Teaching French for Science through Student Engagement in a Scientific Mediation Program

This paper introduces a project-based French languageprogram that integrates linguistic and scientific mediations,specifically designed for B2-level science students. Implemented atImperial College London in 2018, the initiative aimed to enhancestudents' proficiency in French within a scientific framework whilefostering interdisciplinary collaboration. The program involvedtwenty-four students from diverse scientific disciplines—includingmathematics, physics, biology, aeronautics, civil engineering,biochemistry, chemistry, and chemical engineering—organized intointerdisciplinary workgroups. Their objectives encompassedinvestigating and exchanging knowledge across their different fieldson challenging phenomena such as climate change, the origin of life,and protein folding, employing effective mediation strategies tofacilitate understanding of these phenomena and to collaborativelyproduce a scientific poster presenting their findings to address them.