STUDENTS at a school in Sonning are enjoying a taste of France in their language lessons thanks to the expertise of a classroom assistant on a cultural exchange.
Reading Blue Coat School, in Sonning Lane, welcomed Max Graveline at the beginning of the autumn term as a French Language Assistant as part of the British Council’s Modern Language Assistant programme, which aims to bring language and culture to life for pupils in the classroom.
Max, who is from Lorient in Brittany, decided to join the programme after graduating from university.
He said: “I graduated with a degree in Foreign Languages last year, and I chose to apply as a French Language Assistant mainly because I wanted to live abroad for a time and improve my language skills before starting my working life. I’ve been here for only two months and I’ve already met good friends, helpful colleagues and endearing students.
“I assist the French teachers during their classes, mainly by answering the questions and doubts of the pupils, and I also work with the Year 12 and 13 students that are studying for their AS and A2 level in French; I try to help them with their spoken French.
“I don’t know about the average French level of the other schools in England but my students are rather good, which allows me to discuss interesting subjects with them. It is at the same time intense and interesting because I constantly need to exercise my initiative and creativity in order to offer activities that match the level of my students and arouse their curiosity.”
Blue Coat’s Head of French, Aran Maddocks, said: “This is the fourth year that we have employed a French assistant from the British Council and, like his predecessors, Max is proving to be a real asset to the department. Our Language Assistants for French, German and Spanish take weekly conversation classes with Sixth Form students and this regular contact enables the pupils to truly develop their spoken fluency.
“Max also works alongside teachers in the classroom, where he helps to deliver lessons. It is clear that our junior language learners really enjoy having a young native speaker to support them.”
