Novel or Films or both

Following the first round of A2 examinations I wonder which route teachers think has proved the more profitable-film or novel.  I know the intention is to read material about the film maker and the back ground to the film in the foreign language but there is an essential underlying difference.  To read a novel from start to finish is a differing experience to viewing a film, particularly if the subtitles are switched on in English.  In my opinion the later experience is skating over the surface of the water whereas reading is like getting into the water.  

The A level French resources I have just been creating on Un Sac de Billes by Joseph Joffo remind me just how much difference there is between novels.  The word list for Un Sac de Billes is three times as long as some of the books.   Is there an implication here for how much vocabulary a student could take in and inwardly digest?   Certainly by the end of the 260 pages scribing down the vocabulary there was not much left that wasn't repetition of what had gone before. Looking at this scientifically would be interesting to see what the final effect was for students on depth of vocabulary and ability to understand idiom.

The other issue is the breadth of vocabulary.  In the course of Un Sac de Billes every part of the body, internal and external is mentioned, every form of transport with its nuances, every type of food..the list is endless.   Surely the experience gained by tackling a book like this must give greater benefit than simply watching a film..I would advocate a mixed economy.  That I'm sure is what people are doing.

The summary of the book that will be on the site alongside the vocabulary list are the key elements for giving students the feeling of success they need.   By having the page-numbered vocab list they can feel confident they will not get out of their depth in the novel, while staying in the target language as far as possible.  Full vocabulary lists have not existed before because they have been such a pain to produce.   I have put in probably 20 hours on Un Sac de Billes and I have been using two online dictionaries Collins and Reverso.  This is much faster than using a paper dictionary by a factor of x10.  As I touch type I guess my conclusion would be that it would unlikely that a practising teacher would have time to do this.  I produced a list for un Sac de Billes ages ago but there was no way it was as comprehensive as this.  Also it is so much easier to find the idioms on line-all kind of nuances became apparent.   If you haven't read Un Sac de Billes prepare to be impressed-and yes there is a film of it.  Cheapest version 199 euros!

Kiffe Kiffe Demain

I know it's not now generally considered that reading a novel is appropriate at AS but the more I look at the AQA syllabus the more I think that reading appropriate parts of Kiffe Kiffe Demain (maybe there are other equally good texts) would complement the topic side of things very well.
I have produced a wide range of resources to accompany the book on the A level French resources site and the matching up exercise with this spec I am going to do as soon as possible.

I think reading or hearing journalistic language is one thing but that reading a third party's experiences in a literary way adds a lot to the mix.  By using one text such as this for relating a range of topics to makes for building up empathy. 16/17 years olds are not noted for having loads of opinions so using a character such as Doria in Kiffe Kiffe Demain gives a focus.

The locus in Kiffe Kiffe Demain is around a differing culture with Doria's background being Islam.  It is also about poverty.    Many of our students particularly those studying languages will not have much experience of either of these phenomena so the results could be interesting.

Quatre bouquins de finis

I've finally finished all the exercises for each of the four books I decided to take on to provide A level French resources for teachers who would prefer to do literature.  I believe that it is only by really getting stuck into a book students get fully immersed in the language.  When I was a students in the early seventies the teacher simply went through every word with the class and we scrabble down the vocab as we went-the idea of the guides I've produced is that the full vocabulary will help the student work through at his/her own pace without having to have a massive dictionary. The four books done so far are L'Etranger, Les petits enfants du siècle, Kiffe Kiffe Demain and La neige en deuil.

The summaries of the book are in simple language and the vocab for this is given too.  The twist in the tale is that only the infinitive of verbs is given so students have to check out all the different types of verb form.

Other exercises are:-

Character guide with full range of adjectives appropriate to each book's main characters with translation exercises
The A factor exercises in context of the relevant book, practising the present participle, passive and subjunctive
Direct and indirect speech
The tensinator a multi-tense exercise putting each tense in context
ThemesRus, an exercise requiring that quotations be classified into categories
An exposé preparation guide
An essay planning tool with sample
A sample essay based on the plan

So everything need to get the best out of students is there.   The resources can be used either in AS or A2 as there is plenty of language practice of the basic concepts.   Just contact Steve at www.alevelfrench.com  for more information about subscribing.