.png){kind=small}
Lost in Translation? Not Quite -- IFS-HCI French Exchange Programme
- 1 hour ago
- 6 min read
Written by: Amy Ong Jin Lu (Wang Jingru) (25S7B)
Edited by: Lei Yanyang (25S61)
“What’s the point of taking H2 French if barely anyone in Singapore even speaks the language?” One may ask. I disagree -- on the contrary, the Francophone community in Singapore is more than meets the eye: it is vibrant and growing, numbering over 20,000 today, with the International French School (IFS) Singapore being one of its important hubs. On 16 and 17 March, 20 of J2 H2 French students had the opportunity to visit some of our French counterparts over at IFS, where we immersed ourselves in their distinct school culture and put our French to the test!
At IFS
As a welcome gift, we were given a lovely tote bag emblazoned with IFS’ motto – “Open Your Mind” – containing an anthology of poetry titled 'La rage de l’expression'. Following which, we headed to a cozy breakfast reception where we paired up with buddies from IFS. We chatted about topics ranging from our loisirs (hobbies) to our career aspirations, over the classic breakfast food pain au chocolat and croissants, before heading off to class together.
That was when I realised that our schooling hours were a little different – at IFS, lessons are in blocks of 55 minutes, with a 15 minute-long break after the second block, an hour-long lunch break after the fourth block, and another 15 minute-long break after the sixth block. Unaccustomed to this schedule, I felt the lethargy creeping in much quicker as compared to a day in HCI. A typical school day at IFS could end at 5.05 p.m., and even later with extracurriculars. Although one may be inclined to think that the grass is greener on the other side, the students at IFS are no stranger to overcommitment or burnout, often having to juggle many activities, both inside and outside of school.
Whispering to my buddy if I could use my phone to snap a picture of the lesson slides, I was caught slightly off-guard by her response -- there was a ban on phones during lessons. It was rather inspiring to see how effective it was, with everyone’s attention fully on the lesson at hand, with the occasional smattering of jovial chatter or discussion.
For the most part, lessons were conducted in French, which was an effective mode of practising for listening comprehension – easily any H2 French student’s most-feared and dreaded paper. Lessons ranged from Physique-Chimie (physics-chemistry, where I was pleasantly surprised to learn about une réaction de combustion and l’énergie de liaison (bond energy!), to Histoire (history, where we learnt about the Third Republic of France and how des images d’Épinal – or idealised images – portrayed the Third Republic of France as the best system), to French (where we discussed an excerpt from a short text, Pour un oui ou pour un non – it talks about a dispute between two close friends, H1 and H2, which culminates in a tragic break), to Économie (where the teacher lectured about la rivalité et la non rivalité, as well as l’exclusivité et la non excluabilité, and le comportement du passager clandestin (free-rider behaviour).
Additionally, there are a number of academic pathways available at IFS, two of which I am sufficiently familiar with to write about: the French Baccalauréat route, which most students take (and which most resembles the A-Levels we are all condemned to sit for), as well as the French Baccalauréat International option with advanced English Literature and History-Geography, which my buddy Charlene was enrolled in! For English, Charlene's class was hard at work preparing for the oral presentation test that would take place the next day. The overarching genre was dystopian fiction, with the set texts being The Handmaid’s Tale and The Road. The task was a five minute-long presentation on one of eight themes: setting, power and control, rebellion and resistance, alienation and isolation, love and relationships, violence and threat, resilience and survival, or hopes and dreams, drawing on material from the set texts. As an enjoyer of dystopian literature, it seemed fun but not something I would wish to do multiple times as a graded assignment!
Not to mention, IFS also recognises the importance of multilingualism, offering multiple additional language options, namely German, Spanish, Latin, and Mandarin. Interestingly, the Mandarin teacher occasionally lapsed into both Mandarin and French, a language combination which had never really graced my ears before. The curriculum (the topic at hand was green technology, with a case study of farms to combat desertification) was indeed interesting but relied heavily on the use of thematic materials to learn ideas and concepts, quite unlike the structure used when taught as a Mother Tongue in Singapore schools.
Outside of academic lessons, there were also distinctions in our school systems. We sat for a class similar to our Education and Career Guidance sessions held during CT lessons. During this class, the teachers called for 3 volunteers to sit for mock university entrance interviews in front of the entire class, and gave immediate feedback on their demeanour as well as responses, proving to be both constructive and encouraging, though the atmosphere was undoubtedly nerve-racking. Furthermore, they do not have NAPFA tests for physical education -- instead, they are assigned a score out of 20 (this grading system is the same for their other subjects as well) based on their learning attitude and aptitude in selected sports.
At HCI
On 30 March, five of us French-takers from the College Section welcomed our buddies to HCI. Our buddies were surprised how we took nearly all our lessons with the same people, a stark contrast with how they met different groups of students in each of their classes and how they knew nearly everyone in their year.
After lessons about Nitrogen compounds, statistics, and conditional arguments, we had a lunch steeped in Asian cuisine, quite unlike the savoury quatre fromages pizza or the creamy pâtes we had had in IFS. While the HCI canteen brings to mind a hawker centre or a food court, with several stalls to choose from, IFS’ cafeterias offer a small number of select food options which change every day of the week, though there are also grab-and-go stations where you can buy additional snacks such as yoghurt and sandwiches. Funnily enough, when my friend asked where she could buy coffee, we were told that students were not allowed to purchase coffee in the cafeteria, but perhaps on account of the fact that we were visitors, La Fenêtre (a café within the school, adjacent to the high school cafeteria) did agree to sell my friend a cup.
La Cafet (cafeteria) at the high school section of IFS, and the four-cheese pizza we got there!
IFS' middle school canteen, where there was a lovely free-flow mozzarella bar for our pasta.
Following a tour of the commonly-used facilities in school, we headed to the Common Room, where we played several very rapid and laughter-filled rounds of Spot It, a game whose universality I had not expected.
Our last period for the day, Biology GST, in the style of un cours magistral (lecture), was quite a different experience from IFS, where there is a greater focus on interactive, classroom-based tutorial lessons.
As our buddies had to return to IFS for extracurricular activities, we exchanged wistful goodbyes – “See you when I see you!” – wrapping up this brief but meaningful exchange.
Sometimes, when we have doubts about our progress in a new language, such exchange programmes suffice to affirm all the effort we have put in thus far. They lead us to realise that language learning is a truly worthwhile undertaking, as it opens a door into new cultures and permits us to appreciate the lifestyles of others whom we may not usually have the opportunity to interact with in our daily life. Learning a new language – French or otherwise – is far from a waste of time; rather, it is the key to unlock another vibrant part of our world, waiting to be discovered by us.
Comments