50 years of learning methods in school to a more normal level

English Language Day is celebrated on 23rd April. It is well known that the French have a bad reputation for speaking English. But is it a problem of method or age of learning? In the 1960s, the introduction to English was experienced from nursery school. Relive this experience with the archives of the National Audiovisual Institute (INA).

One two three four… These are the first English words learned by French children between the ages of 3 and 5. At the beginning of the 1966 school year, an experiment was attempted in some nursery schools in France, including the Fontaine Argent School in Besancon.

The origin of this experiment came from an observation:

In France, a certain number of people, relatively adults, study one or two foreign languages ​​at school and when abroad, they cannot express themselves, ask their way and maintain. Simple conversation with strangers! We may wonder if this failure we record in learning foreign languages ​​(…) is not due to the age at which these foreign languages ​​begin to be learned.

Mme Gerbaud, Nursery School Inspector – 1966

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The method used was simple and derived from an old commandment: in the past, in wealthy families, there was an English nurse (or other national) and the children learned a foreign language at the same time as their mother tongue.

In this kindergarten class, a young English girl comes to speak English every day to make the children live in English.

There is nothing clever about this method, we want children to live in English with an English nanny!

Mrs. Jerbot, Nursery School Inspector

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“I put the cloth on the table”: Six months after the implementation of this experiment, we see that schoolchildren have already acquired a certain vocabulary, but above all a great ease in creating sentences. Especially when speaking in the progressive form, it is usually difficult to achieve with older children in the 6th grades.^e.

Another advantage of this method is that they are very happy to speak in English.

Learn English by speaking

Learning in kindergarten is based on oral language: no writing, no reflection on grammatical construction. This method of teaching, where grammar is no longer the starting point, but an outcome, has also been used in the sixth form at Belford Girls’ High School since 1974. If the beginning is difficult, we see students progress very quickly by fifth grade.
The main point of this method is to acquire a vocabulary and express oneself in order to master the English language. For that, what’s better than making and playing small sketches in English?
This is what Jacques Pfirrmann explains to us in this report of December 15, 1976 about this new audio-oral method of teaching English.

Children’s words

English is the official language in more than fifty countries around the world. If you ask why a child wants to learn this language, the answer is not surprising:

If you want to make a friend at camp, it’s a bit difficult if you don’t understand English!

A small Jura in 1995

In 1995, the village of Marigny (Jura) offered private English lessons to ten children every Wednesday morning: it was the Kid’s Activity Club. A fun way to learn this passage is from the September 11, 1995 broadcast of Frederick Todd and Michael Kohadier.

To learn English outside the classroom, teenagers always have the opportunity to exchange with British correspondents.

The town of Besancon has been bisected with Huddersfield since 1955. Through this a teacher contacted his English teacher and arranged an exchange between their students. In April 1977, it was the young Englishman’s turn in Franche-Comte. Apart from the tourist trips, the main part of their stay takes place within their host French families. This new way of learning a foreign language by living everyday life is appreciated by parents, teachers and young people.

I think the school has become modern. It’s great for pronunciation. Let us introduce. We speak English, French and… with our hands too!

A French schoolgirl in 1977

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Teaching of Modern Languages Introduced to primary school in 1954 as part of a pair in Arles.
From the 1960s to the end of the 1980s, some experience in teaching foreign languages ​​such as English in nursery school and primary schools grew out of local initiatives.
The teaching of languages ​​in France will continue to evolve over the next decades according to reports and reforms.

Some Dates:

• In 1989, Lionel Jospin, Minister of National Education, launches a controlled experiment with modern languages ​​over 3 years in primary schools introducing foreign language teaching from CE2 to CM2.
• Since 2013Modern language teaching is compulsory from CP at the rate of 54 hours per school year.
• In 2022The Ministry of Education Announces measures to promote the learning of modern foreign languages. Aim: By 2025, at least 80% of students will have reached the required level in English by the end of 3e. (Minimum level A2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages ​​(CEFRL))

So, the French still don’t speak English very well?

One wonders if the young school children of 1966, now in the sixties, found it easier to express themselves in English during their studies or while travelling.

According to the surveyIpsos Conducted in 2019 on a representative sample of 18-year-olds and older 19% of French respondents consider their English satisfactory (compared to 21% of the working population).

60% of people over the age of 60 Compared to 37% of under-35s who consider their condition “bad”. “What do you think are the best ways to improve the English level of French?” When asked that. », 60% of them answered «Learn English from CP». Next is “Stay Abroad, Transfers between Institutions” at 34%.

Why don’t the French speak English well?

British comedian Paul Taylor gives us some insight in this video. The main difficulties for the French are pronunciation and false English words recognized by the French Academy! (kicking, squeezing, dressing, brushing, etc.)

An Ipsos poll in 2019 was based on French people’s self-esteem.

But the Institute of International Education publishes every year Report on English Proficiency Status. In that year 2022, France ranks 34th out of 111 countries. (He’ll be 31 in 2021.) French’s reputation for mastery of Shakespeare’s language can still be enhanced.