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Working with an advanced level text: cyber-bullying

Below is an example resource from frenchteacher.net. It's typical of the type of reading-based material I enjoyed working with and which works well with A-Level students. The general principles of language learning apply here; interesting input (also relevant to the syllabus), plenty of interaction, integration of the four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing, a good deal of recycling and acquisition of new vocabulary.

In the example below, I included a pre-reading discussion (though I don't think these are always needed). the subject matter is the Fre ch government's idea to counter cyber-bullying in schools, which has come to the fore in the news following the suicide of a teenager in Poissy.

The exercises I have used can partly be done orally, in writing or both. I liked to do oral questions with the whole class, then let them re-do them in pairs, or note down their answers to recycle the language. The answers to pre-reading questions could be noted down before discussion starts.

I always liked to read aloud the main text to ensure that students read it closely and at the right pace. I then would ask students to read aloud themselves, either in pairs or to the whole group, a short section at a time. This allows for a second pass at the text so that the meaning is slowly absorbed. Initial reactions can start to take shape.

I included some morphological work, as I often do in my resources. In this case, it's about relating nouns to verbs, so that students get a feel for common inflections and word endings. This can help them produce new language themselves.

Note that the text is not too long - this means there is more time for interaction and less time spent on deciphering the text. If a text gets too long, it's easy to neglect the interaction and recycling needed for thorough processing.

One other note: online bullying is a potentially sensitive issue - indeed some teachers may wish to avoid it altogether for that reason. But that's your call and partly depends on how well you know your students. As a topic, it has the potential to generate a lot of discussion and interest.

Des cours d’empathie pour contrer le fléau du harcèlement scolaire

Pré-lecture

1.    C’est quoi. Le harcèlement scolaire ?

2.    Quelles formes peut prendre ce genre de harcèlement ?

3.    Connaissez-vous des exemples de harcèlement, prenant compte des sensibilités de tout le monde ?

4.    Est-ce que votre école a pris des mesures pour contrer le harcèlement ?

harceler – to bully    le harcèlement – bullying   le cyber-harcèlement – online bullying

       une victime – victim              le harceleur/la harceleuse – bully    

le harcèlement moral – psychological bullying     le harcèlement physique – physical bullying

 

Lecture

Le gouvernement va revoir les programmes scolaires. Le ministre de l'Education nationale, Gabriel Attal, a annoncé en septembre 2023 la mise en place de « cours d'empathie inscrits dans le programme scolaire », « Ã  l'image de ce qui existe dans d'autres pays, notamment au Danemark », qui seraient généralisés à l'école à partir de la rentrée 2024. Dès janvier 2024, une Ã©cole pilote dans chaque département expérimenterait ces cours.

En 2023 on a assisté en France à un « tsunami de témoignages venant des établissements scolaires. Ils ont été multipliés par trois par rapport aux chiffres de septembre 2022.

Plusieurs mesures avaient déjà été mises en place en 2023 pour renforcer la lutte contre ce fléau, dont la possibilité de changer d'établissements les élèves harceleurs. Cela évite d'imposer ce changement à la victime, ou de pouvoir sanctionner un auteur de cyberharcèlement contre un élève d'un autre établissement. Le ministre Gabriel Attal a affirmé vouloir une « tolérance zéro contre toutes les formes de harcèlement ».

Le harcèlement à l'école touche un élève sur dix, selon les associations. En septembre 2023 il était au cÅ“ur de l'actualité après un nouveau drame, le suicide du jeune Nicolas, 15 ans, à Poissy (Yvelines) le 5 septembre.

Vocabulaire

to review - ______                  curriculum - _______ ______ (m)      setting up - ___ _ ____ (f)

written - ______                      in particular – n_________                 to spread – g__________

to witness – a______ _           story – t___________ (m)                compared with - __ _____ _

figures - _______ (m.pl.)        fight - _____ (f)                                   scourge – f____ (m)

to avoid - ________                to punish - __________                      to affect - ______

news – a_________ (f)           tragedy - _____ (m)

 

Questions

1.    Qu’est-ce que le gouvernement a décidé de faire ? Pourquoi ?

2.    Comment est-ce qu’on allait introduire cette politique (policy) ?

3.    Que s’était-il passé en 2023 ?

4.    Qu’est-ce qu’on avait déjà fait pour lutter contre le problème ?

5.    C’est quoi, la tolérance zéro ?

6.    C’est quoi, un tsunami ?

7.    Quels sont les chiffres concernant le harcèlement à l’école ?

Travail lexical

Trouvez dans le texte des NOMS (nouns) associés aux verbes suivants :

                gouverner, témoigner, lutter, établir, associer, harceler, changer

Complétez cette nouvelle version du même article. Utilisez des mots dans la case

augmentation         lutte         nouveau          existe         harcèlement         expérimenter  enregistré          éviter             touche             réviser            seraient             cours


Le gouvernement envisage de (1) _________ les programmes scolaires. En septembre 2023, le ministre de l'Éducation nationale, Gabriel Attal, a annoncé l'introduction de            (2) _________ d'empathie intégrés au curriculum scolaire, inspirés de ce qui (3) _________ dans d'autres pays, notamment au Danemark, et qui (4) _________ généralisés dans les écoles à partir de la rentrée 2024. Dès janvier 2024, une école pilote serait mise en place dans chaque département pour (5) _________ ces cours.

En 2023, la France a connu une forte (6) _________ des témoignages provenant des établissements scolaires, atteignant trois fois le nombre (7) _________ en septembre 2022. Plusieurs mesures avaient déjà été mises en place en 2023 pour renforcer la (8) _________ contre ce fléau, notamment la possibilité pour les élèves harceleurs de changer d'établissement. Cette mesure vise à (9) _________ d'imposer ce changement à la victime et à permettre de sanctionner les auteurs de cyberharcèlement provenant d'autres établissements. Le ministre Gabriel Attal a affirmé sa volonté d'adopter une tolérance zéro contre toutes les formes de (10) _________.

Selon les associations, le harcèlement à l'école (11) _________ un élève sur dix. En septembre 2023, il est revenu au premier plan de l'actualité suite à un (12) _________ drame, le suicide du jeune Nicolas, âgé de 15 ans, à Poissy (Yvelines) le 5 septembre.

 

Test de vocabulaire

Interrogez un(e) partenaire sur le vocabulaire du texte original.

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