Earn more money...by learning a second language

It's human nature. A good headline grabs our attention.

Take the following...

Why did Personality X have to leave her high-paying job on  (insert name of show)? 

Me pretending to be scandal-pursued Personality X

Oooh...Scandal? Intrigue? No, just foolishness on my part to have been conned into clicking on the article, as it was an ad, pure and simple, for a new product that Personality X was selling.


Is this what I've done to you today? No doubt my blog stats will give me a partial answer. Perhaps this is what we need to do to our secondary students to improve the startlingly low (and declining) numbers studying a second language in Australia? I'm willing to give it a go, but I suspect that they are way too savvy - and also, given that the anniversary of the death of Francoise Dolto has just passed and debate has once again sprung up about the 'enfant roi' in our recent parenting strategies, they may not be at all inclined to take what they may consider as an unnecessary, hard road ahead ..."I only need English. The whole world speaks English", I hear them say.

Hold on a minute. Give me a chance to convince you. Consider the new improved language-learning you* who can

• tune out noise more easily
• see things with a different perspective
• make sharper judgement calls
• have a better memory
• focus better in a crowd
• have improved mental well-being
• be a better problem solver
• have superior listening skills
• multitask masterfully

AND,

... wait for it...you can EARN MORE MONEY.

Plus, my dear teenagers, these benefits are for life - they don't just evaporate as quickly as the proud glow of making it through your final school exams; they may actually provide you with resistance to the onset of Alzheimer's or dementia. OK, that as a clincher is probably not going to work.



I had a blog post going round and round in my head last night. Eventually, in order to get some sleep, I had to get up and jot down some notes. It was vaguely centred around the differences between French and Australian education, and was probably prompted by my son's enthusiastic description of his last Friday's Maths class. (Haha says the teacher in me, the choice of Friday afternoon was not a coincidence.)

His class had been taken to the sports oval where, along with another class, they had been asked to make a straight line. Then, representing an angle corresponding to their position in the line (my son was number 66), they were to work out the sine of their particular angle and walk to this spot along an imaginary y-axis. A lovely flowing sine curve (and the possibility that he will remember the value of sin 66 for a long time) was the result. Woohoo - a great lesson from his perspective. Why? Because it was physical and visual but also different and communal.

How, though, did my son's description of his Maths class lead me to thinking about language learning? Some might argue that most things do. The thing is that headline-grabbing subject descriptors, or promises of future success are not enough to convince high-school students that they should take a particular subject. No doubt, the bells and whistles do help, but a teacher (like my son's Maths teacher on Friday) who is not only knowledgeable, but passionate, motivating and inspired to change things around according to the particular group of students that she or he has is, for me, the biggest factor in student success.

And this is where I am brought back to France and French education; it is true that language learning there is viewed as a significant plus and, from my admittedly limited experience, the expected level of the foreign languages taught is high (and higher than in Australia), but the students remain lacking in confidence and the teaching is often rigid and uncompromising.

Imagine if, in Australia, we could find some of the discipline (subject matter) attention and importance attributed to languages as per the French approach to language learning and if, in France, the language classes could be more exciting, student-centred and communicatively (less grammatically) oriented.

Who knows, we might then be speaking each other's languages.

* full article here   

PS  For more, take a look at this TED talk (where language changes your perspective) 
http://bit.ly/2J6QI3H

*** I wrote about our family's French adventure in 'But you are in France, Madame',  click on the following link for a Kindle  or a print copy

Aix marks the spot - Part One

In previous blogs, I have introduced you to other Australian families who, like us, have been so drawn to France that they have up-ended their 'normal' and headed there to live. What is interesting is that each of us has a very different story. Of course, there are similarities (from the simple - markets, fresh food to the complex - profound emotions) but our stories - what we have each done, what we hoped to get from our experiences, how long we stayed and where we stayed - have varied quite significantly.

Today, in Part One of 'Aix marks the spot', we meet Meredith, her husband and their two children who left Sydney for their French life in Aix-en-Provence. 

What was it that prompted you to head to France with your family?  

My husband is a natural cook and had studied catering with the French chefs.  From that day on, he wanted to live in France.  It was all my husband’s idea, although he would say that I made it happen.  

 To undertake a trip such as yours there must have been a fair amount of preparation? What were some of the things on your pre-departure to-do list and do you have any hints for families who might be thinking of doing the same thing?

There is an enormous amount of work that goes into living in another country.  We made our decision to leave Sydney around February 2010 and were on our way 4/5 months later.  My husband had been talking about wanting to live in France for so long that I was sick of hearing about it.  I gave him an ultimatum, that we either go in August 2010 or that he simply never mention it again.

He looked me in the eye and said “Alright, let’s do it”.   

I held out my hand and replied “You have to shake on it”. 

And he did.

We always felt that 1 year would never be enough and assumed 1-3 years would be the probable outcome. The children were 7 and 10 years old when we left and almost 10 and 13 when we returned, two and a half years later. 

So, probably the main piece of advice that I would give to any prospective families wanting a similar sea change is to allow as much time as possible.  It takes most people a year to settle in and the last thing you want to do is to have to turn around and come back.  

Of course, packing up a family and moving to Europe is no easy task.  You just need to make extensive lists and work your way through them. Given that I have a British passport and my husband and I both spoke some French, we had quite an advantage to start with.

I would certainly suggest that anybody thinking of living in France should start learning the language in earnest.  On the other hand,  don’t be put off if you don’t speak French.  Most French speak English and it is relatively easy to get around without it. 

How did you choose where you would live? Did this area live up to your expectations? 

Once we’d decided to move to France, I asked my husband the same question,

"Where do you want to live?".   He looked at me as if I was an ‘imbécile’,

“The south of France, where else would you go?”.  And he was right.

My search began with schools.  We assumed the kids would go to an international school and I could only really find three such schools in the south.  There were two on the Côte d’Azur and one in Aix-en-Provence.  Put simply ‘Aix marked the spot’ and that was where we went.

Aix-en-Provence boasts 300 days of sunshine a year, is 25 minutes from the sea, 3 hours by TGV to Paris and is the gateway to the Luberon valley.  It was no surprise that Aix was voted the most desirable place to live in France by the French!

  

I really didn’t have any expectations.  We were going to live in the South of France and we were going to have a totally different life experience with our kids.

  

Of course, it was extraordinary and the best thing we ever did.

You have two children. How easily did they make the transition into French living? Can you tell us a bit about their experiences of school, making friends, adjusting to new routines, food etc? 

We actually decided to put the kids in the local French school initially, which only lasted 4 months.  My youngest son was struggling with phonetics in English and therefore he was drowning in French.  I was very proud of them both, they never cried.  They just went off every day to school and came home talking about what they had for lunch. That is the best thing ever. The French schools provide a 3-course lunch every day for the kids and it is outstanding.

We quickly decided that having an authentic ‘French’ experience wasn’t as important as having happy children and therefore settled on an ‘International’ experience, moving them to the local International school.  They were ecstatic and loved the change.

They adapted very quickly to their new school and once they had English speaking friends they were very content.  They quickly became connoisseurs of olive oil, cheese and what was the best saucisson at the market.  But they never really embraced going to museums and art galleries, they were far more interested in skiing and climbing trees.

Once settled, what did a typical day look like for you and your husband?

A typical day started with us checking our emails for any work issues back home.  Then we would drive the kids 15 minutes to school stopping on the way back for a morning coffee and a few fresh goods at the market.

  

If it was a Tuesday we would be going direct to the hiking group, a combination of French and international people being led all over Provence to places you would never find on your own.

Two days a week we would go into the centre ville for our French classes.  We only lived 5 kms from town but it was always fun to go into Aix for French lessons followed by a wander around the market and lunch.

We had to work a bit from home but this would normally be followed by walks around the property, a visit to the local Set club for tennis, or an excursion around the region.

We were kid free during the day so we had plenty of time to explore.

And my husband would delight in deciding what he would cook for dinner and then cook something delicious every night.

In Part Two of 'Aix marks the spot', Meredith will share some of their more colourful moments living in France and talks about their eventual return to Australia. 

PS A sneak preview to the continuation of this story is that Meredith loves the area so much that she joined forces with a company called On The Tee Travel to create and host some exciting ‘Golf Getaways’ to Provence, The Riviera and even Mallorca, Spain.  More next time...

https://www.onthetee.com.au/provenceandluberon/

https://www.onthetee.com.au/

Plus...in Part Two, a funny episode related to the following photo will be revealed.

I wrote about our family's French adventure in 'But you are in France, Madame', please contact me on cb222@me.com for a print copy or click on the following link for a Kindle copy.

And finally, I am linking this post with #farawayfiles - varied collection of travel stories.

In the French kitchen with kids by Mardi Michels

Opened, unwrapped, studied, a quick flick through and then to the ‘acknowledgements’. I, myself, am not a cook, although I am looking forward to proving myself wrong with a cookbook for ‘…francophiles of all ages’. I am, however, gluttonous for stories and even more so when these stories enable me to meet and learn about people. Thus, straight to the end of ‘in the French kitchen with kids’, where my inkling about this Australian-born, French-loving, Canadian-living lady was proved right. Mardi is also a passionate people person. Her book was created with others, for others and it is clearly important to Mardi that she encourage families, and kids, to cook, discover and learn together. ‘In the French kitchen with kids’ happens to be about French cooking, as France is another of Mardi’s passions, but I sense that it could just as easily have been about any cuisine as long as togetherness was at its heart.

Australian-born, just like Mardi, I took my family to live in France when my children were 6, 9 and 12. At school, a vegemite sandwich, piece of fruit and a treat for recess was no longer the way to go. Instead, the children stayed at school for a generous three-course meal on occasions or came home to enjoy their two-hour lunch break on others. There was a third option; eating at a friend’s house. Only, invitations in meant invitations out… Whilst all of my children’s friends were exceptionally polite and ate whatever we put in front of them, the stress of providing an acceptably French meal was real. If I had been armed with Mardi’s cookbook (which covers actual food eaten by real French children), I would have known what sauce to serve with the pork cutlets, how to prepare a good vinaigrette to mix with salad leaves, that fish fingers could be an acceptable option and how to check when my beans were ready.

I am going to leave the detailed food commentary to those more qualified than me, but make mention of the little tidbits, facts and ‘did-you-knows’ throughout, plus Mardi’s personal anecdotes (why vegetable soup is included being my favourite). These turn the book from a set of instructions into a story – and what kid doesn’t love a story?

Practical details:

Published by appetite by Random House

Length 184 pages

Recipes divided into sections: breakfast, lunch, after-school snacks, dinner, dessert, special occasions and basic pastry recipes along with tips for cooking with kids and lists of equipment.

Available world wide: Amazon for print and ebook copies

PS: As a somewhat impatient cook, when I witnessed a French friend in Australia prepare baguettes in front of me, with minimum fuss and a modicum of waiting (2 hours) for the dough to rise, I determined to see for myself if they required an authentic French touch or just any old (mine) would do. Click here to find out what happened.

choux puff tower - pièce montée

Thank-you, Mardi for generously sending me a copy of your book. It has been a pleasure to get to know you and to witness your enthusiasm for everything that you do. I wish you much success with this, your latest endeavour.

If you would like to find out more about Mardi, the best place to start is here at her eatlivetravelwrite website or in Mardi's own words:

Follow me!

Thanks so much for your support (always!). Please follow me on my various social media channels (and tag me if you make something from the book!)

Like my page on Facebook (this is the best place to keep up to date with book events, signings etc…)

Follow me on Instagram

Follow me on Twitter 

Or to rent Mardi's house in south-west France click here

***Purchase your copy of 'But you are in France, Madame', which takes you with us on our French adventure, at Amazon, here ***

The Book Podcast with Rosemary Puddy

Photo credit: @grosgrainhomewares

On Christmas Day 2017, I wrote a blog post. Actually, by the time I had finished it, we were into the small hours of the next morning. It hadn't been a normal Christmas and, truthfully, the morning itself had been a little sombre. Getting out into the mountains for a lunchtime picnic had changed our perspective and cheered us up and by mid-afternoon, watching Die Hard, sipping champagne and anticipating our festive dinner, things were back on track.  Receiving notification that my interview on The Book Podcast was live, was the icing on the cake.

I didn't make much of it at the time and it got a little lost in Christmas, yet Rosemary's program deserves attention. Her story is that, after a stint on local radio, she was at home in her library examining her extensive collection of books when it struck her that very few books on her shelves were by women writers and even fewer by Australian women writers.

Was this because there weren't many Australian women writers? Was it because they weren't very good? Was it because they were overlooked in a male-dominated domain? She decided to find out and set about creating her podcast by reading books by, and then interviewing, Australian women writers. Her first interview aired in February 2017 and a year and a half later, her program is still going strong. Typically, one interview is played per week on a Tuesday morning in Australia.

Completely off the topic, I have just started running again (after a slight mishap when skiing in January). For this, my treadmill is brilliant as I can pace myself, set goals and speed up or slow down knowingly. It is also the perfect opportunity to listen to one of Rosemary's podcasts.

If you are a reader, or a writer, I would really encourage you to click on the link to The Book Podcast - link here. You will hear the back stories to the books, get hints on the craft of writing and will, I am sure, find Rosemary's interview style personal and easy to listen to. Each interview lasts for approximately 30 minutes.

My interview was Episode 43 Catherine Berry 'But you are in France, Madame'. Rosemary and I chatted about why I went to France with my family, the preparation phase, how the children settled into French living, coming back to Australia, why I wrote 'But you are in France, Madame' and whether that had been an objective all along (no!).

If you get a chance to check out the podcast and like what you hear, you can ensure that you don't miss future episodes by subscribing. It's free.

By the way, Rosemary's answers to the questions that she had asked herself - undoubtedly, there are many excellent Australian women writers. She hopes that her program is helping to bring them the attention and accolades that they deserve.

If, after listening to our interview, you would like to read about our family's French adventure, please contact me on cb222@me.com for a print copy of 'But you are in France, Madame', or click on the following link for a Kindle copy.

Porky pies

C'est du pipeau! That's a porky pie...or is it?

Truth be told, this brief (therefore highly consumable) article tells me that I can (speak more than one language) so therefore I might (tell a lie easily). I do (speak my own language well) so I am a highly functioning liar.

Ah. Those childhood chants come back to haunt me:

...liar, liar, pants on fire...

Et pourtant je suis simple et je n'aime pas le mensonge. Je le jure. .... Je suis plutôt un mensonge. Un mensonge qui dit toujours la vérité (Cocteau)