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Post by blu on Aug 24, 2010 19:29:48 GMT 1
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Post by BartyB on Aug 24, 2010 21:29:00 GMT 1
I was told by a French (OK Parisian) customer the other day that I shouldn't bother learning French as it's been obsolete since before Napoleon!!
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Post by judith on Aug 25, 2010 7:20:46 GMT 1
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Post by judith on Aug 25, 2010 7:50:59 GMT 1
I agree that languages are seen as being more difficult than say drama or religious studies. A lot of pupils today just want A*s without too much effort.
I disagree that we need to make language learning more exciting and relevant for pupils. This happened about 15 years ago when traditional grammar textbooks were replaced by wacky, glossy cartoon books with no explanations as to how the language actually works. The idea was to engage the modern pupil more, but abandoning the grammar made the subject pretty meaningless. It's like learning Maths without teaching the rules of division or percentages.
Sorry but my pupils will still be learning languages the proper way!
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Post by AnnieD on Aug 25, 2010 21:54:03 GMT 1
Sorry but my pupils will still be learning languages the proper way! Phew, pleased to hear that Judith (since I will be a virtual one  ) Being reasonably ok (ish) in french, I decided to try and learn German, gave it up in a huff (quite out of character you understand) after several weeks when I couldn't understand a word of what was being said - flipping teacher insisted on speaking German ALL OF THE TIME, when I said 'problem is I don't understand what you're saying' she said, it will sink in eventually!!!!!! Still can't speak German  |
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Post by stavros on Aug 26, 2010 8:28:53 GMT 1
An interesting point about "wanting A*s without too much effort" - over the last 15 years or so we have seen a devaluation of exam standards, whereby today's "A*" is an easier pass to obtain than a normal "A" just a few years ago.
Learning certain things, such as conjugation, by rote may seem boring and old-fashioned, but repeating 'je suis, tu est, il est, elle est' etc in unison with a class eventually fixes it for all time in the memory, even if it hasn't got the touchy-feely-PC credentials of modern "edukashun" theory.
It's about time some of these PC education theorists came back to the principle of "no pain - no gain", after all, how do actors learn their lines, or singers their songs?
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Post by AnnieD on Aug 26, 2010 12:31:21 GMT 1
so right Stavros my man, if you knew how often I say to myself e, es, e, ons, ez, ent or ais, ais, ait, ions, iez, aient etc they were simply learnt by rote but have served well all of these years - but can I persuade OH do it ??  |
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Post by judith on Sept 2, 2010 18:28:39 GMT 1
Only just read the last three posts on my return to the UK. Glad you agree that proper learning pays off in the long run (we'll be kicking off next week!)
Also AnnieD, I hate it when the teacher uses the target language ALL lesson without explaining the difficult bits in my own tongue.
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