“It’s only France that does dictations! It’s a kind of national delirium”. The words of Julie Neveux, linguist and member of the collective “Les Linguistes atterré(e) s”, Friday June 9 on Dailyreacted to Internet users.
Asked about the Grande dictée organized in Paris, the co-author of the manifesto French is fine thank you considered that this exercise had little interest as a “language learning tool”, as noted by TF1. As proof, according to her it would be an exclusively French practice. Later, on Twitter, Julie Neveux clarified her words: “Only France, among all the countries with the Latin alphabet, organizes dictation competitions… for adults.”
In an interview with L’Express, Julien Soulié, professor of classics in a college for 17 years, expert in the Voltaire project and author in particular of the book Why French (Fist) explains the interest of dictation, provided that this exercise evolves and that it is not only a tool for sanctioning students.
L’Express: Has dictation become an obsolete exercise?
Julien Soulie: The dictation suffers a little from this old-fashioned and dusty image. Like any tool, it has its strengths and weaknesses. Dictation is almost the only time students can reflect on their language, reflect on rules and their writing. A dictation is a text that makes sense. This exercise should enable students to make them aware that grammar and meaning are linked: grammar nourishes meaning and meaning applies to grammar. So I don’t think the dictation is completely negative. Moreover, spelling is also the trace of a memory and a history that goes back to Latin and Greek, so it is useful.
The problem is that dictation has become a machine for making zeros on the chain. You get to a zero mark quite quickly by deducting two points for certain faults… It has therefore become a machine for manufacturing linguistic school failure, which has repercussions for adulthood. Social pressure is exerted on people who do not master the language. There is linguistic discrimination just as there can be physical or racial discrimination.
Dictation should not be a tool of sanction but it should be a tool of pedagogy. In this case, it can bear fruit. Dictation can be a vector for play. It’s not just classic dictation: for my part, I practiced dialogue dictation in particular. Many tools make it possible to work the language well and to value the students. The idea is to show them that dictation makes sense, whereas for some students it doesn’t necessarily make sense.
Colleagues in primary and secondary school try to set up dictation systems that are not humiliating but allow the language to be reworked effectively. There is a stigmatizing side to dictation, but writing well is also an image that we show of ourselves.
The “Linguists appalled” advocate the disappearance of dictation, which they find counterproductive. What do you think ?
This collective undoubtedly has in mind this image of the schoolmaster of the Third Republic, with this side dictated sanction. A tool of sanction is of course anti-pedagogical. For my part, I think that dictation, as it has been practiced for decades, is no longer a suitable object for today’s students.
The dictation is a bit like a historical monument: it can be renovated and maintained. For my part, I therefore consider that dictation must evolve. The great defect of French spelling is to be three, four or five centuries behind phonetics. The phonetics train has passed, and spelling has remained at the dock. There is a degree of randomness in lexical spelling, which is due to phonetic evolution and the procrastination of the French Academy at different times. It is also linked to the fact that there are many homonyms in French.
Dictation is only one tool among others in the pedagogical arsenal. It can produce meaning and success if it is used well, in an educational way. It is therefore not a tool to be completely thrown in the trash as long as this tool is accompanied by other exercises.
On the other hand, I agree with Julie Neveux on the observation and the need to play down the language and to uninhibit the French about mistakes.
Do our European neighbors practice dictation as much as we do?
To my knowledge, France must be one of the countries using dictation the most in Europe. German is a very phonetic language, so it presents very few spelling difficulties. Spanish is also a phonetic language so it is not necessarily necessary to take dictations, even if this exercise is practiced in Spain. In addition, spelling contests are organized in the United States.
How to explain this passion for this educational exercise?
I don’t think dictation is “a kind of national delirium”. He is, however, a national icon. It’s like Bescherelle and Bled: it frightens some, it makes others nostalgic, but no one can escape it, it is unavoidable.
There is a kind of French passion and cultural exception for the language: we are attached to it even if we make mistakes. I gave four dictation contests in the space of two weeks at different book fairs. I was able to see how much the participants return to childhood and become studious. It’s as if there was a kind of nostalgia for the language.
The international study of the International Program for Research in School Reading (Pirls), unveiled on May 16, indicates an increase in student results in French after years of decline, even if France remains below the European average. How do you analyze this progression?
In my opinion, this is explained by the fact that the State has decided to put the package on the language from an early age at school. French had become the minimum portion of teaching in primary and secondary school, but we gave hours of French in all classes.
During the first two or three years of primary school (CP, CE1 and CE2), it seems essential to me to establish the fundamentals in French (reading, writing, comprehension) and in maths. French is a skill that crosses all subjects.
Some results in the rankings can be explained in particular by the fact that a Spanish or Italian pupil will take one or two years to learn correct and basic spelling, while a French pupil will need ten years to master its spelling and grammar.