Page 162 - Gonzaga at 60
P. 162
FRENCH
Members of the
Languages staff, Changes in Syllabus and Curriculum: One
left to right:
Clare McCaul,
Nadia Rharade, A recent clearout of one of the iling cabinets in room 6 brought it home to me just how much the
Anne Nevin teaching of French has changed over the last twenty years or so. A hoarder by nature, I sill had copies
(all teachers of summer examinaion papers I’d set many years ago – they were all binned as being unusable.
of French)
and Carmel How come? Surely the French language has not changed to such an extent? And yet it
MacGabhann has when it comes to dealing with the French language needed for today’s Leaving Ceriicate
(Irish)
students. Gone, thankfully, are the days when students were expected to translate into English
passages of fairly ponderous text; gone, too are the days when they were required to manipulate
grammaical concepts in a vacuum. But gone also are the days when they were expected to have
an understanding and an awareness of the culture and context from which the language they
were studying has evolved.
In 1985 when the revised Leaving Ceriicate syllabus for French was issued, an emphasis was
placed on the concepts of language and cultural awareness. Students were to learn something of
the country whose language they were learning. I for one welcomed this change, having no great
regard for the syllabus that had been in place not only when I was at school but for generaions
before me. Henceforth teachers were to atempt to insil a love of the language and of the
culture of the French (this was long before the hand of Thierry, so not an impossible task!).
Along with the communicaive method with its emphasis on the spoken word, the
revised syllabus ofered teachers the opportunity to develop their own teaching and learning
programmes. For a period this meant that the study of French literature (of the Maupassant
variety) and French grammar sufered but quickly teachers came to recognise their core roles in
Anne Nevin with quiz any viable programme. We designed courses which in focusing on the four key skills opened up
winners, c1990
the French world to our students.
External developments helped enormously. In the early days, the BBC
used to rebroadcast the main evening news bullein from TF1 on a regular
basis allowing us to use it in the classroom to bring France alive albeit for just
thirty minutes a week. Using video in the classroom was then a novelty and
many students appreciated it. TCD supported an iniiaive to bring French
newspapers to the classroom, resuling in Authenik, a monthly reprint of news
items from French naional and regional newspapers and magazines. Students
got to choose what they wanted to read and again, some used this to its full
advantage. A short-lived sponsorship scheme whereby the Bank of Ireland
Members of the
Languages staff, Changes in Syllabus and Curriculum: One
left to right:
Clare McCaul,
Nadia Rharade, A recent clearout of one of the iling cabinets in room 6 brought it home to me just how much the
Anne Nevin teaching of French has changed over the last twenty years or so. A hoarder by nature, I sill had copies
(all teachers of summer examinaion papers I’d set many years ago – they were all binned as being unusable.
of French)
and Carmel How come? Surely the French language has not changed to such an extent? And yet it
MacGabhann has when it comes to dealing with the French language needed for today’s Leaving Ceriicate
(Irish)
students. Gone, thankfully, are the days when students were expected to translate into English
passages of fairly ponderous text; gone, too are the days when they were required to manipulate
grammaical concepts in a vacuum. But gone also are the days when they were expected to have
an understanding and an awareness of the culture and context from which the language they
were studying has evolved.
In 1985 when the revised Leaving Ceriicate syllabus for French was issued, an emphasis was
placed on the concepts of language and cultural awareness. Students were to learn something of
the country whose language they were learning. I for one welcomed this change, having no great
regard for the syllabus that had been in place not only when I was at school but for generaions
before me. Henceforth teachers were to atempt to insil a love of the language and of the
culture of the French (this was long before the hand of Thierry, so not an impossible task!).
Along with the communicaive method with its emphasis on the spoken word, the
revised syllabus ofered teachers the opportunity to develop their own teaching and learning
programmes. For a period this meant that the study of French literature (of the Maupassant
variety) and French grammar sufered but quickly teachers came to recognise their core roles in
Anne Nevin with quiz any viable programme. We designed courses which in focusing on the four key skills opened up
winners, c1990
the French world to our students.
External developments helped enormously. In the early days, the BBC
used to rebroadcast the main evening news bullein from TF1 on a regular
basis allowing us to use it in the classroom to bring France alive albeit for just
thirty minutes a week. Using video in the classroom was then a novelty and
many students appreciated it. TCD supported an iniiaive to bring French
newspapers to the classroom, resuling in Authenik, a monthly reprint of news
items from French naional and regional newspapers and magazines. Students
got to choose what they wanted to read and again, some used this to its full
advantage. A short-lived sponsorship scheme whereby the Bank of Ireland
