Who learned French decades ago?

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K5 Gus
K5 Gus
Mar 2023
12:33pm, 8 Mar 2023
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K5 Gus
..... called everyone in the class by their French equivalent

We had a proper French teacher for 1st and 2nd year, she used to pronounce my name as An-goose :-)
GordonG
GordonG
Mar 2023
1:00pm, 8 Mar 2023
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GordonG
i was one of the few in my class not given a French version pronunciation, apparently because my name has Scottish origins.
♪♫ Synge ♪♫
♪♫ Synge ♪♫
Mar 2023
1:17pm, 8 Mar 2023
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♪♫ Synge ♪♫
Scottish origins.


Being at school in south-west England, it always interested me that the French had their own word for the distant city of Edinburgh/Edimbourg. There's not many places in the UK other than Londres which get that treatment.
Sharkie
Sharkie
Mar 2023
1:25pm, 8 Mar 2023
21,275 posts
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Sharkie
I'm exactly the same school year as you, ChrisHB. And so would have sat my O level French same year...but my school did JMB (Joint Matric, I think) not Cambridge.

I don't remember that approach. We were occasionally asked to rewrite fairy stories. I've still got my rad reworking of Sleeping Beauty somewhere.
ChrisHB
ChrisHB
Mar 2023
1:38pm, 8 Mar 2023
22,312 posts
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ChrisHB
♪♫ Synge ♪♫ has got the example I wanted in the 1974 paper. Thank you very much - that will serve my purpose. It would be quite nice to be reminded of what its French name was.

Sharkie I would also have done JMB, I think. How funny to think we sat the same exam on the same day!
Sharkie
Sharkie
Mar 2023
1:49pm, 8 Mar 2023
21,276 posts
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Sharkie
And only a few miles apart! I think you went to William Hulme? Direct grant? (Or was it Manchester Grammar?) I was at 'Fairfield High School for Girls' an 11 plus grammar school in Droylesden.
Velociraptor
Velociraptor
Mar 2023
1:57pm, 8 Mar 2023
62,807 posts
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Velociraptor
I do, Derby Tup. Sort of. As I recall, it was Philippe, Marie-Claude et Alain, Miquet le chat et Kiki le chien. And parents who didn't seem to have any life outside of being parents.
ChrisHB
ChrisHB
Mar 2023
2:00pm, 8 Mar 2023
22,314 posts
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ChrisHB
WHGS
Velociraptor
Velociraptor
Mar 2023
2:01pm, 8 Mar 2023
62,808 posts
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Velociraptor
I don't remember any subsequent French textbooks, which is a bit shocking because I did French up to Scottish Higher level and was quite good at it. Though not good enough to read Les Misérables in the French in which it was originally written after pestering the local library to source a copy for me.
Ally-C
Ally-C
Mar 2023
2:14pm, 8 Mar 2023
3,145 posts
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Ally-C
Philippe & Marie Claude Bertillon?

About This Thread

Maintained by ChrisHB
It was a staple of my O-levels that we would be presented with six drawings telling a simple story. We then had to write that story in our best French. We were told it was a genuine part of education in France; the way French was taught in France.

I thought it was an excellent approach as everyone could write at their own level. You could play safe, or you could demonstrate your imperfect understanding of unlikely tenses.

But what was it called, please? Why did it go out of fashion? Is it ...

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