"I took up the post of trainee in a law firm", "I would be grateful to you"... Yesterday, infrequent, French mistakes are now legion in copies, homework and cover letters.
As
Le Figaro
recently revealed , the decline in students' level of French is now affecting even the best of them.
The extent of the phenomenon is such that several higher education establishments have grasped the problem head-on, by making language refresher courses compulsory, long reserved for students from abroad.
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“I had to wonder all the time”
Since 2011, in order to validate their degree, students enrolled in the Montpellier Business School's Bachelor program are required to obtain the now well-known Voltaire certificate.
On its website, the business school indicates that “a high level in spelling has become a differentiating skill to highlight on a CV, in the same way as the TOEIC for the level of English”.
From then on, in the first year, the students prepare for this exam in ten stages to be carried out on the interface of the Voltaire Project, and attend the weekly lessons of Charlotte Reboud, responsible for the module.
“I make the students work on the different rules studied in the form of games, dictations.
I make them write emails.
I make sure that the basic conjugations are well mastered.
What do the main stakeholders think?
For Johanna*, 23, a former student in International Business Administration, mastering the language created complexes.
“I didn't understand anything about past participle agreement.
I had to wonder all the time.
Writing an email took me hours.
All this so that in the end I'm wrong.
I continue to make mistakes but that at least it's settled, ”she says.
Hugo, from the same promotion, agrees.
“By the end of the program, I had made tremendous progress.”
From grammar to spelling, via syntax, it is difficult for Charlotte Reboud to review all the rules of French.
With the decrease in the number of hours dedicated to her learning in National Education programs, as well as with the development of short messages, she notes:
“It is normal for the level to drop.
We change the language, we shorten the words and we lose the habit of writing correctly.
From 30 to 12 faults
Private institutions are not the only ones to review their copy.
At CY Cergy Paris University, students aspiring to enter the first year of a Letters license are required to take a spelling and writing test on a topical subject.
The equalization of the results according to the typology of the errors of Nina Catach leads to their distribution in three levels.
For at least one semester, all students, grouped by level, must attend the “language improvement” course given by linguist Rokhsareh Heshmati.
“In eleven one-and-a-half-hour sessions, it was impossible to review everything,” recognizes the teacher.
Especially since everyone has their shortcomings.
“Every two weeks, I come back to the agreement of the past participle.
But it is also necessary to work on the lexicon, the subject-verb agreement, and the forms in -é, -er, -ez, -et.
Grammatical and lexical homophones are also seen at each lesson.
On average, a student making 30 mistakes in the entrance test ends the first semester with 12 mistakes.
The latter, as future teachers, language science researchers, or publishing professionals, are therefore encouraged by Rokhsareh Heshmati to continue this teaching in the second semester.
Towards a common system for universities?
It was in 2013 that the University of Paris Nanterre required all of its first-year students to follow an online course called “Mastering French Writing”.
From then on, 7,000 young people had to carry out a certain number of exercises, and revise summary sheets at home, with a view to a final exam.
For 500 of them, identified as being in great difficulty, support sessions were organized on campus.
Next year, always in order to stop the constant decline in the level of French of the students, the establishment should review its system.
In this case, for the past year, Paris Nanterre has been leading the action dedicated to the development of a self-training and Écri+ certification platform, currently in the trial phase.
His goal?
Train and certify mastery of the French language.
Eighteen higher education establishments, including the University of Paris 1 - Panthéon Sorbonne, the University of Toulouse - Jean Jaurès and the University of Rennes 2, are already partners.
*
Name has been changed.
