In the former French colony of Madagascar, the French language continues to play an important role in education, particularly at university level. French and Malagasy are the official languages in the Indian Ocean Island, reports RFI.
However, the local Malagasy language is much more widely spoken in the streets and at home. And English is fast becoming the foreign language of choice.
The concern among academics is that if people's level of French declines so will standards in academia on the island.
The corridors of the department for French and Francophone studies at the University of Antananarivo are buzzing with students.
But you don't hear them speaking French together, but rather Malagasy.
The head of department, Samuel Razasiarison, says that young Malagasy only speak French during classes.
He attributes the drop in the levels of French among young people to the country's political instability.
Read more of this report from RFI.