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| March 7, 2008 | |
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Alliance Francaise defends freedom given to the teachers
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| THE Alliance Francaise de Singapour was surprised to read the comments by Ms Siti Aisha Mostafa about an incident in one of its classes in her online letter on Monday,'Oh la la at the Alliance...', Ms Siti Aisha felt that her teacher elaborated too much on a particular grammar issue and addressing the curriculum of the Alliance. May we express here a few general remarks.
First, the methods used by Alliance Francaise are global learning methods in order for students to learn French grammar, sentence structure, conjugation and vocabulary at the same time. Depending on the pace of the students' understanding in class, the teacher can decide whether to return to a particular question or problem that he thinks the students need more explanation or clarification on. Second, our teachers are bound by the programme they must cover within a certain timeline. But, they are free to exercise their initiative at how best to proceed in teaching the students. 'Experience' helps them develop a sort of sixth sense to capture the students 'cognitive feedback'. Alliance is very attached to this freedom given to the teachers. This 'academic' respect for the teacher's work is essential to us. Third, a teacher may decide to enhance a pedagogic and cultural project related to the course. In this particular matter, it is a project for learning French and deepening the knowledge of the French language through theatrical practice which will be held in May and June this year. Finally, these methods and the particular way of teaching make Alliance Francaise the ideal place to learn the French language and culture. More than 4,000 students every year put their trust in us to achieve this objective. We shall be happy to meet Ms Siti Aisha at a time convenient to her if she wishes to discuss the matter further. Pierre-Emmanuel Jacob Executive Director Alliance Francaise de Singapour | |
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