By Adama Kone, Teacher Project Manager
At Mali Rising Foundation, we’re thrilled to kick off another year of transformative French language classes! This month, our dedicated team is conducting pre-assessments across ten villages to prepare for the 2024-25 school year classes. Over the past two years, thanks to the generous support of our donors, the French Language Improvement Project has helped more than 200 7th graders — and this year we will expand to serve 400 students!
These classes start with a pre-assessment of 40 seventh graders from each school. By identifying areas where students need the most help, we tailor the program to meet their needs and set them up for success.
One of our partner schools, The Mindful Bunch Middle School, is especially excited to join the project this year. Teachers and the principal at this school have shared their enthusiasm, noting how critical French language skills are to their students’ overall success. Since many of their students struggle with French, these classes provide a much-needed boost that impacts every subject. The principal expressed his heartfelt gratitude for Mali Rising Foundation’s support, emphasizing how much the school values this opportunity.
Fousseny works on his pre-assessment for FLIP. We use a pre- and post-assessment to measure change in each student’s basic French skills before and after the 10 extracurricular French classes. Last year, students’ skills improved by a whopping 20%!
To understand the program’s impact, we spoke with one of the students participating this year, seventh-grader Fousseny S. Here’s what he had to say:
“I am very excited to participate in these French classes because they give me the chance to improve my French. Last year, I was in sixth grade, and I saw my older brother attend these classes. I felt jealous because he had handouts to study at home and would often stay after school for French lessons. He also worked on homework with his classmates. This year, I’m thrilled to do the same! I want to build my vocabulary and improve my reading skills because if I can read and speak French better, my teachers and parents will be so proud of me.”
Fousseny shared that his pre-assessment experience made him hopeful.
“I know I need help with French, and I’m glad Mali Rising Foundation can identify my weak areas. Our French teacher often says it’s hard to understand us when we speak French, so I know these classes will help me a lot. I’m grateful for this opportunity and can’t wait to get started!”
Hearing stories like Fousseny’s reminds us why we do what we do. With your continued support, we can help students like him unlock their potential and thrive in school. Here’s to another year of empowering young learners through language!
