HISTORY

France is the symbol of perfume, cosmetics, fashion, wine, etc. Paris, the most famous capital in the world, the Eiffel Tower, Napoleon, Venus and the Mona Lisa in the Louvre Museum are also France’s celebrities. Among Americans, English, and Europeans, the French language is considered an elegant, royal, stylish language.

The French language is used in 51 countries in the world.  It is also an official language in the UN and it is 52 years that it has been taught in YUFL and 19 years in MUFL.

Department of French was one of the 4 major departments since the establishment of the Institute of Foreign Languages in 1964. During that period, the French language was taught by not only Burmese teachers but also French native teachers.  Since 1980, only Burmese teachers continued to teach French. From the 2009 – 2010 Academic year, French native volunteer

teachers come to teach French at the Department of French, YUFL with the contribution of the French government. There are 8 native volunteer teachers at the Department of French, and 20 natives from 1964 till now.

Before August 1997, there were only two Diploma courses at the Institute of Foreign Languages (now YUFL):

  • Diploma Part-time courses (4 years)
  • Diploma Full-time courses (2 years)

From 1964 to 1996, 654 candidates had already obtained a Diploma in French, and 354 candidates from 1997 to 2011, so altogether 938 had obtained a Diploma in French.

Undergraduate programs started in 2000 and the students who passed the matriculation in 1996 had to attend the courses.  The first graduation ceremony was held in November 2003.  Till now (2016 January) there are around about 700 students who have graduated with a French major and 11 teachers of French who obtained a Master of French.

Nowadays, in order to improve the teaching and learning French language by cooperating with international universities, YUFL became a member of Erasmus Mundus on 1st March 2014.  YUFL signed the Memorandum of Understanding with the Institute National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales from Paris, France on 31st May 2014.

Graduated persons in the French language have many job opportunities. In YUFL the Internship programs for final year students during the summer vacations were started in 2015 and the program won great success.

Among the foreign tourists who come to visit Myanmar, the most numerous are French. Therefore speaking guides are demanded. After graduating, French major students can get the opportunities to work in the domain of business concerning hoteliers and tourism, as officers in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as air hostesses and flight attendants at local and international airlines, and as translators in media.

Department of French is situated on the second floor of the COE building, in room number COE 306 with 18 teaching staff and one native teacher.