Les mots Franglais

Last week (27^th January 2015) I did one of my “cours supplémentaires” with a 5e class (yes I willingly do more hours at work than I’m employed to do, although to be fair, I am paid overtime and enjoy it), and I decided to work on reasons for learning English and on English in the French language.

I started the activity by asking my pupils to tell me reasons why English is an important language to learn and why they have chosen to come to these extra classes (they are not obliged to come), to improve their English.

Their response was very interesting. The very first pupil told me that English was important because it is “langue universelle”, and “everybody speaks it”. The second pupil to raise her hand told me that she wanted to learn English so she would be able to speak it when she goes on holiday.

I then asked the pupils about any music that they listened to and I sang (very badly I might add), a few lines of the recently famous “All About That Bass” by Meghan Trainor  – to which all of the girls sang the rest of the chorus, and even the boys hummed along. When I asked the girls if they understood the words to the song, they said that they understood the majority of the words but not all – so in the future lessons I hope to work more on songs and do a translation exercise where I will be able to really see how many of the words they actually understand – as I’m not sure how accurate “a majority of the words” actually is. I also asked them to name me some other singers that they liked and they mentioned “One Direction”, “Adele” and “Rihanna” – all Anglophone singers.

I also asked my students about which video games they liked to play and one pupil mentioned the game “Watch dog”. I asked him what he thought it meant and he said “bah, c’est un chien qui regarde”, showing that he didn’t really understand the other definition “A person or group that monitors the practices of companies providing a particular service or utility” which the game is about – it is not about an actual dog who watched a house or property.

After asking these questions, I then showed them a PowerPoint with 10 reasons why learning English was a good idea. After going through the PowerPoint I gave each pupil a worksheet with 107 words that I had seen and heard used around school, town and in the college. I asked the students to put a tick or highlight any word which they recognized and would use in normal/ everyday French when talking to their peers, family, teachers etc. I then asked them to either write for me French sentences with the word in it so I can see how they used it, or to write me a description of the word in either English or French.

Unfortunately, as the class was only an hour long, the students didn’t have time to finish the complete exercise, and most of them only managed to tick/ highlight the words and write a few sentences – so I hope to finish the grid in my next lesson.

Obviously there were two goals to this lesson. The first was to be able to show the students how many words they already understood in English without having studied or revised at all. When I pointed this out to the class, they all seemed surprised at how many words they already knew, and commented that they did recognise now that English is being used more and more in everyday French.

The other goal of the lesson was for me to see if words I the words that I had heard around the school, town and house were often used amongst these pupils, which words these young students did use in English and how they used the word in their French sentences. To exemplify, it was interesting that the words “airbag”, “babysitter” and “barman” (along with many others in the grid), were used in the same way as English, whereas other words such as “brushing” have been taken from English but are have other meanings in French i.e. in France, un brushing = a blow dry

Although the table below is not complete (I will endeavour to complete it in within the next few weeks) – it does show how many English words students recognise and what they think of the meanings of these words:

Words used in everyday/ normal French	FREQUENCY OF STUDENTS– i.e. no of people who agree that this word is used in everyday/ normal French	Extra notes
1) Airbag	*!@^ACDEF	A) C’est dans la voiture quand on a un accident C) C’est le ballon qui gonfle dans la voiture pour amortir un choc D) A airbag is on the car E) There is a airbag in the car F) A airbag is in the car !) Pour les accidents de voiture @) Quand on fait un accident sa protège la tête du volant dans une voiture ^) Cousin en cas d’accident *) Gros coussin
2) Babysitter	*!@^ABCDEF	A) C’est garder un enfant B) C’est une nourrice C) Looks after children D) C’est un garde d’enfants E) Looks after children F) A babysitter looks after children !) Elle garde les enfants @)C’est un nounou ^) Garde des enfants *) Garde enfant
3) Barbecue	*!@^ABCDEF	A) C’est grilles de la norriture C) Machine pour cuisiner la viande D) C’est ce que l’on fait l’été dans le jardin F) A barbecue is place in the garden, is chauffing !) Pour cuire les aliments l’été @) On cuit les aliments en été ^) Grille la viande *) Grille viande
4) Barman	*!@^ABCDEF	A) Servir des boissons B) C’est une personne qui s’occupe du bar C) Personne qui s’occupe du bar D) A barman F) A barman distribute product in bar !) Dans les soirée @) C’est dans des soiré il distribute des verre avec du jus ^) Bar *) Serveure
5) Base-ball	*!@^ABCDEF	A) Jouer avec un ballon B) C’est un sport C) Sport D) C’est un sport E) Play with a ball F) A base-ball is with sport !) Sport @) C’est un sport ^) Sport *) Jeu avec une batte
6) Baskets	*!@^ABCDEF	A) Jouer a marguer de panier B) Panier C) Sports et chaussure D) Ce sont des chaussures E) I wear on the feet F) A baskets is a sport !) Panier/ chausseur @) Panier ^) Chaussure *) Chaussur
7) Beefsteak	*!^ABCEF	A) C’est de la viande b) C’est de la viande C) Viande E) It’s a meat F) A beefsteak is a meat !) Viande ^) Viande *) Viande
8) Best-of	*!@^ABCEF	A) C’est un betisier B) Meilleure musique !) Les meilleurs @) Le meilleur ^) Le top des music *) Meillure chose
9) Boy band	*!@^D	Apparently in France they say “BoyS band” so with the S D) C’est un groupe de mec !) One direction @) One direction ^) One direction *) groupe de garcon
10) Brushing	*!@^ABCDEF	Meaning a “blow dry” in France, instead of having someone actually brush your hair A) C’est la coupe des cheveux B) Coiffure C) Coiffure D) C’est ce qu’on fait au coiffeur pour les femmes E) It’s for hair F) C’est paru se coiffer !) Pour les cheveux @) Pour les cheveux ^) Brushing *) Coupe de cheveau
11) Building	*^DEF	D) C’est un immeuble *) Grand immeuble
12) Business	*^ABEFCD	C) Scord D) Les affaires F)C’est le faite de se faire de la popularité et de l’argent *) Vendre chose
13) Caddie	*!@^BCEFD	B) Chariot C) Chariot pour faire les cours D) Moyen de transports E) For doing buy food !) Pour les courses @) C’est pour mettre les course quand on va au magasin ^) Transport pour les courses *) Vendre les cources
14) Camping	*!@^ABCEF	A) C’est d’aller en vacances B) Terrain de campement C) Lieu pour camping !) Parcs pour les tentes @) Pour les tente *) Vacances
15) Cameraman	*!@^ABCDEF	B) Person tenant la caméra C) personne tenant la camera D) Filmeur !) Pour la TV @) C’est selui qui film *) Mec qui a un camera
16) Casting	*!@^ABCDE	C) Rôles D) Audition
17) Challenge	*!@^ABCDEF	C) Parie D) Défi F) C’est un défi
18) Cheeseburger	*!@^ABCDEF	B) Sandwich C) Sandwich F) C’est un hamburger avec du fromage
19) Chewing-gum	*!@^ABCDEF	B) Pâte à mâcher C) Pâte à mâcher D) Bon bon
20) Cool	*!@^ABCDEF	B) Super C) Bien
21) Corn-flakes	*!^ABCDEF	B) Céréales D) Céréale
22) Cow-boy	*!^ADF	D) Justicier du far-ouest F) C’est une personne qui vit dans le far-west
23) Crash	*!@^ADF	F) C’est un accident
24) Dealer	*!^AD	D) Vendeur de stupéfiants
25) D-J	*!@^AEF	F)C’est une personne qui mix la musique
26) E-mail	*!@^AEF	D) Message électronique
27) Fast-food	*!@^AEF	F) Mc Do, KFC, grec, kebab
28) Football	*!@^AEF	F) Sport avec un ballon
29) Gangster	*!^AEF	F) Rakui (racaille meant maybe?)
30) Globe-trotter	*AE
31) Goal	*!@AE
32) Handball	*!@^AE
33) Hold-up	*!AE
34) Iceberg	*!^AE
35) Interview	*!@^AE
36) Jackpot	*!^AE
37) Job	*!@^AE
38) Jogging	*!@^AE
39) Joystick	*
40) Ketchup	*!@^AE
41) Kidnapping	*!@^AE
42) Leader	*!@AE
43) Light	*@^A
44) Meeting	*!@AE
45) OK	*!@^AE	Also use KO as in knocked ok
46) Planning	*!@^AE
47) Penalty	*!@AE
48) Pick-pocket	*!@^AE
49) Ping-pong	*!@^AE
50) Pin’s	*AE	Used to mean “badge”
51) Popcorn	*!@^AE
52) Poster	*!@^AE
53) Prime time	E
54) Punching ball	*!AE	Meaning both a victim and the actual punching ball used in boxing
55) Puzzle	*!@^
56) Revolver	*!@^
57) Roller	*!@^
58) Rosbif	*!@^
59) Rock & Roll	*!@^
60) Rugby	*!@^
61) Sandwich	*!@^
62) Scoop	*!@^	In France scoop means “some new information” – kind of gossip or des nouvelles
63) Scooter	*!@^
64) Score	*!@^
65) Scotch	*!@^	Scotch is used to mean what we call “selotape” in England – scotch for us in England is a drink
66) Serial killer	*!^
67) Shopping	*!@^
68) Short	*!@^
69) Single	*!@^
70) Skateboard	*!@^
71) Sketch	*!@^
72) SMS	*!@^
73) Snob	*!
74) S.O.S	*!@^
75) Star	*!@^
76) Stop	*!@^
77) Stress	*!@^
78) Sweat-shirt	*!@^
79) T-shirt	*!@^
80) Talkie-walkie	*!@^
81) Thriller	*!
82) Ticket	*!@^
83) Top-model	*!@^
84) Volley-ball	*!^
85) Walkman	@
86) Week-end	*!@^
87) Zoom	*!@^
EXTRA
1) Web	*!@^
2) Basketball	*!@^
3) Volleyball	*!@^
4) Stretch	@
5) Reporter	*!^
6) Cool	*!@^
7) Lol	*!@^
8) Parking	*!@^
9) Shopping	*!@^
10) Has been	!
11) Fun	*!@^
12) Fake	*!@^
13) Goal average (in French goalavérage)
14) Freeride
15) Freestyle	*!@^
16) Melting pot
17) Cool	*!@^
18) Post	*!@
19) “Customizer”
20) Shooter (verb-photograph)	*!@^

 

*!@^ = represent 4 different students who filled in whole survey

 A/B/C/D/E/F = represent students who didn’t manage to fill out the whole sheet in given time

NB: Not all students managed to finish filling out the table and writing sentences/ definitions for words in English/ French. Furthermore, where there are spelling errors/grammatical errors, this is due to having copied exactly what the students write. I have also had to miss out some sentences written by students, as sadly their handwriting was illegible. However, I will try to ask them to re-write their sentences so I can add them to the table.

Originally the “questionnaire” was solely for lesson purposes, and was meant to be used to show the pupils how many English words they knew and used daily with their friends without really thinking about it. However, after the lesson I decided that it would be interesting to hand the “questionnaire” out to some different aged staff members to see if they used the same words as the younger generation, and to see if there were any general similarities or differences in the use of words between not only the children and the staff but also between the different staff members themselves.

For instance, only one student mentioned that they knew the word “prime-time” but didn’t give a definition or an example of how they would use it in French (probably due to time issues). However all 3 teachers knew the word “prime-time” and two gave definitions of it 1) TV 2) C’est un primetime.

Words used in everyday/ normal French	FREQUENCY OF STUDENTS– i.e. no of people who agree that this word is used in everyday/ normal French	Extra notes
1) Airbag	T2/T3
2) Babysitter	T2/T3
3) Barbecue	T2/T3	T1) On va faire un barbacue
4) Barman	T2/T3
5) Base-ball	T2/T3
6) Baskets	T2/T3
7) Beefsteak	T3	T2) Biftek
8) Best-of	T2/T3	T1 le best of
9) Boy band	T2/T3	T1 Boysband T2 Boys band
10) Brushing	T2/T3
11) Building	T3	T2 don’t use in French
12) Business	T2/T3
13) Caddie	T2/T3	T1 Trolley (caddie c’est la marque)
14) Camping	T2/T3
15) Cameraman	T2/T3
16) Casting	T2/T3
17) Challenge	T2/T3
18) Cheeseburger	T2/T3
19) Chewing-gum	T2/T3
20) Cool	T2/T3
21) Corn-flakes	T2/T3
22) Cow-boy	T2/T3
23) Crash	T2/T3	T1 Un gros accident I.e. il s’est craché/ il se crache/ il a eu un accident/ il a rate qqch
24) Dealer	T2/T3
25) D-J	T2/T3
26) E-mail	T2/T3
27) Fast-food	T2/T3
28) Football	T2/T3
29) Gangster	T2/T3
30) Globe-trotter	T2/T3
31) Goal	/T3	T2 Au foot
32) Handball	T2/T3
33) Hold-up	T2/T3	T1 Il y a un hold-up
34) Iceberg	T2/T3	T1 Le titanic s’est mange un iceburg
35) Interview	T2/T3
36) Jackpot	T2/T3	T1 J’ai gagné le jackpot
37) Job	T2/T3
38) Jogging	T2/T3	T1 Je vais faire un jogging/ Je vais porter un jogging
39) Joystick	T2/T3
40) Ketchup	T2/T3
41) Kidnapping	T2/T3
42) Leader	T2/T3
43) Light		T1 cola light/ light cigarettes T2 For food or drink
44) Meeting		T1 métange (meeting written the same way as English but pronounced as métange/ big meeting – not just a rendez-vous) T2 job/ politics
45) OK	T2/T3	T1 use this like in English but also KO i.e. je suis K.O. = I’m out of it
46) Planning	T2/T3	T2 What I have to do
47) Penalty	T2/T3	T2 Foot
48) Pick-pocket	T2/T3
49) Ping-pong	T2/T3
50) Pin’s	T2/T3	T1 badge
51) Popcorn	T2/T3
52) Poster	T2/T3
53) Prime time	T2/T3	T1 C’est en primetime (9h le soir) T2 TV
54) Punching ball	T2/T3	T1 Object and person
55) Puzzle	T3	T2 Jigsaw
56) Revolver	T3
57) Roller	T3
58) Rosbif	T3
59) Rock & Roll	T3
60) Rugby	T3
61) Sandwich	T3
62) Scoop	T3	T3 J’ai un scoop (i.e. something new to tell you)
63) Scooter	T3
64) Score	T3	Sport
65) Scotch	T3
66) Serial killer	T3
67) Shopping	T3
68) Short	T3	T2 Vêtement
69) Single		T2 Un disque
70) Skateboard	T3
71) Sketch	T3
72) SMS	T3
73) Snob	T3	T1 Snobina
74) S.O.S	T3
75) Star	T3	T1 une star de télé
76) Stop	T3
77) Stress	T3
78) Sweat-shirt	T3
79) T-shirt	T3
80) Talkie-walkie	T3
81) Thriller	T3
82) Ticket	T3
83) Top-model	T3
84) Volley-ball	T3
85) Walkman	T3
86) Week-end	T3
87) Zoom	T3
EXTRA
1) Web	T3
2) Basketball	T3
3) Volleyball	T3
4) Stretch	T3
5) Reporter	T3
6) Cool	T3
7) Lol	T3
8) Parking	T3
9) Shopping	T3
10) Has been	T3
11) Fun	T3
12) Fake	T3	T2 certaines personnes
13) Goal average (in French goalavérage)	T3	T2 Yes to the French version
14) Freeride	T3
15) Freestyle	T3
16) Melting pot	T3
17) Cool	T3
18) Post		T2 La poste but not the English version
19) “Customizer”	T3
20) Shooter (verb-photograph)	T3	T3 Shooter for football

Teacher grid

T1 = Teacher 1 = 60+

T2 = Teacher 2 = 45+ (English teacher)

T3 = Teacher 3 = 25+ (Sports teacher)

NB:

• Teachers’ questionnaires were carried out in an informal manner in the staffroom with me approaching each staff member, explaining what the questionnaire was about, and then either them just filling it out as T3 did, or also having an informal chat with me, as with T1 and T2
• T1 only gave me definitions of how he would use certain English words in French/ what they meant for him
• T2 Only ticked up to word 54 (punching ball) but did give some definitions and sentences with English words included or the French translation on both sides of the page to show she knew what they meant.
• T3 Ticked both sides of the paper provided and gave some explanations of how English words are used in French/ what they mean to her

 

From my results, it is clear to see that both the staff members and the students all knew a large variety of words on the list and were able to provide me with some sentences of how they are used in French, or of their understanding of the meaning of these words. It was also evident that the staff knew some different words to students and used them different ways – for example, the word “light” was used by T1 in terms of cigarettes, whereas the pupils (although they didn’t write any explanation), when spoken to mentioned that they used “light” in terms of “cola light”.

Furthermore, the sports teacher was the only person to say that she would use the verb “shooter” in English in “football” terms, whereas when asked all the students said they would use it to mean taking a photo; showing that different jobs potentially have an impact on the type of English learnt and used as well as age being a factor. T2 also mentioned that “shooter” could be drug related, which was also not picked up on by any of my young students.

I hope that within the next few week I will be able to get my pupils to complete their questionnaires and maybe hand out a few more to different aged students and teachers so that I will have more results and be able to get a more well-rounded idea of the knowledge and use of English words in French.

I am also hoping to start doing some formal interviews soon to get a more in-depth, qualitative view of English use in French, and then be able to compare it with my questionnaires.

(NB: All questionnaires given to and filled out by my pupils take place within the college, in school time (during either a normal lesson or during my cours supplémentaires), the recorded results in the table are all anonymous and I have informed the teachers about my use of the materials taken in class being used in my project. As it is completely anonymous it is no issue for them, and I am not aware that I need to get any protocol forms signed.)