Savez-vous…?

Today’s TKT isn’t so much about learning linguistic fact or research method as much as it’s about how important language learning is in general. Recently, the department was asked to create small posters giving facts about why language learning is so crucial. The idea to do posters was mine (Our Basic Studies supervisor’s idea was to play music in the classroom; something which is great for the students already studying a language but not good enough to spread the message to the rest of the campus.), and so I took joy in creating a total of three posters to be put up around our building. Everyone used the language they are teaching and came up with facts about it. I thought that for today’s TKT, I would share many of the facts I came up with after having dug through many websites and text books. Have fun learning!

1. French companies employ approximately 650,000 Americans, the third largest among foreign countries doing business in the U.S.
2. France gives more foreign aid per capita to developing nations than does the U.S.
3. More tourists visit France than any other country in the world.
4. France is the world’s leader in the production of luxury goods.
5. France is the fourth largest exporting nation in the world.
6. French is the foreign language spoken by our largest trading partner (Canada).
7. The fastest train (the TGV) is French.
8. HDTV was invented in France.
9. Most commercial sattelites are put into space on French Ariane rockets.
10. The Human Genome Project is located in Paris.
11. Fiber optics were invented in France.
12. The AIDS virus was first isolated by French doctors.
13. France is the fourth largest producer of automobiles and the third largest exporter in the world.
14. French and English are the only languages spoken on five continents.
15. French is the official language of 41 countries.
16. Every secretary general of the United Nations has spoken French.
17. French is the second most frequently taught language in the world.
18. French is the fourth most spoken language in the United States.
19. French and English are the only two global languages.