Sunday 25 October 2009

French exchanges and performance at A level

It is certainly true to say that I would not have got into French in the way that I did had it not been for the school French exchange .  Most newspapers actually grasped that the draconian new parental CRB check would be a death blow to many established exchanges-one more piece of paper work too far after risk assessments and the demise of the group passport.  

My sister began exchanging with Marilyne from a small village near OrlĂ©ans in 1970 or 1971.  Marilyne's parents were small farmers like us and the father had a second job like ours.   This was a meeting of hearts and minds and Sue my sister is celebrating 40 years of friendship next year.   I joined in when in the sixth form when we went co-ed and went to live in the village after finishing my A levels in 1974.

At the time the  exchange was full fortnight and was more or less total immersion, except that Marilyne's parents were so hospitable that there would be exchanges there from the whole world at any one time.   Experiencing the boum du samedi soir in their out house, the leek and potato soup, watching Pierre go down into the mud hole covered with a rusty metal lid which served as a cellar-all these memories  implanted a deep seated love for France.

They used to say, back then, that the exchange would make at least a grade's difference to your result.   Certainly that kind of exchange would make a huge difference now with the more communicative type of examination.    We had exchanges going to France and German at all the three schools I worked at and particularly where students went back year after year you could more or less guarantee a good result.  

In fact I think that it is possible to improve some skills considerably without being in the country.  I personally think that watching approachable TV in the foreign language for half an hour a day can improve listening comprehensive at least 50% over three months.    The accessibility of diverse and motivating reading materials online must also be potentially result changing if students do this in a disciplined manner.   Access to really detailed online dictionaries must also potentially be a big bonus.  Even some of my more able A level students over the years thought that a Collins Gem that used to belong to their parents would hack it.    Have a look at using some of these online aids on Alevelfrench.com.