10 reasons why French is better than chocolate...
1. Speaking French won't make you gain weight
2. French doesn't melt in your mouth or in your hands
3. French isn't bad for your teeth
4. You never run out of French
5. You can speak French before, during and after meals
6. Too much French won't make you sick
7. French is free
8. You don't need to hide French from the kids
9. French won't make you hyper
10. Sharing French is better than speaking it alone
I really wanted to post why French is better than sex because it's super funny but I didn't think it was appropriate for this blog! Check out the link for that one and a few more funny lists!
Most everyone in our cohort knows that I am interested in learning and teaching French. I think there is great value in learning a language other than English. Unfortunately, other than in our Second Language Aquisition course in third year, we really haven't discussed other languages. I'm curious to know what you all think about second, third, fourth languages.
What language(s) did you study in high school?
How did you feel going into the second language classroom?
What happened in your L2 classroom that you loved? Hated?
What value do you think learning a second language has for our students, if any?
9 comments:
I took Spanish in high school for three years and had the same teacher each year. I took it only because I thought it would be easier than French because the teacher wouldn't expect us to know anything. Awesome, right?
I...hated it. We studied verbs, but we didn't use them in sentences or use them to communicate. We had "vocab quizes" each week on random words and it was extremely hard. I ended up just memorizing most of them.
I have a ton of regrets about this experience because I do believe it's extremely useful to be able to speak two languages. At the time, I found it difficult and therefore frustrating, and it really wasn't taught in a meaningful way.
I went to Mexico for a week after high school graduation, and learned way more Spanish in one week than I did in three years of that class (I know people have similar experiences). It's amazing how focusing on the meaning and allowing students to use what they have learned in real life situations can really help students learn. If I ever teach a second language, that's the approach I will take.
My experience with second language has not been successful although I hold much respect and admiration for those people who speak more than one language - I have no idea how they learned how to do that!
When I reflect back there were many reasons why I wasn't success with French (although I took my required 4 years of it to get into university!) - it wasn't a choice (the school discouraged me from taking Spanish in grade 8); I didn't understand the English language technical parts; my grandparents passed down a prejudice of Quebec that didn't get questioned until I graduated high school. All of these reasons embarrass me because they are all examples of how I didn't question things - how it was just my perspective that inhibited my learning.
So today I still plan to learn another language for travel/living in another country purpose; I am planning to travel to Quebec for my first time this spring; I hope to support my own children in learning a second language when they are ready to choose - because I think being able to communicate in numerous ways in the world is beneficial and freeing ~
Thanks for asking Samantha : )
I studied French in high school. My comprehension ws (and still is) better than my speaking. My pronounciation is HORRIBLE! Even after 5 years. I barely passed the Provincial exam.
At one point I enjoyed speaking French. I took Frnch in grades 8 and 9 in Terrace. My French teacher was interesting...
Her name was Mrs. Fleischmann. She was Swiss, married to a German and was very interested in languages...learning as well as teaching. She was multilingual. Swiss, German, English, French and she was in the process of learning Spanish I believe (this was more than 10 uyears ago).
She knew SO many languages that often she would get confused and start talking in another language. It was not good.
And no. This was not a management technique, to see if we were paying attention. :)
However, she did let us watch lots of movies, tv programs and the news in French. I remember this one show. God it was horrible. I don't remember what it was called. But I do remember: "Je suis un ananas"! (Telefranfrancais perhaps?)
For a good laugh visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSTnfgoLReQ
When I moved to Nanaimo...French 10...I was in for a shock. The entire class was in French. English was not allowed to be spoken at all. It wasn't very fun. However we did have an assignment to do a cooking show in French and a News Report. Very awesome. Still remember both. Actually, Nick Balaban's brother was in my group! I think Nick made a cameo. :D
I found my French to be the most useful during my travels. Especially when I was in Italy for 6 weeks...and my Italian was lacking!
Thanks for your comments!
Sadly, I'm not surprised that you ladies had negative experiences with learning a second language. I'm still struggling to figure out why, but it seems that very few L2 classrooms capture and hold the interest of youth. I would venture to guess that there are two main reasons that support a variety of smaller reasons. First, it's tough! There are all sorts of rules, difficult pronunciations, irregularities, etc. Second, we don't have to use it. In BC especially, there's really no need to learn a second language. In some areas, Mandarin, Chinese or Japanese are helpful for business and friendships. Because we don't have to use it, it's SUPER hard to get good at speaking. For these reasons (and probably a host of others) L2 teachers have to work extra hard to motivate their students to continue learning the language. They have to make class FUN and meaningful and guide their students to see the beauty of the language, the intrigue of the culture, and the benefits of knowing a second (third or fourth) language.
Your language learning experiences are EXACTLY why I am doing the inquiry that I am.
This is very interesting for me to think about, because I had more or less forgotten about my experiences with French in high school. Thinking back, I loved going to French class!! I remember little about the actual class content, but what does stand out for me was the culminating project that the teacher would require. I had the same teacher for 3 of my 4 years in French and we always had the option to do a video project. I really enjoyed these and would have a great time producing the videos.
Just the other day I was looking through some of my old school work (my Mom has saved a ridiculous amount of it) and I discovered some of my interim reports from French. I had forgotten how well I did in the class- I had the top mark in my French 11 class and even received a certificate for outstanding achievement in French. It almost took me by surprise to find this as it wasn't something that stood out in my mind. I know that I enjoyed going to class, and I knew that I was good at it, yet I didn't choose to continue my education with it. I didn't opt to take French 12, as I had other courses I wanted to take instead. Now, I am wishing that I had spent some more time with French, as I feel that I have little knowledge of it, apart from recognition and ability to translate some words.
I had always thought that French would be a benefit to have for travelling, yet when I was in France I discovered that most people I encountered were able to speak English. I felt terrible that I was visiting a place, and the residents were accomodating us by speaking in the language we knew. I would have liked to attempt to use more French when I was there, but the locals seemed to see right through us and knew that our French wasn't strong so they would automatically speak in English to us. It still makes me feel bad!
I took French in high school, but I didn’t really like it. To be honest, I couldn’t say that it was because of the teacher, nor the content, I just wasn’t into learning another language that at the time seemed useless. Looking back now I wish I was more interested in learning French, perhaps because it would be to my benefit now, as a beginning teacher finding a job. My dad is from Montreal so I have lots and lots of family who speak French, but it just wasn’t my interest. It’s hard because it is one of those subjects that you HAVE to do and it is (for most people) a hard subject, so I imagine engaging students is a very difficult task to do.
I remember having to learn French in elementary school and then all the way up through until grade 11, and I have to say I didn't really enjoy it all that much. It was fine in elementary school as my teachers made learning it fun, but in high school going to class was a nightmare. They were so boring! It wasn't a struggle, I got B's and A's, but it was just so boring and not engaging. The activities that had made it fun in elementary school weren't there, and to be honest, I didn't really care about learning French. I only took it because I needed it for university, and it was the only language offered at my school. I think that if the languages that I had been learning outside of school were offered at my school I would have gladly taken them and enjoyed going to the language class.
I like the idea of learning a second or more languages and having that offered in the school, but I think there should be a wider choice of languages offered to be taught. Yes, French is one of Canada's official languages, but not everyone is interested in learning French, and plus, you can now hear many different languages being spoken in Canada. It would be more beneficial if they had the choice to learn a language that they were interested in.
I took French until grade 11, but only because I had to. However, I do remember my first introduction to this language in grade 6 and might even admit that I did indeed enjoy it. I can fondly remember stories of Bonhomme (?), and the Quebec carnival. She brought in maple syrup when it snowed and took us on a fieldtrip to a French fair in Vancouver. She taught us the Canadian anthem and the alphabet in French as well as other songs, many of which I still remember today. In retrospect, I suppose I enjoyed grade 6 French because time wasn’t spent analyzing grammar or memorizing vocabulary. Perhaps it was easier (and more fun) because of how she was able to make it more tangible, and realistic. Maybe it was just our age…?
One idea: what about international pen-pals? I remember looking at this website during Bernies science class?! http://www.mylanguageexchange.com/penpals.asp
Just a thought… Good Luck!
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