Till Gins, director of Oxford Intensive School of English, is adamant that this is not the case. He claims they are no worse than anyone else, rather they are victims of an education system which will not accept its failings. The French-Brit has been director of the first language school in Oxford for 40 years and has seen millions of students come and go, attracted by his intensive, ‘one to one’ teaching method. He explores what lies behind the cliche…
Born to a French father and an English mother, Till grew up with dual heritage. After graduation, he came to Oxford to write a memoir on John Locke and it was then that he began to give individual lessons. The more he taught, the more he realised the effectiveness of tutorials, a teaching method specific to the universities of Cambridge, Oxford and Dublin. He concluded that the best way to master a language was to have ‘one to one’ classes which enable the teacher to tailor their teaching to the student.
The school’s programmes are first and foremost aimed at executives and business managers. But we also welcome students and prépa students (students preparing for entrance examinations to the Grandes Écoles). Whatever the age of the pupil, it is difficult to undo the damage done by their education and culture.
Of all the students OISE receives, Till believes that the French have the most inhibitions. They are not bad at languages, as we often hear, but they are afraid of making fools of themselves and this psychological block is so deeply rooted in their national mentality that they have real difficulty taking risks. They would prefer to calculate what they are going to say beforehand or just remain quiet rather than make a mistake, the result being that they cannot communicate spontaneously in a foreign language.
Till traces this mental block back to the way many French children are brought up. For example, if a child is given a sweet and does not say thank you, their mother would often say to them ‘What do you say? What do you say?’, giving them the sense that they have done something wrong. According to Till, the French education system only reinforces this idea, meaning that many French children are afraid to try for fear of making a mistake.
Consequently Till felt that his role was not so much to teach English but eloquence. That is what makes the difference, whether you have mastered the basics of a language or not. Many French students have spent years learning English grammar and vocabulary in school but still do not know how to use it spontaneously. Till considers risk taking and engaging in debate to be a much more effective way to learn.
Summarised by OISE Oxford's in-house French linguist, Joanna Shaw
Click here to read the full article in French.
Born to a French father and an English mother, Till grew up with dual heritage. After graduation, he came to Oxford to write a memoir on John Locke and it was then that he began to give individual lessons. The more he taught, the more he realised the effectiveness of tutorials, a teaching method specific to the universities of Cambridge, Oxford and Dublin. He concluded that the best way to master a language was to have ‘one to one’ classes which enable the teacher to tailor their teaching to the student.
The school’s programmes are first and foremost aimed at executives and business managers. But we also welcome students and prépa students (students preparing for entrance examinations to the Grandes Écoles). Whatever the age of the pupil, it is difficult to undo the damage done by their education and culture.
Of all the students OISE receives, Till believes that the French have the most inhibitions. They are not bad at languages, as we often hear, but they are afraid of making fools of themselves and this psychological block is so deeply rooted in their national mentality that they have real difficulty taking risks. They would prefer to calculate what they are going to say beforehand or just remain quiet rather than make a mistake, the result being that they cannot communicate spontaneously in a foreign language.
Till traces this mental block back to the way many French children are brought up. For example, if a child is given a sweet and does not say thank you, their mother would often say to them ‘What do you say? What do you say?’, giving them the sense that they have done something wrong. According to Till, the French education system only reinforces this idea, meaning that many French children are afraid to try for fear of making a mistake.
Consequently Till felt that his role was not so much to teach English but eloquence. That is what makes the difference, whether you have mastered the basics of a language or not. Many French students have spent years learning English grammar and vocabulary in school but still do not know how to use it spontaneously. Till considers risk taking and engaging in debate to be a much more effective way to learn.
Summarised by OISE Oxford's in-house French linguist, Joanna Shaw
Click here to read the full article in French.
