Un débat important

Abbaye aux Hommes

So today consisted of some more dossier building with a different set of troisième INTER. Was a bit more nervous about this class as my boss just happened to need to stay in her classroom (the one I was using) so I was always aware that someone was listening in! I was worried whether or not I was doing it right or not, but I was told afterwards that I was doing exactly what she wanted me to do. Yey! I think the aim at the moment is to get them comfortable speaking solely in English about the documents that they have been studying. Was nice to hear both of the students grow in confidence as the lesson continued...my god I want all these pupils to succeed so much!!

This was followed by a lesson with my private student, who had managed to fill in most of the blanks on the missing lyrics worksheet I had given her, and we discussed how different pronunciations made words mean different things. Luckily my planned work for the week after was a pronunciation poem, this one in fact (poor Frenchies!):-

I take it you already know
Of tough and bough and cough and dough?
Others may stumble, but not you
On hiccough, thorough, slough, and through.
Well don't! And now you wish, perhaps,
To learn of less familiar traps.
Beware of heard, a dreadful word
That looks like beard but sounds like bird.
And dead: it's said like bed, not bead,
For goodness sake don't call it deed!
Watch out for meat and great and threat
(They rhyme with suite and straight and debt).
A moth is not a moth as in mother
Nor both as in bother, nor broth as in brother,
And here is not a match for there,
Nor dear and fear, for bear and pear.
And then there's dose and rose and lose--
Just look them up--and goose and choose
And cork and work and card and ward
And font and front and word and sword
And do and go, then thwart and cart,
Come, come! I've hardly made a start.
A dreadful Language? Why man alive!
I learned to talk it when I was five.
And yet to write it, the more I tried,
I hadn't learned it at fifty-five.

Some things just work! In other news, after hearing this song on the radio, I cannot get it out of my head.

Spend the afternoon chez Thomas, watching the Assemblée nationale have a little large shouting match discussion about the rather hot topic of mariage pour tous and the sujet épineux of adoption laws for homosexual couples. All in preparation for the debate (organised by Flavie, Thomas and Melting Pomme society) happening in the evening on the aforementioned topics. Also introduced Thomas to Fascinating Aida, have a listen if you have never heard of them! We also made jelly for the English Evening at Chez Paulette, even though we were not actually going to be there for most of it due to the debate! Had a bit of a panic moment when the jelly hadn't set an hour before we needed to move it...but all was well in the end. We did look rather strange walking down the street with bowls of jelly though...especially since it doesn't exist in France!

I think everyone was a little bit nervous about what would occur during the debate, but we shouldn't have worried...everything went perfectly. The two people for homosexual equality (and yes, that is how I would put it) were articulate and precise, and even got one of the opposing team to question his beliefs I think! There was a lot more support for than against, and the sound of ten people clapping an outrageous idea or phrase cannot compare to the roaring of the rest of a theatre. So glad it went so well. Buoyed by victory and it being 11pm and the majority of our group not having eaten since lunchtime...a celebratory drive through at McDonalds was called for...was hilarious sitting in Thibaud's car and shouting across to the rest in Flavie's car as the restaurant itself was closed, so our own restaurant in a car park had to be created! So much fun and so much joy in the group. It was decided that we would head into the centre-ville to check out the English Party, even though it would probably be winding down. And honestly, we didn't spend that long there, as it was winding down, and Thibaud and I wanted to head back as we both had early mornings.