Who learned French decades ago?
11 watchers
Mar 2023
10:17am, 8 Mar 2023
62,798 posts
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Velociraptor
I did French exams in Scotland in 1980 and 1981. I don't remember a thing about the school exams and just vaguely remember writing a piece for the Glasgow University bursary exams about how all the world's problems were caused by old men being in power.
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Mar 2023
10:21am, 8 Mar 2023
49,072 posts
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♪♫ Synge ♪♫
I should probably post this on one of the threads I have in my muted list, but Velociraptor's post made me think of the words of Don McLean: "They would not listen, they're not listening still. Perhaps they never will."
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Mar 2023
10:23am, 8 Mar 2023
22,453 posts
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DeeGee
it just that language teaching in this country doesn't aspire to such levels of competence until students mentally are well past the stage of simple stories? English teaching in most other European countries prepares learners for the world by developing the ability to produce language independently. That's what O-level did. GCSE MFL in the UK teaches students to regurgitate stock phrases in response to stock questions. A-level is very good, on the other hand, but there's a big gap between GCSE expectations and what's needed to begin an A-level course, which is why very few people start A-level and even fewer complete it. There's not enough flexibility in the GCSE curriculum to allow students to produce large amounts of independent language, I'm afraid. |
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Mar 2023
10:27am, 8 Mar 2023
49,095 posts
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♪♫ Synge ♪♫
It is absolutely an indictment of something that fewer than 10,000 students do A-Level French each year. The figures for German are below 3,000 per annum. Shocking.
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Mar 2023
10:28am, 8 Mar 2023
95,489 posts
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swittle
My middle school teacher, known as Snarling Pierre, even though he came from Dewsbury, made extensive use of 'Tavor' {?} slides and a spiral curriculum that reinforced my love of languages.
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Mar 2023
10:41am, 8 Mar 2023
45,826 posts
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HappyG(rrr)
I did French at senior school 1981 to 86, but we didn't do writing stories like that, as far as I recall. I was at school in Scotland though, so perhaps different?  G
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Mar 2023
10:56am, 8 Mar 2023
49,096 posts
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♪♫ Synge ♪♫
But what was it called, please? The 1984 syllabus I linked to on the previous page simply refers to it as "Composition based on a series of pictures". |
Mar 2023
11:40am, 8 Mar 2023
9,646 posts
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GordonG
i remember exams like that. if i recall correctly, a man smoking a Gauloises was having an affair with his secretary. After he got sacked from his job he protested by burning car tyres in the road. or maybe I'm just stereotyping
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Mar 2023
12:18pm, 8 Mar 2023
9,190 posts
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Surrey Phil
I did mine in 1987. The whole syllabus was focused on a family with three children. I was in top set and had the same teacher for the whole five years. She was very strict, behaved as if she was French, called everyone in the class by their French equivalent (Philippe in my case) and treated errors in the same was as indiscipline. Quite unpleasant really and didn't make the subject enjoyable at all. Thankfully, I passed - probably out of fear! |
Mar 2023
12:20pm, 8 Mar 2023
58,694 posts
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Derby Tup
Anyone else remember Claude, Marie Clare et Kiki le chat?
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