diff --git a/cms/envs/dev.py b/cms/envs/dev.py
index f96506665a..6871295356 100644
--- a/cms/envs/dev.py
+++ b/cms/envs/dev.py
@@ -10,6 +10,10 @@ from logsettings import get_logger_config
 
 DEBUG = True
 USE_I18N = True
+# For displaying the dummy text, we need to provide a language mapping.
+LANGUAGES = (
+    ('fr', 'Francais'),
+)
 TEMPLATE_DEBUG = DEBUG
 LOGGING = get_logger_config(ENV_ROOT / "log",
                             logging_env="dev",
diff --git a/lms/envs/dev.py b/lms/envs/dev.py
index e1eadf1331..79891756fc 100644
--- a/lms/envs/dev.py
+++ b/lms/envs/dev.py
@@ -17,6 +17,10 @@ from logsettings import get_logger_config
 
 DEBUG = True
 USE_I18N = True
+# For displaying the dummy text, we need to provide a language mapping.
+LANGUAGES = (
+    ('fr', 'Francais'),
+)
 TEMPLATE_DEBUG = True
 
 
diff --git a/rakelib/i18n.rake b/rakelib/i18n.rake
index e30c119e2e..71ed4dcbfb 100644
--- a/rakelib/i18n.rake
+++ b/rakelib/i18n.rake
@@ -67,7 +67,8 @@ namespace :i18n do
   desc "Run tests for the internationalization library"
   task :test => "i18n:validate:gettext" do
     test = File.join(REPO_ROOT, "i18n", "tests")
-    sh("nosetests #{test}")
+    pythonpath_prefix = "PYTHONPATH=#{REPO_ROOT}/i18n:$PYTHONPATH"
+    sh("#{pythonpath_prefix} nosetests #{test}")
   end
 
 end