer specialized courses at various levels inaddition to Language Immersion Programmes,
 * Explore areas of practical application of the French language to the Nigerian situation,
 * Promote economic, technical and social integration of the African Continent,
 * Provide information and serve as think – tank to Government and other relevant corporate entities on the exploration and exploitation of the French Language in policy formulation and decision-making,
 * Co-ordinate activities relating to the teaching and learning of French in Nigeria,
 * Collaborate with relevant agencies in the setting and conduct of examinations, preparations of curricula as well as vital documentation on the French Language in Nigeria,
 * Re-train Teachers of French for the implementation of the policy directive on French in Nigerian Secondary schools.

Besides, the Nigeria French Language Village provides courses of instruction and other facilities for the pursuit of the learning of French in Tertiary institutions.Such special purposes courses currently prepare all categories of learners in the Village to:


 * 1) speak French fluently,
 * 2) acquire proficiency in French,
 * 3) acquire competency in the writing of the French language,
 * 4) translate from French language into English and vice-versa,
 * 5) eventually interpret simultaneously and consecutively in French with reference to English.

In this regard, NFLVcould further assist to:


 * 1) develop appropriate curricula to meet the needs of the various private learners and          participants in the institutions’ programmes,
 * 2) provide facilities for the training and re-training of French language Teachers,
 * 3) serve as a centre for the exchange of information and sourcing research in the area of French studies,
 * 4) co-ordinate the implementation of policies of the Federal Government as they relate to French as a second official language,
 * 5) run specialized Post-Graduate programmes in French in all areas of National interests (without duplicating existing courses in conventional Universities). (NFLV Mandate, 2016)