NRW and France: Successful educational cooperation for students!

NRW and France: Successful educational cooperation for students!

In a significant step for school cooperation between North Rhine-Westphalia and France, Schools Minister Dorothee Feller and French Ambassador François Delattre have signed an addition to the joint declaration of intent for the “DELF scolaire intégré” project. This ceremony took place today at the French Embassy in Berlin and is a further sign of strengthening educational cooperation between the two countries. So reported country.nrw.

The pilot project aims to integrate the French language diploma DELF into foreign language teaching in schools in North Rhine-Westphalia. From the next school year, this project will be expanded to the 9th grade, which means that students here will also have the opportunity to acquire the DELF certificate through a central written exam. The written exam, which will be carried out uniformly nationwide in the future, offers students a globally valid qualification, in which over 3,000 students are currently taking part.

Advantages of DELF integration

The DELF scolaire intégré enables students to integrate the requirements for the French language diploma into their regular education. Previously, this was only possible for the 10th grade, where the last class test in French was replaced by the DELF exam (level B1). In the future, level A2 will also be offered for grade 9, which will make access to the French language much easier. The exams are corrected according to the DELF assessment criteria and the grade is converted accordingly into the German grading system. This increases the motivation of students to learn the French language, as positive evaluation results from other federal states show, according to the Ministry of Schools and Education of North Rhine-Westphalia.

In addition, the training of teachers is supported by the Institut français, with the costs being covered by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. This means teachers can prepare for the DELF exams through training and online modules.

Goals of the cooperation

The agreement between North Rhine-Westphalia and France aims to improve education and training. An internet platform called “Ecoles-Entreprises” promotes partnerships between schools and companies and provides information about internship opportunities for students. This network is coordinated by the EU business and vocational training office of the Düsseldorf district government. This will strengthen cooperation not only in the area of ​​languages, but also in vocational training, which is of great importance for the future brd.nrw describes.

In summary, it can be said that the further deepening of school cooperation with France and the expansion of the DELF scolaire intégré project not only promote the students' linguistic skills, but also support cultural engagement with our neighbor. The starting signal for the next steps has been given: expressions of interest from schools by May 23, 2025, a kick-off event on September 18, 2025 and the implementation of the central class work on March 19, 2026. This plan underlines the importance of further development in the education system.

Further information about the special dates of the DELF scolaire intégré can be found on the ministry's website: schulministerium.nrw.