The French Language
In this school, the French language is learned from the first grade, six lessons a week. The story began in 1927, when two teachers of the French language were brought to the school «Car Uros», at the request of the pupils' parents.
Based on the agreement between the Government of the Social Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Government of France, (on 16 June,1966), initiated by The French-Yugoslavian Association, authorized by the Department for Education and Culture of SR Serbia, in agreement with the Vracar municipality, with the help of the Department for Pedagogy and Education in Belgrade, as well as the Faculty of Philology in Belgrade, the experimental performance of the intensive French language teaching, with ten lessons a week, was introduced in 1966-67, in the first grade of Elementary School «Slobodan Princip Seljo» in Belgrade.
On the third session of the Serbian-French Committee, formed in agreement with the Government of France, in December 1969, the Programme for Cultural Cooperation and Exchange was established. That programme once again emphasized the success of the experimental teaching of the French language in Elementary School «Slobodan Princip Seljo», as well as the need for further performance of this experiment in the school.
After the six years' successful performance of the intensive learning programme, on 29 February, 1972, the Educational Council of the Republic of Serbia approved its continuance from the first to the eighth grade, with ten lessons in junior, and six lessons in senior grades. According to the approved programme, in the same year, in accordance with the law for experimental schools and classes, the Vracar municipality declared this school experimental, with the resolution no. 06-106-72-05, on 7 December, 1972.
As Elementary School «Slobodan Princip Seljo» merged with Elementary School «Aleksa Santic» on 1 September, 1975, the school now bore the name of Experimental Elementary School «Vladislav Ribnikar». On 23 March, 1976, the school was visited by the attaché for culture of The French Embassy, and on 7 December, the wife of the President of France, Giscar D`Esten, accompanied by Jovanka Broz, attended the class in the first grade. The school was also visited by the Delegation of France, with the Republic Secretary for Education and Culture on the head.
The programme was carried out with the use of two audio-visual methods: Frere Jacque (from the first to the sixth grade), and La France en direct (for the seventh and the eighth grade). In addition to the pupils' books, these methods included the teachers' manuals, with detailed methodological instructions, as well as the use of flanelograph with figurines, wall posters and sound material, which all completely corresponded to the age of the pupils and the number of lessons.
The resolution of the Belgrade municipality and City Department for Elementary Education approved the teaching of two foreign languages in elementary schools, thus providing good terms for the inclusion of the French language into the official curriculum.
The experiment was verified in 1988.
In May 1989, the school was visited by the vice-Minister of Education and Culture of France, Mr. Charpoint, and on 14 June, 1991 by the representatives of the Ministry of Education of France. They were pleasantly surprised with the knowledge of the French language shown by our pupils.
Before that, the Ministry of Education of Serbia (The Department for the pre-school education) had approved, on 14 March, 1996, the use of special programmes and French course books, supplied from Paris, with the help of the French Cultural Centre («Diabolo menthe»).
In our school, pronunciation and intonation are perfected by the most modern methods. From the very beginning, great attention is paid to the problem of literacy. During all this, students are helped by the teachers, who constantly improve their own knowledge.
In our school, respectable seminars and lectures were held. In October 1988, a three-day seminar on the «En avant la musique» method was held by Madame Booth from the publishing house «Le Internacional». In January 1989, a seminar on the method «La petite grenoille» was held in the presence of the French attaché for linguistics, from the Fench Cultural Centre. In April, the Seminar on the use of the authentic documents in the French language teaching was attended by Mrs. Elizabeth Louven from the French language Institute in Greenoble.
The meetings of the French language teachers are held in the premises of our school. On 13 October, 1997, our school was visited by Marie-Francoise Hamard and Svetislav Jakovljevic. The French-Yugoslavian Alliance also has lectures in our school.
Under the patronage of the French Cultural Centre, Mrs. Bergeron from the Cavilan Institute held a lecture in 1998-99.
The Children Theatre Festival «Le Francais en fete» in Novi Sad
Our school has been taking part in this festival since its foundation in 2001. It has been organized every spring by the Centre for the Cultural Animation from Novi Sad, The French Cultural Centre in Belgrade and the Ministry of Education and Sport. The festival lasts for three days. In the first two days, primary schools from Serbia and Montenegro, Romania and Hungary present their shows, and on the third day, all the participants take part in the games, quiz and sketches in French.
The school showed great success in all the previous festivals. The shows were organized by Tatjana Ilic and Jelena Rasevic, the French language teachers, and the pupils from the fourth to the eighth grade. The junior classes teachers Sanja Maksimovic and Sladjanka Bakajic helped in the making of the scenography.
Francophony is a cultural and linguistic association which gathers more than 170 million people who speak French. The programmes of Francophony include five basic priorities: democracy, culture, education, economic development and the spreading of the French language worldwide.