ED'S WORLD

I was summoned to go and test 12 candidates in Lyon as part of an exam entitled "BTS" (Brevet de Technicien Supérieur). They have 20 minutes to get ready to talk about a document (text, ad, painting, cartoon...) dealing with art, design, advertising, architecture, media, etc. They have never seen the document before, so they have to be able to work efficiently and concisely. In the last part of their oral, we have a conversation about their professional experience and their plans for the future (job, further studies, etc.).

Doing this is usually an interesting experience for me. But this time I didn't enjoy it so much. Was it because the weather was so hot and sticky ? Or because the majority of the students seemed to be very reluctant to speak English at all, or to say anything slightly original about the documents ? (Some of them should have read this book, and maybe would have remembered the basic vocabulary !) Or was it simply because I was particularly tired and traveling for five hours on Sunday had not done anything to help, that I found so hard not to fall asleep ? Some rare but precious moments enlightened my stay though. A nice stroll on the quayside on Sunday evening. A nice meal at a Pakistanese restaurant with my friends. An iced coke drunk at a terrasse on a beautiful square outside the Beaux-Arts Museum.

I've been thinking about it for a while, admiring Claude actually for managing two blogs at the same time and Silver Tiger has convinced me. From now on, as well as writing in French about my daily life, I will try to write in English too. And this will be the place ! As it is more difficult for me though I teach English in France, I may not publish new texts as regularly as I do on my other blog. I hope you will be understanding.

Writing or telling something in a foreign language is not just another exercise. It means letting oneself seen from another point of view, revealing another facet of one's character. Believe it or not, I feel different emotions, reactions, when I speak or think in English.  If you happen to be a reader of both blogs, please tell me when you notice such a difference.

For those who don't know me yet, I've been teaching English for 25 years, including the last 13 years in a high school. I'm a woman and will be reaching 50 next July, which is, as you will soon realize, a real trauma to me. I share my life with someone I will refer to as ADMV (as it means something in French, you may even guess what !), she is a woman too. Ed is not my real name, but things being what they are, I'd rather remain anonymous, as some members of our National Education have already got into troubles when their identity was known, even though they hadn't actually criticised anyone namely, or told any lies. Moreover I may mention some details of my private life which are none of my pupils or colleagues' business.

Forgive me if what I write happens to be boring, I feel shy you see, and your comments will help me improve my writing.