Sunday school

Vickie Allen shares her experiences of a rentrée of a different kind at St Marc’s English Speaking Church, Grenoble.

Last week children donned their cartables as the mass rentrée began. Schools and universities across France once again filled with students of all ages, embarking on the new academic year. Some approached the gates with a little anticipation, I’m sure, but all the students crossed the threshold with the knowledge that ahead of them lay new skills, new insights, new friends and a new, increased understanding of how the world works. But it wasn’t just full-time students who were digging out their cahiers and stylos.

Sunday morning marked a return to the classroom of the Adult Sunday School at St Marc’s English Speaking Church, Grenoble. I joined the class last spring, keen to gain a more in-depth understanding of the Bible, a more intellectual understanding of my faith. A small class of just four, we found the discussions of the Gospels inspiring and informative.

Lead by the pastor, Stephen Coffin, classes centred on a reading from the Gospels, putting them in their the socio-historical context as well as exploring the descriptions of Jesus and his life from our basis of faith. As last term came to an end, we prayed for a larger class that could enjoy the teaching as much as we did, and would enable some more lively and varied discussions. Our prayers were answered and on Sunday morning we were a group of nine.

The first day of school is often spent easing students back into study and it was no different for us at the Adult Sunday School. The new term’s theme is the letters of the New Testament, many (but not all, as we learned) written by Paul. We looked at the social history of the time, the way letters were written, how they were carried and the language used. I was fascinated to learn that Paul wrote his letters in an everyday, colloquial Greek rather than the formal Greek more often used by those educated enough to be able to write. This simple language was more effective in reaching the audience and reminded me of the first published translation of the Bible from Latin by Martin Luther in the 16th century. We also discussed Paul’s travels in and around the Mediterranean, looking at maps of the familiar landmasses, marked with the ancient cities of Thessalonica, Antioch and Corinth.

As the lesson came to a close we were given our homework; to read Thessalonians I and II. With the historical and social context fresh in our minds, these letters will spring to life for us as we start to delve into Paul’s message to Christians throughout time. We’re still a small group and would love you to join us and gain a greater understanding of the Bible.

The Adult Sunday School at St Marc’s English Speaking Church meets at 9.30am every Sunday morning and is conducted in English. Services (which follow the Anglican format) start at 10.45am during which there is also Sunday School for children aged 2-11 and a youth group. The congregation typically swells at this time of year as families return from their summer holidays and students arrive. For more information, visit St Marc’s.

Destination Oisans: Photos, films and thoughts on the reality of life in the mountains.

The A-WA-KEN, South African Faction logo

Carol, Sky and XiaXiahn of AWAKEN South African Faction

GL: Why “A-WA-KEN”?

XiaXiahn: A-WA-KEN is derived from the word Awaken. We chose the name in representation of very many things beginning with the simple act of ‘waking’. Waking from our dreams, waking up to our selves. Waking up to the moment and the inevitable awakening of new and shared experiences.

We are awake and open to the art of possibility within each day…

GL: What sort of activities are you offering?

XiaXiahn: A-WA-KEN is an in-depth South African experience of artistic expression incorporating dance, music and art. We also host various fun-filled English activities available under our A-WA-KEN Papillon umbrella. We are open Mondays to Saturdays 07h30–18h00. For the summer holidays we will be hosting exciting English craft workshops for children throughout the month of August and we re-open officially as of the 12th of September 2011.

Currently our general sessions for children are filled with fairy tales, artistic crafts and creative movement. We incorporate natural elements into our arts and crafts activities whilst adhering to the principle of Anglais en s’amusant. Our program is designed to be flexible and these lessons are adapted to suit the relevant age-groups of the children in question. We also offer Soutien Scolaire, family playcare and babysitting services.

Our adult members explore the dynamics of language through conversation and creative writing. We host ‘Survival English’ meetings for travellers and English conversation sessions.

We offer natural, organic meals and snacks on request as well as an opportunity to sample authentic South African foods one evening a month at our A-WA-KEN dinner.

 

Handcrafted books created at A-WA-KEN

GL: How can people find out more information and/or get involved?

XiaXiahn: For more information please contact us directly by telephone or via e-mail as we prefer a personal approach. Our contact details are as follows:

Meylan

Please contact Carol (landline: 04 76 59 31 95; mobile: 06 12 65 64 14)

Grenoble (12 bis Quai Mounier, 2ème étage, St Laurent, 38000, Grenoble)

Please contact XiaXiahn (pronunciation similar to Josiane) and Sky (landline: 04 76 03 12 74; mobile: 06 38 48 70 84)

awaken@orange.fr

skype me ° waken.awaken

Our website is under construction and will be ‘live’ on the 15th August 2011. Our ‘A-WA-KEN Online Store’ will offer a unique opportunity to order personalized items directly from our website as well as handcrafted items. Keep an eye out for our Facebook group. Follow us on twitter and subscribe to our newsletter.

GL: What are A-Wa-Ken’s plans for the future?

XiaXiahn: In light of our Ubuntu culture we are in the process of expanding our enterprise into a multicultural centre where English and the Arts come together to create a platform for creativity and diversity, expanding individuality in a space which caters for children and adults alike. We hope to inspire a ‘community-based’ youth project for teenagers focused on ‘Ubuntu in action. We are currently operating from a small and lively venue in Grenoble in addition to a small space in Meylan while we explore our options for an independent location.

We will be incorporating the following new and exciting avenues for creative exploration into our program in the near future: Social dancing – our group or individual classes will become a vehicle for practicing the art of English conversation whilst learning to dance. Gumboot fusion – incorporating an eclectic mix of tribal, urban and contemporary movements accompanied by drumming will offer us an insider view of South African culture at its best.

We will at long last be launching ‘eYe’ – a unique form of transcendental movement experienced through ambient and digital sound which takes us on a journey deep within ourselves. We look forward to crafting and making use of African musical instruments to explore rhythm and sound. We will host the A-WA-KEN Festival once a year for our members to showcase their talents.

We can’t wait to welcome you into our South African home …

The façade of Cité Scolaire Internationale, host to the American School of Grenoble

ASG headmistress Carol Margaret Bitner

The ASG logo

The many flags of the Open House logo

English-speaking voyager Maureen Walsh describes the soft landing in Grenoble provided by the local expat association Open House.

Our sojourn from the United States this past July and our settlement in Grenoble for my husband’s one year sabbatical at the Grenoble Ecole de Management was sometimes fraught with both expected and unanticipated difficulties and inconveniences. Getting our OFII (l’Office Français de l’Immigration et de l’Intégration) stamps, cellphone, TV and Internet service, bank accounts and apartment in our adopted city took time, energy and patience. Now that that is behind us, it struck me how those trials were often softened by all the hospitable people who put out the “welcome mat” for us here in Grenoble.

Before we had left Raleigh, North Carolina for Grenoble, I had done a cursory Internet search for possible groups we might join to integrate ourselves more easily into French culture. At that time I came across Grenoble Life’s March 2010 piece, Anglophone Grenoble, a rough guide, and its reference to Open House Grenoble, a group that has been around helping English-speaking voyagers just like us since 1987. I tucked the link into my computer favorites list thinking that it just might be what we were looking for once we had finally touched down in Grenoble.

After settling into Grenoble, I bee-lined to the Open House Grenoble website to find some particulars about upcoming events we might be able to enjoy. I saw that they held a weekly Tuesday morning informal get-together called Coffee Chat at a local café where the conversational language was English. It sounded like the perfect introduction to the organization without having to broadcast our beginning French language ineptitude. We met at that time in the centre ville at Pain et Cie, but have since moved to Take-Away at La Caserne de Bonne. We were delighted to find a mixture of amicable French and English speaking people who seemed eager to befriend us.

Soon after, those of us who were regulars at Coffee Chat questioned why a similar morning meet-up couldn’t be created for speaking solely in French. (Yikes!) Café Français was born this January and slowly built a following on Thursday mornings coming together at our old stomping grounds, Pain et Cie café. This became a great opportunity to share a coffee, stumble over our French words and have native French speakers patiently help us with the practical issues we have negotiating life here in Grenoble.

When my husband, Steven, and I formally became card-carrying OHG members in September, we discovered the French-English Exchange group that meets two Friday mornings a month at CLEF (Association des Centres de loisirs Enfance et Famille). This group converses on impromptu topics and plays often humorous games aimed at language learning, dividing the time together between French and English conversations.

Getting our feet wet with the language groups led us to check out other OHG interest groups. No one organization can be all things to all people, but Steve and I have found that we can dabble in many groups that appeal to us. We have sometimes found our way on Thursday evenings to local Grenoble pubs including Le Family Pub for Chill-Out Evenings, stopping to share a drink and some conversation. And for me, the former English major, the Open House Book Group has filled a special spot. Our circle of between 10-12 bookworms gathers at the café, Le 5, at the Musée de Grenoble once a month where lively, stimulating and intelligent conversation ensues about the books we read in English. In the same location, once a month the Creative Writers Alliance meets to support both fledgling and veteran writers alike allowing them to share their trials and triumphs.

There are some OHG groups that we won’t be joining. Since we don’t have young children here in Grenoble, we don’t fit into the Baby & Toddler Activities group nor will we be participating in the holiday-related activities suited for older children. But as we still have some time ahead of our departure and with Spring on the horizon, we hope to join some of the outdoor groups that participate in Mountain & Outdoors activities and Cycling. Of interest, as well, is the fitness-oriented Wellness group that comes together at CLEF on Tuesday evenings with Hula dancing or occasional workshops featuring activities such as yoga, shiatsu, reflexology or aromatherapy.

Last, but definitely not least, OHG also provides opportunities to delve into the gustatory world. We already drink BEAUCOUP de café et de thé during language exchanges, but there is also an active Wine Tasting group which explores regional wines in members’ homes. With the planned monthly Lunch Out opportunities we can sample different Grenoble restaurants in the company of other adventuresome souls. Recently, we lunched at the Hôtel Lesdiguières, the lycée for hotel and restaurant management here in Grenoble, but with the myriad of restaurants in Grenoble we have an eclectic list from which to choose. Open House has also in past years hosted a Christmas Apéro and a Summer Picnic where members and their families have gathered together for good food and fun times in the spirit of the seasons.

Our life in Grenoble has undoubtedly been filled with one-of-a-kind opportunities and welcoming people. We have been fortunate to be able to partake of the Open House Grenoble activities, and we’re going to truly miss all these good friends when we must return to the U.S. So the next time a friend from home asks me how I spend my time here, I’ll just have to point them to this article or to our blog, A Year in Grenoble, and let them envy all the convivial opportunities we’re going to very reluctantly leave behind with our Open House friends.

A detail from the cover of Thora van Male's book, 'Liaisons généreuses'

Grenoble Life talks to Thora van Male, author of Les liaisons généreuses – l’apport de français à la langue anglaise, ahead of a talk she is giving organised by Alliance Grenoble-Oxford on April 7.

Grenoble Life: What is the topic of the talk you have organised with Alliance Grenoble-Oxford?

Thora van Male: I’m going to be talking about my latest book, Liaisons généreuses. It deals with the huge debt that English owes to the French language. We English speakers (I’m from British Columbia, in Canada) are more aware of this than the French are. My impression is that in France, people are so obsessed with the supposed invasion of English into French, that they don’t realize that, a) English would not be much at all without French, and that, b) a lot of the words that are coming from English to French are just returning home, so to speak.

When you see the many many areas where words from French predominate in English, it really makes you think; such subjects as law, religion, cooking, life in society, politics. There are very few areas of life in English whose vocabulary is not affected by – French.

GL: Who should come to the talk?

Thora: Well, I will be speaking in English, which means the talk is aimed at people who are interested in and speak some English. All the AGO people speak French, though, as do I, and the question session after the talk will be bilingual and bicultural, so to speak.

In terms of the content of my talk, it will probably be more of an eye-opener for French people than for the Anglo-Saxophones, as I call us. However, I intend to make the talk interesting and accessible to everyone. And I hope to provide a few chuckles, if not guffaws.

GL: How has the French relationship to the English language changed since you arrived in France?

Thora: Well, you know about the Loi Toubon that was voted in 1994; its objective was to prohibit the use of languages other than French (Read my lips: Eng-lish!) in official French documents, in business, in advertising, etc. This law also established quota rules about how much English-language music could be played on the radio, etc.

Just to put that into perspective, remember that the provincial government of Quebec had voted its Charter of the French language in 1977; this put legislative authority behind the enforcement of French as the language of government and law, as well as that of work, instruction, communication and commerce.

That being said — and people recognize this — English exercises a certain attraction to French speakers in France; dropping an English word here and there is considered to confer a touch of class. Conversely, as you know, the prestige of French exercises a huge influence on English speakers, to this day. Of course, English no longer borrows what I might call “meat and potato” words from French, words that English doesn’t have a name for — this is something I’ll be talking about — but there are still French words coming into English. I found this really noticeable in the latest issue of The Economist’s Intelligent Life. But also in a book of Woody Allen’s witticisms…

GL: As someone who has taught English at the University here in Grenoble and published books for learners of English, what changes have you witnessed in the way the language is taught in the French educational system?

Thora: There has been a continuing move towards getting learners to work with English in a “real world” environment. The conjugation tables and the translations that I grew up with gave way to audio language laboratories, but still with a lot of rote work. The Internet has totally changed that, and the focus is moving more towards experiencing English as it is spoken in environments that are meaningful to each learner. As I see it, that is a general trend.

GL: What needs to be improved?

Thora: Have you got a couple of hours? Judging from my students, I would say that in secondary education they need to hear more authentic English and to be dragged away from translation. They also need real-life experiences with English (Wouldn’t it be nice if English language films were shown on TV with English subtitles …). They also need to shed some inhibitions.

You remember the passage in My Fair Lady when Henry Higgins says “In France, every Frenchman knows his language from A to Z; they never care what they do, actually, as long as they pronounce it properly.” Well there is a grain of truth in this. Students just don’t want to pronounce a word unless they can spell it, and once they have the spelling they tend to “spell-pronounce” — you know, pronounce the L in ‘could’, etc. — in fact, pronounce every word as if it were French. The insecurity involved in jumping in and pronouncing a word that they might not know, or might not know the spelling of, just petrifies them!

But I should get off my hobby-horse: I love my job, and am quite willing, year in, year out, to put my heart and soul into teaching English to my students.

GL: Where do you teach?

Thora: Now, I teach only at the Institute of Political Science on the campus. But like so many expats (though I now have dual nationality) I taught English all over the place in Grenoble before I managed to get a post in the French university system.

GL: When did you originally come to Grenoble and why?

Thora: I came in 1970, with a scholarship from the French government. And I just never went back to Canada! I had always loved French … I think it was my mother who got me going when I was a child, when she taught me that silly song about “La plume de ma tante”. Had I stayed in Canada, I would no doubt have become a French teacher.

GL: You are a published expert on French dictionary illustrations.

Thora: Yes, I am, but my expertise is limited to those little ABC primer type compositions that represent several objects whose name starts with a certain letter. Though this is common in children’s’ alphabet books, France is the only country I know of that has them in dictionaries for adults as well. So when you look at the alphabet illustrations in a dictionary dated, say, in the 1850s, you have a sort of snapshot of French culture and society at that time. It is fascinating. To my amazement, this is a field that had never been researched until I got involved in it. It has been a lot of fun. Since there was no existing research on the subject, I really had to start at zero, and create the tools to analyse all these pictures. I even coined a word for them, since French didn’t really have one; and that involved a meeting Alain Rey, the author of the Petit Robert, a very interesting experience. I love the “treasure hunt” side of this work: you’ve got all these pictures, and you have to figure out what they represent. Plus, I’m always on the lookout for some dictionary that I haven’t yet come across.

GL: What sparked off this particular passion?

Thora: Well, I often jokingly answer this question by saying the answer is contained in an alphabetical list of things I love: A as in alphabet, B as in brocante, C as in calligraphy, D as in dictionary, E as in aesthetics, F as in France, G as in Grenoble, H as in hedonism … The dictionaries I work on are up to 150 years old, and their alphabetical illustrations really combine these elements. In fact I love the alphabet so much that one of my recent books is subtitled La Vie secrète de l’alphabet.

GL: You have also curated a touring exhibition about dictionary ornaments. Tell us about that and where we can see it.

Thora: Shortly after I published Art Dico, I was invited by the Lyons printing museum to curate an exhibition there. It was a lot of fun choosing among the many old illustrations, having huge blow-ups made of them, and showing the general public how rich this apparently naïve form of illustration can be. Another fun aspect was rounding up dozens of artefacts, finding the actual objects that appear in the illustrations. I presented two groups of 26 items, one for children and one for adults, and the game for the visitors was simply to find the names of all the objects. Many of these artefacts were things that people just don’t see today. What I loved about that part of the exhibition was that it showed how the world reflects the dictionary, as opposed to how the dictionary reflects the world. But I could go on about that for hours, too …

Chance being what it is, once the exhibition was over in Lyons, I met a man whose surname is almost identical to mine and who is both a calligrapher and an alphabet-exhibition manager. What serendipity! Bernard Vanmalle has now taken the ART DICO exhibition under his wing. It has circulated widely in France (mostly in public libraries and médiathèques). Unfortunately, it was in Grenoble three years ago for several months, so I do not think it will be here again in the near future …

GL: This wasn’t your first exhibition, though. You exhibited photographs of rue Brocherie at the Grenoble Maison de la Culture in 1981.

Thora: That was another really interesting project. I asked all the merchants on the street I live on to stand on their doorstep for a picture, and to tell me about the past history of their shop. Then I produced a set of panels that combined my photographs and some fabulous line drawings done by a man who worked at the Maison de la Culture at the time; I wrote a text about the history of each shop, and calligraphed it onto each panel.

This exhibition doesn’t circulate any more, and I hope that it will at some point join the Musée Dauphinois collection.

GL: Tell us about your charitable work and how our readers can get involved.

Thora: For several years, now, I have been volunteering in a soup kitchen in the centre of the old town. The association provides breakfast every morning, hot lunch twice a week in the winter months, clothing, food hampers and a variety of other services. The people who come are not all homeless, but they are all in fairly distressing situations (this can include being a refugee, having mental health issues, drug or alcohol problems, or just plain poverty). We have between 40 and 100 people every morning.

If your readers want to help us, one thing we are always in need of is men’s shoes. They can be dropped off at 4 bis rue du Vieux Temple, any week day between 8:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. The association also accepts monetary donations; I myself am very interested in donations in kind, however, and can promise you that any shoes that are given will find a pair of needy feet!

Thora van Male will be talking about her new book at Maison des Langues on campus on Thursday April 7 at 6.30pm. Contact Alliance Grenoble-Oxford for more information.

Wing It Productions logo

Grenoble Life talks to Hélène Perrin-Gouron, Vicki Bernard and Katie Coakley – aka Wing It Productions – a new English theatre group for secondary school pupils in and around Grenoble.

Grenoble Life: Who is Wing It Productions?

Hélène Perrin-Gouron: Three passionate women who have always loved and done some theater; one French having lived in the US, one English, and one Irish.

Vicki Bernard: Sounds like the beginning of a joke…

Katie Coakley: Oh thanks, ladies. I’m the Irish one (‘wanting desperately’ to change the subject)! We’re part of the abc anglais association, which aims at helping people ‘learn, improve or maintain their level of English in the most natural manner’. Our goal is to open this theatre activity to the entire secondary school community in and around Grenoble.

Hélène: That is… for this first year. I have the High School population (15-18/19) in mind too, the college students, etc.

GL: What is the philosophy of the group?

Vicki: Having worked so often with young people, we have really been able to see how much the theatre can bring them in terms of self-confidence, team-work (relying on others), their creativity and imagination.

Katie: The fact that we use English purely as a vehicle means that they improve their English without even realising it.

Hélène: I would add to this that one of the most positive things to come out of the work with young ones is the bonding that they experience. The show becomes bigger than every single one of them, and us.

Katie: Very much so! It also eradicates the age differences.

GL: What ideas do you have for your first productions?

Katie: Although we’re going to keep that secret, we can say that we’re going down the comedy road.

Vicki: Our lips are sealed.

GL: What have some of the major challenges been getting started and how have you overcome them?

Katie: To start with, we had a real dilemma. Do we create our own association or do we become part of an existing one?

Vicki: We were very fortunate to come across abc anglais (through Helen McEwan who worked on the Cité Scolaire Internationale pantomime with us.) They took us under their wing.

After that, our main challenge was sorting out a lot of things all at the same time: reading umpteen scripts to find a story, organizing and advertizing the auditions…

Katie: And making sure that all this gets done behind the scenes without a hitch. That in itself is quite a challenge!

Hélène: I, personally, was happy to have help with all that work that no one ever imagines exits. How to overcome the constant challenges? With ‘your head in the stars and your feet on the ground’ (i.e. persistence, patience, with zest, and more persistence, more patience, etc.)

GL: What kind of people are you looking for and how can they audition?

Katie: Anyone of any nationality between 11 and 15 with a good knowledge of English and an excess of enthusiasm.

Hélène: You can be French, British, American, or whatever; but you must know that the whole activity is going to be run entirely in English.

Vicki: In other words, you can come from Mars …

Hélène: Or Venus …

Vicki: As long as you can get along in English and are prepared to improve through taking part.

Hélène: If you wish to join us for this thrilling adventure, go to www.abcanglais.org, section ‘collège’. All the information you need is there!

GL: Tell us a bit about your theatrical backgrounds

Hélène: I started doing theater at university, in the US. Then I was asked to keep going with the county community theater. I thoroughly enjoyed working eight months solid on the ‘Man of La Mancha’ musical. I was there six days a week and I can’t think of any moment not being sparkling! Then these past few years, I was general director of the C.S.I. panto where every single cast has been my favorite!

‘Out of hours’, I’m a scriptwriter and have worked on long features such as Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, or Pearl Harbor; and if you’re dying for more names, you can go to my LinkedIn profile.

Vicki:  I was involved in acting in a semi-professional theatre in England. I did drama all through school, acting and directing as house and drama captain. I acted during my university days too and put on a couple of plays in the English Department at U.3 in Grenoble. Finally, I was part of the panto direction team at the C.S.I. for two years.

Katie: I’ve done theatre with small children in Ireland. Here in Grenoble, I’ve worked on the C.S.I. panto for two years.

GL: What is the potential of Grenoble in particular for this type of theatre group in terms of audiences and participants?

Hélène, Vicki, and Katie: (with one voice) Massive!

GL: Thanks ladies. Watch this space for updates and news about Wing It Productions.

Les timbres!

US newcomer Maureen Walsh reports on obtaining long-stay and student visas through the Office Français de l’Immigration et de l’Intégration for a year in Grenoble.

Arriving as newcomers to Grenoble from a small town in North Carolina in July 2010, my husband, Steve, and I were trying to carefully follow the letter of the French law regarding completing the steps necessary for our stay in France. He had recently been accepted into the AQ Bridge Program at the Grenoble Ecole de Management. This was an opportunity to spend a sabbatical year away from his position as the NC State University Director of the Engineering Entrepreneurs Program and explore new possibilities in a foreign country. So it would have surprised many of our friends to know that in our initial 2 ½ months stay in France, we hadn’t actually perfected all of the legalities. This was not malice aforethought, mind you, but only due to the timing of our arrival. Not until the middle of September 2010 did we get things settled! That was when our little yellow OFII (Office Français de l’Immigration et de l’Intégration) cards were pasted inside our American passports. We breathed a sigh of relief. We were now “bona fide”!

The process began in North Carolina. Since we hoped to stay in Grenoble for a full year, Steve applied for a student visa, and I needed a long-term stay visa in order to live in France. That involved a LOT of paperwork – there was the NC State Bureau of Investigation report, an FBI report, fingerprinting, certifications from our bank as to our financial worth, proof of health insurance, proof of purchase of airline tickets, certified birth certificates, marriage certificate, proof of acceptance into a French school, statements from me regarding the reason I was applying for entry into France along with a promise that I would not work while in France, and proof of a commitment to a residence in France (rental contract). It seemed like the list would never end.

We needed three copies of each item for both of our folders and this all had to be translated into French. In addition, there was the Long Stay Visa application form (Demande Pour Un Visa De Long Séjour) and the OFII form (Visa de Long Sejour-Demande D’Attestation OFII) with the top part filled out. A lot of trees sacrificed their lives for our trip to, and our stay in, France.

Once we had assembled all that, we made an appointment to go to our regional French Consulate in Atlanta, Georgia – a “mere” seven hour drive away. We made this appointment on-line and traveled there on an overnight trip in April. The meeting was not what we expected. I thought we would be invited into a cozy room to meet with a consulate representative to present our paperwork and be interviewed – perhaps accompanied by a glass of French wine, too? On the contrary, we arrived and soon discovered that the official Long Stay Visa application form posted on the website of the French Consulate in Atlanta that we had printed and completed, in “impeccable French” I might add, had just been completely changed the previous week. The new questions didn’t match the previous form. A sense of impending doom followed by a mild feeling of panic began to spread within the confines of my head. We stood at a narrow counter and worked to fill out the new form on the fly sans dictionnaire!

When the interview process took place, we were standing at another counter with the consulate employee sitting behind glass with a tiny slot through which we passed our massive paper pile in 8 to 10 pages stages. Time stood still. The employee would ask us questions (in French) and forget to turn on the microphone. We had to continually ask the him to repeat his questions and to turn on the sound – I thought I was living the drive-up window scene in the movie, Wayne’s World. He swiftly shuffled our papers, picked up the phone a few times to call France and kept looking at Steve suspiciously because he was applying for a Student Visa. This was the first line of defense those in America encounter in their quest for a visa to France! (Does the word perspiration mean anything to you?)

We left the office exhausted and made the return drive home. And waited … Our passports with our visas pasted in were returned to us about a month later in the prepaid FedEx envelopes that we had provided. Another hurdle passed. We were on our way to France!

Once we entered France via Switzerland, the next step for us was to find a permanent residence. We had arranged to stay in an extended-stay apartment for our first month in Grenoble, but we would need a more permanent address for the duration of our stay. In addition, we needed fixed and mobile phone numbers to put on the OFII form. Would it ever end? After the arduous work to acquire those, we sent off the paperwork by registered mail on August 4th. Timing for that was not, shall we say, optimum. We soon learned that most of France is not working in August because ils sont en vacances! Finally, we received letters telling us that our OFII forms had been received. We still had to wait to be contacted for our appointments to complete the process. A week and a half later, a letter arrived outlining what we needed to do for our appointments that were scheduled for the 16th of September for Steve and the 17th for me.

We were nearing the finish line! We needed to have a un examen radiographique, un photo tête nue, un examen clinique général and beaucoup d’argent. For the money part, we visited the Préfecture for taxe perçue à l’occasion de la délivrance du premier titre de séjour. This meant we had to buy des timbres á la caisse de préfecture in advance to cover the fee for the OFII validation. The timbres look like postage stamps and are similar to the stamps paid for when you complete a purchase on a house. For Steve that amounted to 55€ ($71.75) and for me, 340€ ($443.57) (exchange rate: 17/09/2010). We understand that in the U.S. the amount can be closer to $1,000.00 per person, so we think we got a bargain.

As a student, Steve had to first go to the Centre de Santé which is located near the train station in Grenoble and have a basic physical. Then, two days later, he needed to board tram C and head off to the Domain Université Centre de Santé to get a chest x-ray at one of those mobile units set up in a parking lot. A week later he returned to the first Centre de Santé to pick up his certified medical certificate. Finally, he was instructed to go to the OFII office with all his paperwork to complete the process. He was told they take a limited number of applicants each day. Since they don’t make specific appointments, show up early and try to get in the door – at 6’2″ and 90 kgs he was ready for action. He arrived an hour before the opening and was the first one in line. He presented all his pieces to the puzzle, and they pasted a card in the passport and covered it with a film cover. One down, one to go.

My requirements were a little different. As I am not a student, I was instructed to report to the OFII office at 13h 30 for my x-ray, and my medical exam would be at 14 h. I was pleased. It seemed that I had an appointment and would escape the running around that Steve had had; it would be “one-stop shopping”. Wrong. I arrived at 13h25 (the bureau is closed from 12h until 13h30 for lunch) and found a long line of people waiting for the opening. I joined the line, and I glanced at the paper the person in front of me held. It looked just like mine. Exactly! We ALL had the SAME appointment time.

The overworked employee at the desk dealt with people speaking many different languages. Some were anxious (like me), and some became belligerent when they were told their dossier was incomplete and that they would have to return with some other required paperwork. After sitting in the too-small waiting room for a half-hour, I was called back for the exams. The x-ray tech showed me to a dressing room and told me to disrobe to the waist. I looked around for the usual jacket I always get to put on when I have any upper body pictures taken. Nothing. Leave your modesty at the door. That done, I moved on to the nurse. She weighed me, stuck me for, as she said, “le sucre” (diabetes test), took my blood pressure, and then we proceeded to the height and eye charts.

If you know the French alphabet pronunciation, you remember that vowels and some consonants are pronounced differently from their English look-a likes. (i is “e”, e is “ai”, g is “jay”, j is “gee.”) We had to remind ourselves of that when responding. As a side story, we have an Australian friend who told us of her experience at OFII. She didn’t know any French when she arrived, and when she read the eye chart, she answered using the English (Australian) pronunciation of the letters. The medical people all thought that she was legally blind!

Getting our OFII stamps has given us the freedom we need to fully enjoy our experience here in Europe. Until we got that, if we had left France, we were told, we would not have been allowed to re-enter through the borders without returning to the U.S. and reapplying for a new visa. With our OFII stamps and our American passports, we can pursue our wanderlust. It didn’t take us long to pull out the map and start eyeing all the possibilities that became open to us with just that “little yellow card.”

To see our further adventures, please visit our blog: walshesingrenoble.wordpress.com

examen radiographique: xray
un photo tête nue: photo of a head without a covering
un examen clinique général: medical exam
le taxe perçue à l’occasion de la délivrance du premier titre de séjour: the charge collected at the issue of the first residence permit
le caisse de prefecture: prefecture cashier
centre de santé: health center

Breastfeeding baby. Photo by fikirbaz

Grenoble Life talks to Kelly Rigotti of Les Marraines de Lait – an Isère based association offering breasfeeding support – ahead of their meeting this Thursday. 

Grenoble Life: What is Les Marraines de Lait and what is your involvement in the association?

Kelly Rigotti: The Marraines de Lait (Big Sisters of Breastfeeding) is a local, non-profit association dedicated to supporting new mothers in creating the breastfeeding experience that works for them. Unlike other local associations, like the La Leche League or the Voie Lactée, we don’t have regular monthly meetings, although we do meet several times a year. Instead, we match new and experienced moms to create a breastfeeding support pair; to give the new mother an experienced person she can call on when she has questions, problems … or just needs to talk. Our role is not to offer medical advice, but instead lend a friendly, supportive ear to our filleules, or Little Sisters.

I have been a filleule in the association, a marraine (big sister) many times over, as well as past president. I’ve enjoyed each and every one of these roles, although I like being a marraine the best! 

GL: How, when and why was the association founded?

Kelly: The association was founded in 2003 with the goal of recreating formally the informal bonds that used to exist when we lived in smaller communities. Little girls used to grow up seeing their moms, aunts, neighbors, sisters and friends breastfeeding and there was always somebody to turn to for advice. As we’ve moved away from our villages and into a more modern community, and especially with the dominance of bottle-feeding over the past few generations, it has become more and more common for a new mother to be the first in her circle of family and friends to want to breastfeed. After her stay in the hospital, she might not have any one to turn to with her questions, and if she does ask a friend or older relative, more often than not the advice will be to give the baby a bottle.

Associations like the La Leche League and the Voie Lactée use hotlines and monthly meetings to reach and support new moms, but the Marraines de Lait feel that it’s important for each new mom to have one (extra) person she can rely on. 

GL: What are some of the health benefits of breastfeeding for mother and baby?

There are innumerable health benefits for both moms and babies, from a decreased risk of allergies for the baby to a lower risk of breast cancer for the moms. That said, we don’t believe that formula feeding is evil – sometimes it’s necessary for a number of reasons. Our goal is not to push what some might call a Radical Breastfeeding Agenda. We believe in supporting moms and babies to find a breastfeeding relationship that works for them: from exclusive, long-term nursing, to pumping and bottle feeding, and everything in between.

GL:  In what ways do traditional views of breastfeeding in France differ to those in Anglophone countries?

France has one of the lowest rates of breastfeeding in the European Union, although Isère is on par with the UK and the US with about 75% of new mothers choosing to breastfeed. Once women go home from the hospital after giving birth however, the percentage continuing to breastfeed at home drops to about 50% and there are very few women who continue to nurse their babies after about four months, when the average mom returns to work.

France also has, in my experience as an American, a very faithful membership in what I call the Cult of the Physician. I’ve found that French people (and I’m generalizing wildly here) tend to think that scientific things must be better than something that hasn’t passed through a laboratory, which to my mind explains why so many women here believe that Bottle is Best.

Women in the United States tend to breastfeed longer than in France; although the percentage of mothers who are still breastfeeding at six months (the minimum recommended by the American Medical Association) is higher than in France, the percentage of women in most developed countries who are still breastfeeding at two years (the minimum recommended by the World Health Organization) is still very, very low. I myself breastfed my three children for a combined length of time that was longer than the amount of time I spent in higher education.

GL: What support does the association receive from the medical establishment?

We have a list of doctors who support breastfeeding and to whom we refer people for any suspected medical question and we work with several certified lactation consultants. While our role is not to provide medical advice, we do have several nurses, midwives and doctors in our midst and we also organize and attend several trainings a year. We have set up a program for premature babies at the Hôpital Nord as well.

GL:  Can new mothers and fathers get support in English if needed?

There are a few native English speakers in the association (myself included) and several other people who speak English fluently. We also have German and Spanish speakers in the group.

GL:  How can people find out more and/or get involved?

Check out our website! You can also call the hotline at 04 76 33 30 81; leave a message sand somebody will get back to you. For help in English, feel free to call me: 06 67 33 74 91.

Our next meeting will be on Thursday, 24 February, 2011, beginning at 10 am (and continuing till we get tired of chatting!). It will be held at the Café des Zébulons, 2 rue Sergent Bobilot, in Grenoble.

Alliance Grenoble-Oxford

Grenoble Life talks to David Bailey of Alliance Grenoble-Oxford about the association’s history and events ahead of a debate in English it is hosting on campus, February 16.

Grenoble Life: What is Alliance Grenoble-Oxford?

David Bailey: AGO is the association that takes care of the twinning between Grenoble and Oxford in the UK.

GL: When was it founded and why?

David: Grenoble and Oxford were unofficially twinned in 1988 but the official ‘Friendship Agreement’ was actually signed in Oxford on 27 April 1989 by Alain Carignon, then mayor of Grenoble, and Queenie Whorley, mayor of Oxford. After a couple of short-lived attempts at forming a twinning committee, the AGO was founded in March 1993.

GL: What kinds of events do you organise?

David: There are two aspects to the AGO’s activity. The first is to foster exchanges between the two cities in all spheres (professional, educational, economic, artistic, sporting, social, linguistic, etc.) and to promote personal contacts between their residents. This we do with the support of Grenoble city council’s international relations department.

The second aspect of our activity is to promote Oxford and British culture in general here in Grenoble through an annual programme of events. These include play and poetry readings in English, lectures on a variety of topics, social events and outings, car rallies, debates and an annual Christmas Carols evening.

GL: What other kinds of services do you provide?

David: In the context of the actual twinning, we facilitate contacts between associations and individuals in liaison with the Oxford-Grenoble Association in Oxford, and we organise a trip to Oxford every other year, usually in the late spring. In years when we do not go to Oxford, we host a group from over there here in Grenoble.

We have in the past offered conversation classes and would be willing to do so if there is any demand. We publish a newsletter several times a year.

GL: Tell us a little about the organisers

David: Both the AGO and OGA in Oxford are entirely self-supporting, non-profit organisations run by volunteers. We have a mix of French and British people from a variety of backgrounds and professions on the committee. Our meetings are held once a month, in French.

GL: What events are coming up?

David: Our next event is a debate the traditional Oxford University style, which we are organising in conjunction with several departments of the University of Grenoble. This is the second of its kind and we hope it will become a regular event. We then have a talk in March by Thora van Male from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques on her latest book Liaisons généreuses. And over Easter we shall be welcoming the East Oxford Community Choir, which is twinned with Grenoble’s “Interlude” choir. They will be giving two performances of Mendelssohn’s oratorio “Saint Paul” with an orchestra consisting of musicians from both cities.

GL: How can people get more information and/or get involved?

David: We are always on the lookout for new members, and especially for people to help with the twinning. As our website is temporarily on hold, they should contact me (David Bailey : 04 76 40 31 34 or davidbailey@sfr.fr). Our brochure is usually available at the Maison de l’International, Parvis des Droits de l’Homme, Jardin de Ville, 1 rue Hector Berlioz, 38000 Grenoble.

“5 min TOPS”, Marianne’s podcasts available on iTunes

Marianne Raynaud of Grenoble-based Quality Time ESL gives us an update on her new English as a foreign language resources for the teachers and students. 

I am currently producing three series of podcasts intended to help learners improve their speaking skills: “QualityTime-ESL Podcasts”, “Your English” and “5-Minute TOPs”. These podcasts are oral exercises that can be downloaded free of charge on the iTunes platform. My newest series “TOPs” (“Training with Oral Practice”) are based on quotes and well-known song lyrics. I am happy to report that these “5-Minute TOPs” have been cited on the iTunes platform in France in the category “nouveautés” under the heading “enseignement” and in the US in the category “What’s Hot” under “language courses”. All three series are currently ranked among the top one hundred foreign language audio podcasts in numerous countries. 

What is a podcast? 

I became interested in podcasts four years ago when I was looking for a way to brush up on my Spanish. I was amazed at all the wonderful resources available on the iTunes platform in a vast range of subjects. For readers unfamiliar with the term let me explain that the word “podcast” comes from pod, the acronym of “portable on demand”, and cast from “broadcast”. By downloading radio or television podcasts onto your computer and then transferring them to an iPod or a MP3 player, you can listen to or watch programs wherever you are and whenever you wish. You can be on the bus, in a train or standing in line at the supermarket and be listening to the “CBS Nightly News”, “2000 ans d’histoire” on France Inter or the language course “Notes in Spanish”, as was my case when I bought my first iPod. Today I am so enthusiastic about podcasts as an effective learning tool that I am conducting workshops on how to use podcasts in English language teaching. The positive emails I get from satisfied listeners who are progressing thanks to my podcasts encourage me to produce one or two new episodes every week. 

Go on a podcast spree 

If you are interested in this new way of accessing information just download the iTunes software, which is free, and then simply “browse” all the vast resources. You can scroll down from “podcasts” in the black toolbar on the top of the homepage and select the category you wish to sample. Or you can go to “advanced search” and define the type of podcast you are searching for. There are ranking lists in the right-hand column of many pages. Whenever you see “display all” (afficher tous), click on the button to get the complete list. Finally, at the very bottom of any page in small print you can find “explore” and get an alphabetical list of everything on iTunes including the podcasts. There is also a link “change country” in a column next to “explore” that lets see what music, films, and podcasts people are downloading in other countries. One important point: on iTunes music, films, TV series or programs and audiobooks require payment, whereas all podcasts can be downloaded free of charge. That is also the case in the section called iTunes U with audio and video recordings by well-known professors from different universities, institutes and academies across the world. 

The podcast system allows you to choose from a great diversity 

Personally, I recommend TED Talks for inspiring presentations by people who are really making a difference in the world and all the BBC programs. I subscribe to about ten series at a time including “CBS Nightly News” and “News in Slow Spanish”, which is excellent. I have just discovered “The History of Philosophy” with Peter Adamson from King’s College in London. Teachers often ask me which are the best podcasts for students. The fact is there are so many available that it is very difficult to choose “the best” ones. The advantage of the podcast system is that individuals can select the programs that suit them personally—what appeals to one person may not interest someone else. And a certain voice may be appealing to some and not to others. Using podcasts in teaching means students can choose what they wish to listen to and learn, which opens up totally new horizons. 

Sampling and subscribing 

When browsing you will see icons next to the titles and a button to subscribe (s’abonner). When you press on it, you will get the latest podcast of the series on your computer plus a list of all the other ones available in the series. You can then press on “get” to download certain episodes or on “get all” to have them all downloaded onto your computer. If you have subscribed, every time there is a new episode in the series it will be sent to you automatically. You can also just click on the title of the podcast or the icon and see the list of all the episodes. By clicking on any episode you can listen to it (or watch it) directly without downloading it—to get an idea of the content and the type of program. 

The theme of my own podcasts 

My own podcasts follow three different themes: “QualityTime-ESL Podcasts” for grammar training, “Your English” for vocabulary building and “5-Minute TOPs” for fun exercises with song lyrics and quotes. I use only English, as these exercises are intended for learners all over world. I would appreciate it if readers could recommend these podcasts to English teachers or to French people wishing to improve their speaking skills in English. They cost nothing—only the scripts require a minimal fee, but most listeners use only the audio files. Incidentally, when you stop listening to a series, the podcasts are no longer downloaded onto your computer, and you can delete them with a click of your mouse. 

To subscribe just type “Marianne Raynaud” 

To subscribe to my podcasts just type my name into the iTunes search box in the upper right-hand corner and then click on: “QualityTime-ESL Podcasts”, “Your English” and “5-Minute TOPs”. The more subscribers I get, the more motivated I feel to continue producing these podcasts. My goal is simply to get more people, young and old, up to a basic operational level in English. I have always believed you don’t need to know a great deal to be able to converse in a foreign language. What you do need is motivation and training like when practicing a sport. And we all know that communicating with people from different countries is a real joy. 

A few words about my book on DVD 

Of course, I do have a second less altruistic goal. I hope teachers will go to my website, read about QualityTime-ESL: The Digital Resource Book and purchase this book on a DVD with over 1,500 modifiable files in MSWord, PDF, PPT and audio formats (€29). I have written about my experiences as a teacher/coordinator at Grenoble-INP (Grenoble Institute of Technology) for 24 years, and I have included all the materials I developed for the different courses. As the files are customizable, teachers can easily adapt all the exercises and activities to their specific needs. I have also made a fifty-minute film “Scenes from an ESL Classroom” where you can see students working and performing using the materials from the book. This year I will continue conducting workshops for TESOL France and naturally I plan to go on listening to podcasts and producing more of my own.

John Evans

Shonah Kennedy interviews the eponymous founder of John Evans Anglais, Grenoble’s long-standing language school.

Who is John Evans? This was the question chorused at a TESOL event my collegues and I attended when we had to announce where we worked. This questioning of a company with such a positive reputation and which has been in the area for over 30 years surprised me, and prompted me to ask John to do an interview for Grenoble Life. It only took six months, but I am very happy that he finally said “yes”!  So, I’m extremely pleased to present the below interview with John Evans, of John Evans Anglais.

Shonah: How and when did John Evans get started?

John Evans: Everything got started in 1981 when I decided to resign from the school where I’d been working for four years  and simply set up in business as an independent, freelance teacher. It was only in 1991 that I hired my first full time teacher – who is still with me – and new teachers have been steadily joining us ever since and we now have a team of ten teachers.

Shonah: Why did you decide to go into business for yourself, rather than work for one of the other numerous schools in the area?

John: As I’d been working in a school for four years, I just felt that I’d gone as far as I could go and that the time was right for a change. I don’t remember having had a burning desire to be an entrepreneur but I did like the idea of being independent, choosing  the way I worked and the teaching methods I used and not having to be answerable to anybody – apart from my customers. On top of that, running a small business has given an extra dimension to my professional life and – as much as I enjoy teaching – I like the business side involving managing a team of teachers, maintaining our relationships with our customers and even the administrative side.

Shonah: Over the years you have been in business, what major changes have you seen in the industry?

John: In my opinion, the biggest change of all has been in the shift from working with private individuals to working more and more with professionals and companies. No language school today can survive if they don’t have a solid customer base among local industry and if they don’t provide the solutions that the professionals need.

Teaching English 30 years ago was very general and language based whereas today most courses have to be customized and adapted to the specific needs of each trainee or group of trainees. The result for the teacher is that they also need to understand how companies work.  However, it does provide for greater job interest when you find yourself working with people from all fields of industry and in different company departments.

The other major change on the teaching side has obviously been the arrival of new ways of language learning thanks to new or improved technology – telephone lessons, e-learning, computer based exercises and all the possibilities offered by the internet with podcasts etc.

On the purely business side of things, there has been a shift in power within companies themselves and we now find ourselves dealing more and more with purchasing departments rather than training departments. Purchasers are looking to find one language provider for their nationwide needs and that is why I’m now a member of Canspeak – a nationwide association of independent language schools. As a result we can provide our customers with a global solution while, at the same time, retaining our own identity.

Shonah: Who are your main clients?

John: We have very different clients ranging from large, international customers such as Becton Dickinson, Soitec, Avery Dennison, Rolls Royce and Alcan to medium-sized companies like Petzl and EFD or scientific research Institutes and also small companies or start ups like Spartoo.

Shonah: How can somebody contact you?

John: First of all, it’s easy enough to find out about us by looking at our website and anybody can get straight through to me at the office 04 76 48 22 35.  Whether they’re looking for training courses or a teaching post.

Shonah: What are the future plans for John Evans?

John: There are no predefined plans as such. We just try to keep on doing what we do best and to keep on giving our customers the best possible service. Until now, this has always proved to be a successful recipe.

Shonah: Do you have any advice for teachers starting out in the industry, or those that have been in the industry for some years, but need some inspiration?

John: I think the first thing I would tell any young teacher is to “be yourself”. Every teacher has a different personality and teaching style but I think it’s important to cultivate that rather than try to fit into a mould or do things that you are not comfortable with. Listen to your trainees and try to deliver what they want and expect and ask them for regular feedback so that you can constantly “fine-tune” your courses. Be interested in your trainees and try to motivate them as much as possible. You mustn’t forget that some trainees are not always happy to be having language lessons and the day somebody tells you that you are the one who has made language learning an enjoyable experience for them – it’s the best compliment anyone can pay you.

One final thing – don’t be afraid to make mistakes! We’ve all made them and we’ll all continue to make them but as long as we learn from them, that’s all that matters. It’s also important to remember that it’s impossible to make all of your customers happy all of the time and that your own teaching style will suit some people but not others.

Shonah: Any anecdotes to tell after so many years here and doing what you do?

John: When I look back on 30 years of teaching I think that the most rewarding part of it has been meeting people of all ages and from all walks of life. I’ve worked with people between 15 and 85, from every walk of life and with extremely diverse backgrounds. Many of the people I have worked with have become close, personal friends and it has meant that teaching is not just “a job” but a very rewarding and fulfilling experience.

A detail from The Crucible poster

We talk to David Simpson, producer of Upstage – an English theatre group comprising students at Cité Internationale Europole – ahead of their 2011 production of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible.

Grenoble Life: Why did you choose Arthur Miller’s The Crucible for this year’s Upstage?

David Simpson: When you do one play a year, you want to do something good, something striking, something memorable. The Crucible is one of the most powerful and moving plays ever written, and is a very strong challenge for myself and my fellow directors, Therese Zanone and Claude Deladeuille, as well as the Upstage team as a whole.

GL: Arthur Miller’s work isn’t known for its comedy – does this mark a departure for Upstage? 

David: It’s true that we have a reputation for doing comedy, and there really is very little comic potential here. But very often, our comedies have had a serious thrust, and a couple of our plays could not really be classed as comedies at all. Top Girls, as one upstage girl said, ‘… made people laugh, and think, and cry.’ I had a lot of encouragement too, in choosing this play, from people who thought last year’s short Harold Pinter play Mountain Language was a brave and important performance, about the survival of human dignity in the face of totalitarian abuse, and the destruction of cultural identity.  

GL: What particular problems does The Crucible pose for cast and crew in terms of staging?

David: Of course, the emotional levels and the acting challenges involved are very demanding. But the intensity we’ve all been feeling already, in rehearsals, only seems to spur everyone on even more.

That’s the real area of difficulty, and everyone is coping well. Technically, in terms of the set or the lighting for example, this play is much easier to manage than many of those we’ve done in previous years. So the production team are able to focus on both subtlety and power of effect. The poster is a good example of this (see below).

GL: What makes The Crucible relevant today?

David: This year’s play is about collective hysteria and the persecution of individuals, people who could save themselves, save their lives, by confessing to something they haven’t done. As, such, it was relevant during the period of McCarthyism and witch-hunting when Miller wrote it. It’s just as relevant today.

The play is based on real events and real characters, settling their scores, their political, social or sexual rivalries in Salem, Massachusets in 1691. Who would say this doesn’t go on today? The Upstage team have taken to these issues and conflicts, and to the wide range of well-drawn and strongly contrasting characters, with great enthusiasm.

GL: How are rehearsals progressing?

David: There’s still lots to do, and two and a half months to go, but we all feel proud of what we’ve managed so far, and that this is a play that’s going places.

Watch this space for more info on performances and reflections from the cast

The Crucible poster

Robin Hood - a pantomime. A detail from this year's poster.

As the Junior High students at Cité Scolaire Internationale start rehearsals for the annual pantomime, Grenoble Life catches up with some of the cast.

Siobhan Coakley is playing ‘King Richard’, Jessica Vacheresse is playing ‘Lady Eleanor’, and is also Choir Director, and Matthew Lloyd is playing ‘Bobby, the Castle Guard’.

Grenoble Life: How old are you and what year are you in at the Cité Scolaire Internationale? 

Siobhan: I’m fourteen and I’m in troisième. 

Jessica: I’m fourteen and currently in troisième.

Matthew: I’m twelve and I am in cinqième. 

GL: Why did you decide to get involved with the school panto? 

Siobhan: I’ve seen previous pantomimes from the school when I first came to France. I love singing, dancing, acting and the idea of the audience taking part in the show so it was definitely something I wanted to be a part of. It’s also very different to the other types of theatre in France so it was also the excitement to be a part of something original to this country. 

Jessica: I decided to get involved in the school panto because I used to go and see it every year, and I always really enjoyed it. I also wanted to discover acting and making the public laugh. I’ve been acting in the panto for three years now. 

Matthew: I got involved in the panto because I thought it would be fun to take part.

GL: Have you ever performed on stage before? How do you feel about it – nervous, excited?  

Siobhan: Yes, when I lived in Ireland I was a part of a lot of dance, musical theatre and speech and drama clubs, so I had performed on stage before, I just wasn’t quite aware of all the people watching me at the time because I was a lot younger. However now I realize the “responsibility” of giving a good performance. Before going on stage I always feel anxious, excited and extremely nervous but once I get on stage (like many people performing in the pantomime) I don’t want to get off! 

Jessica: I’d performed on stage a couple of times before, in small singing concerts with the music school I went to. I think the memory of the fun I had on stage back then gave me confidence to walk on stage at panto. The feeling before the panto show is always tense, yet we can’t wait to start. It’s during the last couple of weeks before the show that the cast really gets close together and by the time we start the BIG week we feel like a giant family. 

Matthew: I’ve never performed on stage and I’m actually really looking forward to it.

GL: So you’ll be acting, singing and dancing? Which are you best at and which are the most difficult for you? Why? 

Siobhan: I’d say I’m probably best at dancing and acting, because they’re what I’m most experienced at. Although I’d say acting is harder because you really need to find a way to stay in character , especially during the embarrassing or intense parts. What embarrasses you usually doesn’t embarrass your character. 

Jessica: I, like most of the cast, act, dance and sing. To me singing and acting are the easiest. When I act I feel like myself (which is quite ironic as I’m not being myself!) I also love singing. Dancing isn’t my strongest point; some people feel like they’re flying when they dance. Personally I find it really difficult to coordinate my movements.

Matthew: I think I’m best at acting because I like it, whereas singing or dancing I don’t really like. 

GL: Did you all know about pantomimes before you got involved in this one? 

Siobhan: Yes, it was always a tradition when I lived in Ireland to go see a pantomime around Christmas time. So doing the pantomime at school brings back a lot of memories. 

Jessica: I don’t think many people in the cast knew much about pantomimes before watching our school panto or participating in it. One of the adults involved has sent us videos of pantomimes in the UK but most of us had never been to see one ‘live’, apart from our school panto!! 

Matthew: I’ve already been to a pantomime in England called ‘Peter Pan’. 

What interests you about the story of Robin Hood? 

Siobhan: What interests me about the story of Robin Hood is that it has never been done before as a pantomime. So the scriptwriters were able to create a completely new pantomime which we would be the first to put into production! 

Jessica: What I like about Robin Hood is that it’s not like the usual fairytales. It really might have happened! The prince has been replaced by an outlaw who wants to help, the princess has been replaced by a maid, and the “bad guy” rules the country! The roles have been exchanged and that’s what makes Robin Hood great. It also makes it an AMAZING panto! I can’t wait to see what people think about it when seeing it.

Matthew: The thing that interests me about the story of ‘Robin Hood’ is that he steals from the rich and gives to the poor. 

GL: When did you start rehearsing, and how many rehearsals do you have each week? 

Siobhan: We started rehearsing in the start of September and we have two hour rehearsals each Tuesday and Thursday, as well as occasional song and dance rehearsals at lunch time and on Saturday mornings. 

Jessica: We tried out for this year’s panto in May, just before the summer holidays. That’s when we were given our roles. But the actual rehearsals started at the beginning of our school year, in September. We have two permanent rehearsals: they take place every Tuesday and Thursday evening from 5 pm to 7 pm, at the Cité Scolaire Internationale. (Thanks to our direction team who do a great job of helping us!) We also occasionally have singing and dancing rehearsals on Tuesdays and Fridays from 12pm to 2pm. (Thanks to song director and dance director who are there every time to encouraging us!) Some of the cast also participates in the panto choir. Their rehearsals take place at the same time as general rehearsals. All of these hours make our timetable heavier but we are prepared to take that on board to participate in this year’s Pantomime, Robin Hood.

Can’t wait to see you at the show!! 

Matthew: We started rehearsing the panto in early September and we have two rehearsals per week (if you not dancing or singing in it). 

Shows will happen at the Cité Scolaire Internationale (Terminus Tram B), 4 place de Sfax, in Grenoble, on Wednesday January 26th (2.30pm), Thursday January 27th (7.30pm), Friday January 28th (7.30pm), Saturday January 29th (10am), and Saturday January 29th (7.30pm). 

We highly recommend that you reserve tickets (over 18: 6 euros, 4-18: 3 euros, under 4: free).   

Send name, address, email address, date and time, and number of tickets (adult/child/under 4s) required to gregg.west@ac-grenoble.fr.  

A check, payable to Umbrella Association, is to be sent within a week to Gregg West, c/o Cité Scolaire Internationale, BP 1570, 4 place de Sfax, 38012 Grenoble Cedex 01.  Tickets will be held at the door for you. You will be asked for an ID. 

Lastly, you may see our sparkling poster up (see below) in some English speaking place, or in an English speaking website. Look for it! 

Robin Hood Poster

Present perfect verbs. Photo: jeffmcneill

Many of our readers and contributors teach English in the city. This anonymous post by one such Grenoble Lifer asks for your experience and opinions about the different employers of language teachers in the region.

by A. Teeshur

There comes a point in every English teacher’s life when, as much fun as the job is, the employer just doesn’t seem to keep up. Maybe we want more chances to move up, more opportunities to work more hours (and thus get more money!), or just work fewer hours at a better rate.

Changing jobs can be scary—leaving one company for another sometimes feels a little like a trip to the casino. Roll the job-seeker dice, land an interview, snag that job, and you may get lucky or you may not.

Some of us have played the English-teaching game here in Grenoble longer than others. I thought it could help fellow teachers to put luck on their side if we shared our experiences, letting others know what companies are worth our hard work and which ones need to realise just how much their teachers are worth.

I propose that the Grenoble Life community build up a sort of English School Review Board. If you have had experience teaching somewhere, tell us about it. Do it anonymously, and I would suggest leaving out any details that could make your post identifiable, like precise employment dates.

Here’s an idea of how to post your review, but feel free to add or leave out any info as you see fit.

COMPANY:

ROUNDED HOURLY WAGE:

TYPE OF CONTRACT (CDI, CDD, vacataire, etc.):

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR EXPERIENCE HERE?

REASON FOR LEAVING:

ANYTHING IMPORTANT A POTENTIAL TEACHER SHOULD KNOW?

WOULD YOU RECOMMEND THIS SCHOOL TO A TEACHER LOOKING FOR A JOB?

Also remember, that just like restaurant reviews, each posting recounts the experience of a single person. Some famous guy (I forget who…) said that your appreciation of an experience comes 10% from the situation itself and 90% from your attitude about the situation! Now, if a particular school turns up with nothing but bad reviews, well, you’ve been warned!

For all your administrative nightmares: Binders. Photo: nick findley

Grenoble Life editor James Dalrymple had to do a Validation des Acquis Professionnels et Personnels (VAPP) and survived to tell the tale. Here’s what happened and why.

Master your subject

For those wanting to one day take the competitive teaching exams or concours de l’enseignement (CAPES, Agrégation) to become a teacher for the French state system, you may be aware that things have changed. The government have scrapped the institutes (IUFMs) that provided teachers with practical training after these exams to gear them up for life in a classroom. Instead, it is now an obligation to have a Master’s degree in your chosen field before taking the concours, the second year of which orientates wanabee profs in two directions: a master’s in pedagogy (for those teachers taking the CAPES) and a master’s in research (for those wishing to take the agrég).

Setting aside the questionable French wisdom of abandoning practical teacher training for more theory – and thus a greater insistence on what you know as opposed to can you teach? – the shake-up has a number of consequences for anglophones intending to run the gauntlet. Firstly, you will require a master’s degree or equivalent in order to take the exams; secondly, the requirements for entering into these master’s programmes have become much stricter.

Getting a head start

When I arrived in Grenoble I knew several anglophones who had been able to enter directly into the second year of the Etudes Anglophones master’s programme given that they had a Bachelor’s degree in their native country and were seen as having an advantage over French students who had studied English literature to degree level in France. Therefore such people were able to obtain a master’s level (aka, Bac + 5) having completed what amounted to one term of classes evaluated via graded written work and oral presentations, and a dissertation on the research subject of their choice. One of my friends even wrote an article here about it. However, upon applying myself, I was told that a Bachelor’s was not sufficient to enter into Master 2, and my claims to know people who had done this were met with indifference. Something had changed, but no-one would explain what and why, nor was there information online to this explicit effect.

Formalising experience

At 32 years old with a job and a family, I was not able to commit to the full two years of the programme, especially frustrating since I knew people who had – with the same BA-level qualifications – gone directly into Master 2 with minimum fuss. There are two potential administrative procedures for people in my position: a Validation des Etudes and a Validation des Acquis Professionnels et Personnels (VAPP). As I hadn’t done enough additional post-degree study according to the new rules to claim the equivalence of the first year of the master’s, I failed in my efforts to pursue the former (lighter) route. Given I have worked (first in publishing and then in teaching) for around ten years, I had to opt for the VAPP. This also applies if you are over 28 or have interrupted your studies for more than three years (check for me on both counts!).

As far as I know, the VAPP doesn’t exist in anglophone countries but is a necessity in France where qualifications weigh so much more than work experience. It is not enough just to submit a CV. In France your experience has to be formally recognised by a commission and involves the supply of copious justificatifs (i.e. proof), explantory detail of all your acquired skills and knowledge and certified translations of your diplomas and certificates. In effect, the VAPP dossier becomes less of an application than a lengthy project that must be printed and bound six times.

Luckily for me I have a patient wife who was brought up in the French education system and has a black belt in admin. Without the help of such a person, you might as well forget about doing the VAPP. It is not just a question of being able to write French perfectly, but of knowing the specific terminology adopted within France’s idiosyncratic employment culture to explain one’s skills and knowledge. This requires hours of research in itself.  

Beware sworn translators

Worst of all, we had a dispute with a sworn translator, unbelievably British in origin herself, over grade equivalences. If you have a 2:1 Honours degree from a British university, this is the second highest mark you can receive after a First. Thus you would expect this to be translated as Mention Bien, the second highest level in France. Our translator, however, on whom we depended to certify the document as well as translate it, wanted to put Mention Assez Bien, effectively demoting my grade by one level. On this issue she would not budge despite our protestations. In the end we had to settle for her leaving the grade in English, and translating the rest, and hoping that the commission presiding over my dossier could understand the value of a 2:1.

Jumping through hoops

My dossier has been approved, but I can’t shake off the feeling that this was just a hoop thrown up for me to jump through – that the detail of my application was less important than my having tackled the time-consuming obstacle thrown in my path. I imagine that, in undertaking such an arduous task, I have proved to the commission who approve the VAPP that I am genuinely motivated. Wouldn’t a simple interview have sufficed ?

Feel free to use the comments box below to share similar experiences and advice or your own administrative nightmares.

Anyone remember this? Photo: litherland

In August Grenoble Life editor James Dalrymple found himself with time to burn and decided to enrol in French classes at the CUEF. Here’s what he has to say.

Between finishing my job as a teacher in a private institute and beginning life in l’éducation nationale , I found myself the grateful recipient of more than one year’s untaken annual holiday. To get a taste of university life ahead of my new job on campus, and avoid spending all day in my dressing gown, I enrolled in a semi-intensive French class called Passerelle pour l’université française at the CUEF, one of the many rather inelegant departmental acronyms found there.

Centre Universitaire d’Etudes Françaises (CUEF) is part of Stendhal University and offers a variety of courses of different durations and tailored to different levels. According to the website the Passerelle “s’adresse aux étudiants désireux de s’inscrire dans une université française,“ which might lead you to the conclusion that it is less a language class than a series of lectures. In fact it is a fairly varied and pleasant FLE-style course comprising four hours of class time a day for two weeks, focused on improving a facility for formal expression and speaking.

Working on a rich range of materials including articles, video and audio reports, the course enables a broadening of vocab and a tightening of written style that suited me just fine. Longer summer courses exist, but the timing of the Passerelle was better for me. I should also add that this was not a class that prioritised free oral expression, although we had opportunity to debate the themes which arose in the materials (such as: the history of social housing in France, the future of urbanisation, surrogate motherhood).

The course was also a reminder of some of French education’s more idiosyncratic aspects: the insistence on summarizing and reducing articles from the press to their bare essentials, long after students had shown an understanding of the text. Agree with the efficacy of such an activity or not, it is a common exercise in French classrooms and worth familiarising yourself with if you are planning to study here. Personally, as someone who had learnt most of their shaky French à l’orale, I made masses of progress in terms of written structure, vocab and grammar.

The two weeks included access to a multimedia lab which was essentially just a computer room manned by a teacher-technician who could sometimes advise on specific online exercises to meet your needs. Furthermore, the fee included a guided visit to Musée Dauphinois which currently hosts an interesting temporary exhibition on Grenoble-born luminary Jacques de Vaucanson (1709–1782), one of the fathers of early robots: mechanical automatons that owed their design to greater understanding of the human anatomy.

Normally the course is aimed at B1 and B2 students, but I was pleasantly surprised to be told that I was pushing completion of C1 by the end of the course (and I was given a handy certificate to this effect; always useful in France), so there was a bit of a spread of levels in the group. This didn’t seem to matter too much, though, and it was great to be in one of those multi-national (albeit predominantly German) learning contexts where the common language is the one being studied.

If you have had good or bad experiences at the CUEF, please share them with us below. For further information on the CUEF and other French language courses in Grenoble, check this out.

Grenoble ... 'a rich intercultural nature'. Copyright Agence Prisme / Pierre Jayet

Mary Zaccai, international press officer at Grenoble Ecole de Management, hits back at the negative and sensationalist media coverage of recent events in Grenoble.

I have this frustrating feeling that all the hard work I am putting in each day promoting Grenoble Ecole de Management (Grenoble Graduate School of Business) and by extension Grenoble itself is being severely put into question by all the negative media frenzy about the city.

Listening to and reading international press, it is as if Grenoble is one of the most dangerous cities in the world, hit by crime and drugs … are we talking about the same place?? Am I living in such conditions? Certainly not.

Just by running a google news search on Grenoble, I noticed that usual news about mountaineering, football etc. has been dramatically replaced by news about the speech president Nicolas Sarkozy delivered in Grenoble, days after one neighbourhood of the city was hit by riots. The riots began when 27-year-old Karim Boudouda robbed a nearby casino and fled to his neighbourhood, Villeneuve. When cornered by the police, he opened fire and the police shot him dead. The riots were limited to a small area, but the media frenzy made it as is the entire of Grenoble has become a war zone. As for the speech, as the Financial Times mentions: “Never before has a French head of state made such an explicit link between immigration and crime.” And he decided to do so in beautiful Grenoble, forever linking the city to shocking suggestions such as citizenship-stripping proposals to deal with immigration.

The irony of all this is that the attraction of Grenoble lies primarily in its rich intercultural nature. The school is a prime example with 96 different nationalities from all quarters of the world. Walking through the streets, our students are always struck by the many different languages they hear, delicious smells from the American cookie shop or the Arabic cake stands, the sushi bars, the Italian quarter … a melting-pot with all the advantages that this has to offer. Not to mention: its history, beautiful sites, booming economy largely based on international connections, and vast student population that brings this vibrant feel to the city.

Grenoble, the city I was born to, the city I came back to after living in the UK for seven years, the city I promote - is for me a safe haven, a thriving and dynamic city, enriched by a multitude of cultures. A place to meet the world.

Stephen William Rowe in his home studio

Stephen William Rowe is a Grenoble-based scientist and songwriter. He tells us about his musical influences, rhyming in French and looking for singers to perform his songs – a few of which we are streaming here.

Listen to “Effacer ma memoire”: here

Listen to “Where Are You Now”: here

Listen to “Midnight”: here

I’m a British industrial scientist and have been living near Grenoble for about 25 years but I’m also a prolific songwriter and have been so for the last 30 years.

I only attempted writing lyrics in French a few years ago, and found to my surprise that I could do it. However, I immediately came up against the grammatical difficulties and peculiarities of the language.

In fact, I found myself frequently annoyed on finding that a lovely series of rhymes, which sounded just right, was not grammatically correct. Luckily I have a French wife to “point these things out”, with more or less tact…

On the other hand, I also discovered that in French I was able to treat some subjects which somehow seemed to sound odd when written in English.

My classical guitar training, love of baroque music and my folk music débuts, give a specific character to all my songs and melodies, but also make my music difficult to classify (which is bad news nowadays).

I consider myself essentially an acoustic guitarist, but I also play electric lead guitar, bass guitar and all the other instruments required for my songs, which are all recorded on my studio at home.

However, I am lucid enough to admit that unfortunately I do not have a good singing voice for most of my songs and that there is nothing I can do about it.

It is for this reason that I am now actively trying to place my songs with professional artists and promising amateur singers. For those interested in hearing my compositions, or even in singing them, my web site contains about 50 songs: www.stephen-william-rowe.com or, www.myspace.com/stephenwrowe

The songs here were selected by James, the Grenoble Life editor, from the 50 online. They illustrate well the melancholy side of my compositions which many people prefer. However, my songs cover many different styles, from Rock to Folk, from Jazz to Pop and from Blues to Chanson à texte. So if you don’t like James’ selection, don’t dispair, there is probably something you do like on my website.

Joseph Schott anticipating life in Grenoble

Joseph Schott has come from the USA, via Japan, to do an MBA at the Grenoble Graduate School of Business. We will be following him ‘From Admission to Graduation’ as he blogs on life and learning in the Capital of the Alps.

Hello, my name is Joseph Schott. I’ll be starting at the Grenoble Graduate School of Business as an MBA student in September. I’m originally from the United States, but I spent the last four years in Japan with the JET Programme. While I was there, I taught English as a foreign language, did some translation and interpretation, and led a small non-profit that performs some support functions for the JET Programme.

While the cities in Japan are beautiful and convenient, the whole country is also full of mountains. It is a great place to be if you like hiking or rock climbing. It was hard to leave! I originally studied social sciences in the US, but working in Japan with people from around the world made me want to get more involved in international business. So after considering the great location of GGSB, (and drooling over pictures of French cheese) I put my interests together and applied at Grenoble.

I’ve been asked to write about my hopes and fears, as well as what I’m doing to prepare for my new life in Grenoble. I’ll start with the juicy bit and go right into my fears. It goes without saying that moving to a new country is a very complicated process, and a lot of the time I’m just glancing at my calendar, hoping that nothing goes wrong. However, my biggest worry about coming to Grenoble is the language. I only just started studying French a few weeks ago, and I’m an absolute beginner.

I’ve been told that Grenoble has a very large and vibrant international community, and from what I’ve seen on this blog, the range of people you can meet is one of the city’s highlights. At the same time, I’m not under any illusion that I’ll be having an easy time without speaking any French! In Japan, I was usually the one helping other people navigate bureaucracy and solve communication problems, but in Grenoble I’ll be back to being a beginner. On the other hand, I’m excited to pick up a third language to use in business and for making new friends. And for that I’m going to need to speak a lot more French!

I’ve found lots of French language resources and language tapes, and I’ve been carrying my beloved Anki around with me everywhere. If you’ve never heard of Anki or other similar tools (they are usually called spaced repetition systems or SRS), I’d definitely recommend checking one out. The idea is that you can store huge amounts of small facts as virtual flashcards, and the program will take care of scheduling which cards you review. So for example, you might eventually have 3,000 vocabulary words, and Anki will bring up about 100 each day. It can make sure that difficult phrases and words are brought back frequently, and things that you’ve already memorized are brought up sparingly. It works from my mobile, and I use it while I’m on the train, waiting in a line, or when a conversation is waning. Best of all it’s open source.

I’ve also been brushing up on my math and finance, and reading some books to get ready to go back to school. I’m currently reading a book on job hunting and just finished an interesting book on Google’s business model and path to success. I’ve also subscribed to a few rss feeds from business blogs. I’ve seen some interesting articles on www.voxeu.org, www.deadlysins.info/wordpress, blogs.hbr.org, as well as many others. Reading these keeps me excited for the intensive studying that will start in September. I also watch many of the presentations from the TED Conference, which are very short, but center on global issues and very inspiring.

However, wrapping up my life in Japan and saying farewell to everyone I’ve met has been the most difficult part of my preparation for Grenoble. Changing location so often, especially between countries, gives you a chance to meet lots of interesting people, and with social networking services like facebook, mixi, and so on, it is easier than ever to stay connected. At the same time though, these applications can make it easy to give yourself the illusion of being connected and ignore the real value of the relationships you’ve made. Before moving my focus to Grenoble, one of my biggest tasks has been to properly say goodbye to all of the amazing people I met in Japan.

As I finish these preparations and the start of classes draws closer and closer, I find myself feeling more and more excited each day. I can’t wait to meet the other members of my class and get started on my new life. I’m also looking forward to checking out the climbing gym near the school, relaxing at one of the cafés around the city, and trying out the hiking in the three surrounding mountain ranges.

I first got involved in climbing in Japan, where it is just starting to really become popular. Actually, people there use some French terms as loan words too, such as gaston (ガストン). I did mostly bouldering, so I’m excited to learn more about top-roping and outside routes, which I’ve heard are more popular in France. The nearby mountains look they’ll be great for hiking, and maybe I can even spot a Dahu!

Essential Questions. Photo: banlon1964

Grenoble Life editor James Dalrymple shares five pearls of wisdom gleaned from teaching English to professionals in the city.

This month presents a watershed moment for me professionally as I end my stint as a teacher-trainer – of mostly professional adults – at a private institute and prepare for my first taste of l’éducation nationale française. Having obtained a post on campus as a lecteur, I will complete the job that has defined my experience in France since my arrival, and take a step into the unknown.

Some might say that the move from formateur to lecteur will be a case of “out of the frying pan and into the fire,” but, as a cathartic act of drawing a line under my experience, I have compiled a list of five pearls of sagesse concerning teaching professional English in France.

1. Everybody speaks English now, right?

Wrong. Even if English has gone global, there will be times when you are confronted with students who have apparently never spoken it before, let alone knowingly seen or heard it. Even in cosmopolitan Grenoble, expect to have to teach some adults who are closer to vrais than faux debutants.

Why should everyone speak English? I have had the unenviable task of trying to teach people who had neither significant professional need to speak the language, nor a lifelong burning passion to begin doing so. At one time I had to manage a contract with a medium-size manufacturer, at which all the shop floor operators were obliged to have English training. For many of these mostly middle aged men (and some women) from the shop floor, whose modest education was a distant memory, the effort spent in learning English vastly outweighed the reward.

No doubt these same men could acquire certain technical skills faster than I ever could, yet English remained alien and abstract despite many hours in contact with it. During my time with these people, I am ashamed to admit that I may have learnt more from them (about industry, about how things are made) than they learnt from me.

Most English teachers in the private sector will probably relate to my feeling that many student-trainees have been permanently damaged by a school approach to language learning that was, for many, didactic and dogmatic rather than communicative or intuitive. It is often difficult to get the French to let go of the idea of grammar as language’s evil twin, and that speaking a language is akin to navigating a minefield of punishable mistakes.

2. « On est nuls en Anglais en France »

Despite what I said in observation one, many French people speak excellent English. Countless times I have met students who, upon eloquently introducing themselves, feel the need to add the little disclaimer that their English is terrible and how embarrassed they are to speak it. Normally I point of out the window at this moment and ask them which country they live in, where they grew up, and why on earth they are not prouder to be able to express themselves in another language, even if only a little.

Maybe it says something about the French attitude to their own language that they would prefer not to speak another if they can’t speak it beautifully. Compared to Britain though, where learning foreign languages has been in serious decline since a law was passed making it no longer mandatory after the age of 14, the French are a nation of linguists.

3. Time = results

Not necessarily. Interest and enthusiasm for the language and the culture remain paramount. Too many people are sent for English training as if sent to learn any other professional skill. I have often been confronted by a belief that time spent in the classroom will automatically be rewarded with improved TOEIC scores, for example. Professional need is no substitute for passion for the subject, and the fact that many adults in France come to training out of obligation rather than choice engenders a passive attitude to learning which is often an obstacle to meaningful progress.

4. I want to speak Business English

Unfortunately for teachers, human resources and training managers – not all known for their broad knowledge of language pedagogy – often insist upon certain thématiques for the ESL classroom. In my opinion there is too much interference from companies who want to impose skills-based English upon their employees. However, you can’t run before you can walk, and it is very frustrating being told to teach students how to participate in a meeting in English, or speak on the telephone, for example, without having mastered the basics.

5. Grenoble needs an International House

Grenoble has an enormous market for English teaching, but no focal point to promote excellence or provide training for its teachers. For us long-term formateurs, we need to do more to share our ideas and improve standards. Hard-working teachers also need to feel that their efforts be rewarded with the possibility of professional development, whereas often the door to such progress seems permanently closed. As far as I know there is currently nowhere to do the CELTA in Grenoble – an internationally recognised English teaching certificate that does not hold nearly as much weight as it should in France – although Marianne Reynaud organises TESOL-affiliated seminars.

Given the size of the English teaching sector in Grenoble, there should be an innovative and internationally-accredited institute like International House where teachers can be trained and learn to train others. Such an institute could act as a catalyst for improving standards and, by bringing teachers together, raising the morale and pride among the ESL workforce.

Graines de Polyglottes

Grenoble Life editor James Dalrymple chatted to Elisabeth Malandrino, Directrice at Graines de Polyglottes, a new language centre for children in the city.

Grenoble Life: What do you do at Graines de Polyglottes?

Elisabeth Malandrino: Graines de Polyglottes is a language center that welcomes children from 3 to 11 years for them to learn foreign languages: English, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian.

In small groups of 5 up to 8 children organized by age and level, children come one hour per week. 

GL: How, when and why did get involved?

Elisabeth: Graines de Polyglottes was born naturally - coming myself from a multicultural family, the idea of speaking several languages has emerged very early.

My mother was born in Spain, my father was born in Italy, one of my sisters lives in the United States, I have a American nephew and a German one.

At my daughter’s birth, I thought that other parents would also like their own children to learn other languages.  Graines de Polyglottes was then born!

It’s a project which required several years of preparation and we welcomed our first students in September 2010.

GL: What is the Graines de Polyglottes philosophy and method?

Elisabeth: Our philosophy rests on the pleasure of learning through play.

In a child-friendly environment, children are happy to come and share these moments with their teachers and other children.

They learn without effort, having fun and, of course, they repeat words.

For this we use an active, structured and playful method.

We aim at awakening auditory, visual and gestural language for the youngest (3-6 years) by mobilizing all the sensory abilities of children. We use puppets, rhymes, songs, drawings …

For older children (7-11 years), we develop the understanding and expression, both oral and written skills by role playing, the media …

GL: What is the typical profile of the parents of children at Graines de Polyglottes?

Elisabeth: We have many different cases:

- French families, who understand the importance of foreign languages and want to give their child this advantage.

- Mixed families who speak one or more languages at home and want to improve achievement.

- Families coming back from abroad to France who want their children to continue speaking and writing their new language.

GL: What is the typical profile of a teacher at Graines de Polyglottes?

Elisabeth: The teaching team consists of language teachers with a proven track of several years of teaching experience with young children.

Their knowledge of the French educational system and the one of their countries of origin is a valuable asset in developing programs.

Our teachers bring their professionalism and enthusiasm in the centre.

GL: What is the ideal age for children to start learning a second language?

Elisabeth: The sooner the better, babies are able to distinguish the sounds of all languages.

A baby’s mother and entourage will make him or her familiar with the phonemes of the language spoken within the family and little by little, he will keep only the sounds that are part of that language.

That’s why the more a young child hears different languages, the more he/she retains more language skills, both for listening and speaking.

At Graines de Polyglottes, we welcome children from kindergarten age for practical reasons.

GL:  Why have you set up a Graines de Polyglottes particulary in Grenoble?

Elisabeth: First, for personal reasons because Grenoble is my hometown.

Then, for reasons peculiar to the city, Grenoble became multicultural and cosmopolitan. Many families around the world come to live for a year or more for professional reasons.

Increasingly, we hear other languages in the street.

I think Graines de Polyglottes responds to the requests of many parents.

GL: Will you have any recruitment opportunitues? What are the advantages of working at Graines de Polyglottes?

Elisabeth: We recruit motivated graduate teachers with experience of teaching young children.

We work in an atmosphere where everyone works together and exchange between cultures takes place naturally.

GL: How can people contact you?

Elisabeth: You can contact us by phone 04.76.87.37.01 or by email:  contact@grainesdepolyglottes.fr.

For more information, see the website www.grainesdepolyglottes.fr

To the Bastille by bubble

Grenoble Life’s Christina Rebuffet-Broadus shuns the mass exodus for the beaches to check out guided tours of her adopted home town. Here’s what she found out.

The French have flocked south for their yearly dose of Mediterrannean sun, leaving the city streets all but deserted. The smaller shops have pulled down their iron curtains with fermé pour congés annuels hastily taped to the facade before migrating for the summer. Every now and then, you catch a group of tourists (without skis this time) wandering around the city.

Rather than crowd yet another beach and up the chances of getting skin cancer, city-tethered locals and French-challenged tourists may want to explore Grenoble. The Tourism Office operates a few regular English-language tours during the summer. Admit it – getting cozy with the city is way more fun than trying to squeeze onto a beach with half of the French population. Afterward, you can impress friends and family with your expertise in Grenobology.

I’m a big fan of being a tourist in your own city. Don’t take the attractions for granted—get out and do them! Start, for example, with the Tourism Office’s audioguided tour of the city center. If you’ve lived here long enough, you may already know when Cularo’s rampart was built. Maybe you can pinpoint where Napoleon marched into Grenoble on his way to power-center Paris. But you’ve probably never eavesdropped on those events as they happened.

The audioguides go beyond stringing dates, places, and names together like a 1850s history book. In about an hour-and-a-half visit through the city center, the history of Grenoble speaks to you, literally. Listen in as two tourists argue if it’s Place du Trib’ or Place St. André and let the abbot of St. Hugues church tell you what Place Notre Dame used to be.

I thought I had schooled myself well in Grenoble history and still learned a few new things about my adopted hometown. Plus, with all the other tourists walking around, I didn’t stick out so much with my map, headphones, and a remote-control-looking device hanging around my neck. When I opted to listen to some Liszt, I could peacefully contemplate the facade of the hotel where he stayed. 

If you prefer flesh and blood to plastic and LCD screens, the Tourism Office also hosts two regular guided visits in English: the Bastille and the city center. I tried the Bastille tour, just because it includes a ride in the Bubbles (honestly, how many of you still haven’t taken the Bubbles?). Little did I know, the Bastille would storm me although I’ve been regularly climbing its slopes since I’ve lived here.

To begin the tour, I joined Steve, my guide in the Jardin de Ville for a short lesson on Lesdiguières and why he built the first fortifications in the 16th century. You will have to take the tour yourself to find out, but here’s a hint: If he could do it, so could anyone else, which was not good for Grenoble’s security (Hint for the hint: “it” doesn’t mean building the Bastille).

We floated to the top of the site and began by reading Grenoble from above. The roofs below told the history of the city through color. The red roofs represented the oldest parts of Grenoble from the middle ages. Lesdiguières left his mark with blue slate roofs. More recent architectural history was written in black and white. 

The history of Grenoble is written on the rooftops

With a guide, you can visit parts of the Bastille usually closed to the public. We explored the upper blockhouses where soldiers lived and canons once boomed. The vaulted ceilings gave the living quarters the false feeling of an early medieval chapel but the sentinels probably didn’t pray much. They never came under fire. Construction of the Bastille ended in 1845 and Grenoble could feel fully protected from potential Savoyard invasions. Then Savoie became French in 1860 and the Bastille had no one to guard Grenoble from.

As dutiful tourists, Steve and I attacked the dry moat, no man’s land, and we tunneled through Mandrin’s grottoes. All of these parts are open to the public, but with a guide, they become more than a place for a panoramic picnic or holes in the mountainside.

To understand just how ingenious the Bastille’s layout is, let the guide explain it to you on site. You will literally see how the Bastille functioned as a fort. As Steve pieced the elements together, I understood how well Haxo had planned the Bastille. He probably never even knew he was creating the star of Grenoble. 

Audioguides are available for rent at the Grenoble Tourism Office for 5€. For an extra euro, you can have a second set of headphones so that two people can listen to a single device.

The Bastille visit costs 9.50€ and includes a round trip on the Bubbles.

The city center visit costs 6.50€.

You can sign up for the city center or Bastille visit at the Tourism Office or at their summer information booth at the foot of the Bubbles. The city center visit takes place at 2:30 pm and the Bastille visit starts at 4:30 pm, every day except Sunday.

Montessori school shelves with toys. Photo: 3neus

In a three-part blog Camille Bromley describes a day in the life of a teacher at the Montessori International School of Grenoble. Read part I.

7:38 am

Bus stop, Place Verdun.  As the number 31 bus to Meylan: Maupertius approaches I’m hastily devouring the remaining third of my Big Chocolate, freshly purchased for 1 euro from Sandwich House located behind the Maison de Tourisme tram stop, outgoing side. Ordinarily the Big Chocolates from this Sandwich House are not especially good pain au chocolat, but they’re easily the size of two regular pain au chocolat, a good bargain at 1 euro (the American in me is always a sucker for bargains), and in the morning when they’re warm they’re still pretty darn tasty.

The Big Chocolate is the ritual first step in my once-weekly workday as an English teacher at Montessori International Primary School in Meylan, as this is the only day in the week I exit the house early enough to catch one while still warm. The other days of the week I work as an English assistant in public primary schools.

Teaching at Montessori International School is not like teaching in French public school.  It’s vastly different, in fact.  If you’re not familiar with what’s called the Montessori Method, I’ll briefly explain: The Montessori Method of children’s education was originally developed in the early 20th century by an Italian educator named Maria Montessori. It’s an alternative approach to schooling, encouraging a child’s individual self-directed learning using the support of materials and teacher observation. 

From what I understand, while many schools worldwide function under the heading of Montessori School there are no defined guidelines for the specific practical application of this education system. However, the general idea is that children learn best when they follow their natural instincts and interests. In other words, it’s self-study for kids; less academically-put, the kids do what they feel like.

This “do-what-you-feel-like” philosophy is most decidedly not the norm in French public schools, from what I’ve seen in my year’s experience there, the essential part of a teacher’s oral utterances consisting of phrases such as, non, tu n’as pas le droit!; vous levez la doigt pour avoir la parole!; TAISEZ-VOUS! [yelled shockingly loud]; vous êtes insupportables aujourd’hui! [tone of resignation and accompanying sigh]; and finally the much-loved Bravo!, with exaggerated sarcasm. Thus, Montessori International reputedly offers an alternative to parents who prefer their kids to receive more positive encouragement than negative during the first 6–9 years of their educational development.

However, I haven’t given an entirely clear picture of the Montessori International School in Meylan. This school is foremost an international school, with instruction provided in French and English. I am the English-instruction teacher (on Mondays anyways), and a woman with a confounding last name, Martine Grzelak, functions as school director and French-instruction teacher. 

We take care of the primary-age children, age 6–12. The children in this group, about 25 of them, are mostly Francophone, with a solid group of Anglophones and couple French-English bilingual kids. There is another, separate class of students at the school, the pre-school age group (ages 3–6), also Francophone or Anglophone or both, headed by Emilie Ballivy. The pre-schoolers are called Les petits castors, which gives an accurate impression of their work ethic and focused accomplishment under the guidance of Ms. Ballivy.

The school makes use of an impressive collection of Montessori materials and supplies, and the curriculum is organized around the French National Education program, so that children are expected to cover a similar material to public school students. More on the Montessori Method as the day progresses.

Part II

Part III

Part III

12:00 pm

Lunchtime. The microwave cart is wheeled in, desks are cleared, chairs fetched. The students eat in the classroom. The children are expected to be settled quietly in their chairs, ask to go wash their hands, and then ask to get their lunchboxes before they are allowed to eat. Meanwhile, the child in charge of setting the table this week goes to get the silverware and dishes.   

12:30 pm

Everyone is finally sitting and has more or less the complete tableware set in front of them: plate, fork, knife, little yogurt spoon, and plastic cup (Martine’s cabinet has slowly but surely been rid of all the glassware glasses, not intentionally).

The table setting procedure always takes much longer than is logically necessary, probably because the child assigned to set the table is for some reason 90% of the time the same small boy, who due to his diminutive size and severely ADD nature seems the absolute worst person in the room to give the task of distributing various separate pieces of cutlery to students sitting in disorganized clumps around the big room, not to mention that when you see him trying to lug the heavy glass water pitchers around to each table you get the sinking sense of futility of watching someone trying very hard to complete a Sisyphean task. Half the pitcher will have been emptied on the floor by the time he gets to the table, and he’ll be sent to get more in five minutes.

I send the children in groups of two or three to the cloakroom to get their lunchboxes. I imagine that you can tell a lot about the home life of individual children from their lunchboxes. A lot of the older children seem to have the freedom to creatively fashion their own concept of a meal; there’s a group of three girls (who aggressively defy the assertion that social cliques don’t exist in small schools) that bring their lunches in family-style portions to share with each other: a bag of Lay’s potato chips, a Tupperware box of pasta and sauce, an entire sleeve of Speculoos cookies.

The Anglophone children belong to a different breed of household, one that clearly holds in contempt the irresponsible consumption of low nutrient-to-calorie ratio foods and environmentally unfriendly packaging. S—, a six-year-old with extraordinary feminine style (how a child of that age is able to exude such class is beyond me), declares matter-of-factly that she hates ice cream and cake. Her treat of choice is the green pressed seaweed paper that sushi rolls come wrapped in — in French it’s translated as algae, which expresses better, I think, the total bizarreness of a six-year-old reveling in the taste of a seaweed wrap (imagine an apple cheeked little girl saying with a charming missing-front-tooth smile, “My favorite food is algae”).  

1:15 pm

The kids are fairly hopping to get outside after a full morning of being together in one room. They go into the cloakroom to remove their slippers and put on their outside shoes, most of which resemble work boots or what English people call “wellies” rather than the slick bright white Pumas or the metallically shiny girl-sized heels (!) public school children wear. This is because the playground provided for amusement and the venting of various child frustrations during the lunch recess is not actually a playground, it’s an empty field behind the Montessori school building accessible only by a quick jump across a ditch (a wide step for you or me, a brief air-bound thrill for the 11-year-olds, and an unbreachable chasm for the 3-year-olds, who nevertheless enjoy the jump immensely so long as you’re holding their hand.

Supervising, I can’t help thinking that innovative playground developers, with their tangle of curved colored bars and knotted rope systems, are entirely missing the point — the kids have more fun rolling around in the grass and throwing rocks at trees than with any preconstructed equipment education authorities can buy. I’m reminded how innocent and sweet children are at heart when I hear G— and S— playing a sort of tag-zombie game which seems to consist of yelling “I’m going to suck your brain!” and attempting to grab the skull of another player.

2:00 pm

Emilie and I file the children back into school, past the company workers in button up shirts and pencil skirts taking their smoke break. Monday afternoon is devoted to art class and Spanish class, and the children are sent in small groups to participate in those activities. Otherwise, the students can continue the projects of the morning. The students complete impressive individual projects throughout the year that don’t sacrifice depth or quality for the lack of collaborators.

S— is working on a postcard project; she’s contacting friends and acquaintances across the U.S., asking them to send her postcards at the Montessori school address, teaching her about their town or state. She’s gathered a large number of postcards and will organize them into a visual presentation. O— has completed a project about the state of Israel, its history, people, and culture, and the poster is hanging on the classroom wall.

One of the goals of the Montessori school is to effectively link all subjects together in the child’s mind; to create a truly interdisciplinary understanding of the world. This objective makes for very creative project ideas, and the results are evident in the variety of student-made artwork and presentations on display around the school.

3:30 pm

The school day is over, but many students will stay for the next one to two hours, playing the gymnasium or participating in an activity Martine or Emilie has organized. I, however, say my rounds of “See you next week” and am out the door.

The next day I’ll be at one of the public primary schools in Grenoble. Not being an education expert, I’m not going to offer my judgment of the effectiveness of the education system in public schools compared to the Montessori approach. The purposes and needs of the two school systems are vastly different and require different methods of teaching and classroom management. Montessori schools may give more individual attention, but they also provide a lot less guidance and structure. This may or may not work well, depending on the character of each individual child. One thing I do know, however, is that I’ll be doing a lot more yelling in my public school.

Part I

Part II

For more information:
http://www.montessori-grenoble.com/UK/school-montessori-grenoble.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montessori

Part II

8:12 am

Terminus on the number 31 bus line. The bus halts in front of a grouping of new, enterprise-y looking buildings with big reflective glass windows framed in a shade of blue that suggests innovation and forward-thinking. The school is rather unexpectedly housed in one of these buildings, towards the back of the complex, sharing quarters with some kind of company that requires men and women in business attire to enter and exit through the same doors as the free-spirited, frequently-in-high-speed-motion Montessori kids.

The school is essentially three large rooms, the primary schoolroom, the pre-school room, and the gym, which is carpeted and doubles as an art studio and Spanish nook. There is also Martine’s office, a nap room for the preschoolers, a storage room, and a cloakroom where the children hang their coats, bags, and change their shoes into indoor shoes. They are only allowed to wear slippers inside the school, as it is carpeted. This reminds me of Japanese schools, except that here the children are allowed to bring their own slippers. In Japan the slippers are part of the uniforms and must be regulation color and design.

8:45 am

The kids wander in the room one by one and are by this time more or less all present. After some general comments and reminders, Martine starts the weekly routine of designating “responsibilities” onto each child. This is performed by use of a chart listing cleaning tasks to be completed each day and a small canvas sack containing the names of each child on Velcro tabs.

It took me a few months to figure out that the responsibility entitled Muffin referred to the class hamster. Insisting that the responsibilities be assigned by a random pull from the bag, Martine cheats openly on her own rule by fishing for names that she believes merit a particular nasty chore this week. The kids either suffer tremendously from the injustice of this favoritism or get a kick out of it, depending on how you choose to interpret the situation.

The responsibilities I find to be an ingenious system for ensuring an attitude of collective care and respect from all the students towards the cleaning and upkeep of the school room and materials. By being allowed to choose, in a fashion, what chore they do each week the child is given some autonomy and feels like she’s making a voluntary decision to contribute. This is probably a distinctive Montessori touch. Japanese schoolchildren also clean the school as part of their daily duties, although there they are responsible for the bathrooms as well, which I remain convinced is a mistake (imagine how what kind of clean job a second-grader might do on a bathroom — then repeat that every day for the whole year).

8:52 am

Work time. The children are either broken up into groups or sent to a desk to work individually. All the primary school kids, from 6 to 12, work in the same room, some in groups and some independently, and they pursue different activities. Martine keeps an eye on all of them and remains aware of how they’re doing and what progress they’re making, a remarkable feat for about 15 different students and different levels.

There are no set subject periods or age groups. The children have more or less the choice to work on one activity the entire morning or change subjects freely. There’s no morning recess, although there is a snack, which the children are expected to provide, following a rotation schedule. If the children tire of one activity and want to do some less-strenuous but still constructive activity such as reading, it is permitted within reason.

I take the group of English speakers. There are two first grade girls, a third grader, a fifth grader, and sometimes a first grade boy. We either do a language-arts activity all together, harder versions adapted for the third and fifth graders, or I split them up to work in pairs or alone. It’s my choice based on what we’re doing that day and how well the children are working together. When the English speakers take breaks to work on another subject, I choose a group of French children to do an English language lesson.

11:00 am

With Martine in the room, the classroom functions smoothly. With some notable exceptions, the children work quietly, although their rate of productivity is subject to debate. Clearly, some children are more ideal Montessori students than others. A group of three boys writes a bilingual dialogue together concerning an inept motorist and a driving instructor for their upcoming play. Another boy does French grammar exercises on the computer. A girl visualizes multiplication with wooden beads and a counting board.

Meanwhile, little G— sulks at his desk, complaining that his work is “too hard” and he doesn’t “understand nuffing,” and I— doodles on the margins of his essay and gazes out the window. I remind I— to get back to his work and Martine appears over G—‘s shoulder to investigate the veracity of his claim.

Part I

Part III

Guida Bulba: Corps & Voix

Grenoble Life’s Shonah Kennedy meets Guida Bulha of Corps et Voix, a trainer and consultant in oral communication.

As a teacher I have the privilege to meet a vast array of people.  I am constantly amazed, entertained and, more often than not, pleasantly surprised.  One of the people I had the pleasure of meeting was Guida Bulha of Corps et Voix.  Below Guida explains what she does, how she does it and what benefit it could be for you.

Shonah: How do you describe what you do?

Guida Bulha: Well, I am a trainer and a consultant in the oral communication area – working the body and the voice.

Shonah: What does the process do for people?

Guida: This helps people to speak with greater confidence and conviction, and communicate more effectively in both business and social environments.

Shonah: What have been some benefits for past clients?

Guida: To develop their self-esteem has permitted some of them to find new customers.  For some public speaking with more confidence and for others to find jobs, etc.

Put simply: to develop their skills in their professional field.

Shonah: How did you start in your business? What is your background?

Guida: I began my career as a language teacher and translator; after that, I worked in several companies. Today I bring together my experience in international business, communication and marketing, and my experience in the voice field.

Guida Bulha working with a client

Shonah: When did you start doing this line of work and why?

Guida: I started in April 2008. More than ten years ago, I participated in a vocal workshop. There, I discovered that the voice – my passion – was much more than a simple emission of sounds. The voice is “something” fragile and powerful. It was a great surprise for me. Therefore, I decided to push my discovery further and I undertook training in this area.

Shonah: What is the link with workshops or training sessions – such as public speaking, telephone interactions, front-line workers, sales, team building – and the body and the voice?

Guida: People who work in these areas use their voices to communicate.  You know, the most important part when you communicate is the non-verbal language, and that the voice is embodied in … the body. To equilibrate these three parts of communication. I mean; the body, the voice and the word, are fundamental. If you want to be heard and understood.

Shonah: How long have you been in Grenoble?

Guida: I have been here for 19 years. I saw the mountains and I fell in love.

Shonah: How do you help people to help themselves?

Guida: I help them to find – or to be conscious – that they have in themselves the resources to communicate. I accompany people to find the confidence in themselves.

Shonah: What are your plans for the future? 

Guida:  Well, I want to develop in other directions. I think particularly in the English speaking community. I want to propose to them workshops and training sessions to improve French or to improve their skills in public speaking or other themes. In French or in English. It is also possible to work the voice to sing or to speak. Just to find the pleasure to be confident.

Shonah: Thanks so much to Guida.  If you would like to contact Guida for further information you can do so through her website at Guida Bulha Corps et Voix.

Guida Bulha in action

Judith Bouvard, Dean of Grenoble Graduate School of Business

Grenoble Life talks to Judith Bouvard, Dean of Grenoble Graduate School of Business, about her background, the changing business and training environment in France, and why students should consider coming to Grenoble.

Grenoble Life: Where do you come from originally?

Judith Bouvard: I was born in a small town near Manchester in the North of England. 

GL: Why did you come to Grenoble ?

Judith: When I left Manchester I went to live in Romans in the Drôme, to work in the luxury shoe industry. After a couple of years there I came to live in Grenoble to resume my studies.

GL: What kind of work did you first do on arrival in Grenoble ?

Judith: When I arrived in Grenoble at the same time as I was studying I was working part-time for a UK firm as a marketing consultant helping them to develop the market of protective clothing for building sites and road works. I then started to work in the training and continuing education business by doing some teaching and helping some French companies to set up in-house training courses.

Then I started working at ESC Grenoble – this was the name of the school before we became ‘Grenoble Ecole de Management (GEM)’. I was involved with the school right from the day it was founded and I was even a member of the entrance juries for the Grande Ecole program before the building was finished.

I started teaching at the school and little by little I increased my contributions by developing the international relations. Then, in 1995, I created the Master in International Business (MIB), which was the first international program to be offered by GEM. I really felt there was a niche market for such an Master in Management program taught in English in Grenoble.

I gradually introduced more international degree programs taught through the medium of English and continued to develop the portfolio of international programs until GGSB became one of the schools of GEM.     

Parallel to that I continued my studies on the Henley DBA program and also obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Management Consultancy.

GL: What three professional achievements are you most proud of?

Judith: Developing a whole new international school from nothing and setting up all the programs; putting Grenoble on the map in international rankings, such as those of the prestigious Financial Times. I am also very proud of the careers and success stories of our graduates further to qualifications that I designed.

GL: Apart from the quality of the course programmes on offer at GGSB, why should potential students consider coming to Grenoble?

Judith: They should certainly consider coming for the dynamic nature of the city. It is easy to get by in Grenoble for non-French speakers. There is not a day that goes by without me hearing English on the street. However, most of our students become quite fluent in French rather rapidly as they experience true French culture. Our students are also sure to build a large international network of friends they can rely on in the future due to the fantastic diversity of the student population at GGSB.

GL: You have created partnerships between GGSB and schools around the world, including those in Iran and Saudi Arabia. As a woman, did you face any challenges in this respect?

Judith: The challenge was for me to actually challenge the pre-conceived ideas of what people had warned me about in advance. In those countries, people actually respect you for your intellect, status and qualifications regardless of your gender. Qualifications come above anything else and with more and more women gaining higher education degrees, the challenge for them is lessening. The other challenge was the dress code, but only from a comfort point of view. Wearing a head scarf when it is 40 degrees outside can be quite uncomfortable when you are not used to that!

GL: How has the business environment changed since you arrived in France, and how has GGSB contributed to this change?

Judith: Over the past 30 years, I have seen more international exchanges – both academic and corporate – and better means to conduct these exchanges, thanks to technology. Technology has definitely changed the way people do business. We can now work with different parts of the world without feeling that it is far away. For example I can be talking to a colleague in China or Singapore in the morning and to another colleague in Mexico in the evening. Of course the result is that the working day can be quite long!

At GGSB, we train qualified managers capable of working beyond national borders with a multitude of cultures and ethnic backgrounds. Our graduates are increasingly working in virtual teams spread over different countries. The contact with colleagues all around the world definitely adds a different dimension to business. 

GL: How has the learning and training environment changed?

Judith: We now have access to more information, thanks to the internet. What used to be called a ‘correspondence course’ is now called a ‘distance learning course’; technology has made learning more user-friendly. Furthermore, whereas years ago classes were made of one single nationality, the learning environment has become highly international, offering numerous opportunities for students.

Also the faculty members have become more like facilitators than lecturers. At GGSB gone are the days of long monologues by a lecture standing in front of the students. Now there is far more interaction and exchange between the lecturer and the students. Also I think that business schools have realised that it is important to have a good blend of lecturers with a more academic approach and business professionals who bring their work experience to the classroom.

GL: What is next for you and the school?

Judith: I’m very excited about our new Global Executive MBA that will begin in January 2011. This new course will run in eight different locations: Grenoble – Geneva – Moscow – London – New York – Singapore – New Delhi – Beijing, and is aimed at top managers who will travel to each location for specific courses and country case-studies.

This Global EMBA is the result of all the knowledge I’ve acquired over the years, after observing how companies function and their different needs. I’m also an AMBA auditor, so I’ve got to examine various programs, their pluses and minus.

I’m also preparing the future of GGSB when I will no longer be there to ensure the continuity of GGSB. I’m busy getting the right people in so the school will keep the same prestige and have the possibility of progressing. I’m proud as I see the next generation come in to be trained by GGSB. Often, children of those who I taught come to seek advice and are keen to live the same enriching experience at GGSB as their parents did.

Nicola Piroth at work and at play

Nicola Piroth is a play therapist with a private practice in Grenoble. She talks to Grenoble Life about creative approaches to psychotherapy, her international background and setting up a cabinet in France.

Grenoble Life: Tell us a little about your methodology.

Nicola Piroth: I practise as a play therapist, which means that I use a creative approach to psychotherapy. Play therapy recognises that children naturally use play as a creative form of self-expression and communication in order to grow and develop, as well as to address traumatic and painful issues from a safe distance. Children that are faced with distressing life events may not feel comfortable talking about their emotions, but through play therapy they can communicate and explore their feelings, learn skills and tools to heal their emotional pain.

In my cabinet, I mostly see children and adolescents in individual, regular play therapy sessions.  However, I also use another approach called filial therapy with some families. Using this alternative method I train parents to conduct individual play sessions – similar to play therapy but with their own children. This way of working can be so helpful when communication hasn’t been possible between parents and their children – for any number of reasons, but often simply because we don’t get any training to be parents even though it is quite possibly one of the hardest tasks we are faced with as adults. Children communicate through play – it is their innate language. By teaching parents the language of play, and how to use play therapeutically, the communication gap between parent and child can be closed.

Perhaps it is surprising, but I also use play therapy, and more specifically sandplay therapy, with adults. Using small trays of sand, clients sculpt the sand and position miniature objects and figurines to create scenes, worlds or designs that are expressions of their inner world. Sandplay therapy gives the client direct access to their internal self, allowing them to understand issues in a deeper way. As adults we often get stuck in certain situations or circular ways of thinking, and it is helpful to use a creative non-verbal tool to explore our inner workings, alongside more traditional dialogue.

GL: Does this methodology differ to established methods in France?

Nicola: As far as I know, traditionally, psychotherapy here has mostly been a verbal, intellectual process, perhaps based on a more medical model of psychiatry concerned with cause and effect. This relies mostly on talking things through. In play therapy we additionally use non-verbal, creative approaches that give space to the intuitive Self – the part of us that knows what it needs to heal, even if it can’t explain it. Experiencing our Self at this level allows us to integrate what we feel and what we know intellectually in order to move on.

Another aspect of the predominant model of psychotherapy in France is that it is still largely ‘adult’ led, with the doctor, psychiatrist or therapist seen as knowing more than the patient who is a passive recipient of the treatment.  In my own work, I believe it is essential to follow the client’s lead, to trust that – given a safe and accepting environment (as in child-centred play therapy) – children have within them the desire and strength to find their own way to heal and to grow.

This non-directive approach facilitates the development of self-responsibility, self-control, and appropriate self-esteem. It is my responsibility as the therapist to provide that safe and containing space in which the child can explore who they are, how they feel and ‘play out’ different solutions.  This also has larger implications regarding how I work with parents. I believe therapy must be a collaborative effort. For the child to have the safe space in my office is one thing, but regular meetings between the parents and I give parents the support they need in order to be able to accompany their child on the journey towards growth and change.

GL: Who comes to you and what are some of the reasons why?

Nicola: I see clients between one and 100 years of age … Traditionally play therapy was developed to work with the specific needs of 2–12 year olds, but I practise a more general creative psychotherapy that I feel applies to all of us…

Why do people seek psychotherapy for themselves or for their children? It’s a very big question that has as many answers as there are people in therapy… adults come to work on existential issues, difficult life experiences (such as divorce, a loss, or adapting to a new country), or to further their personal development. Children and adolescents are referred for equally diverse reasons, for example, their parents have noticed low self-esteem, depression, or the development of challenging behaviours at home or at school. Perhaps the family or child has recently undergone a traumatic experience – ranging from maltreatment to moving homes, the birth of a sibling, long-term illness and hospitalisation, adoption, bullying … to name but a few.

Yet other children have difficulties ‘fitting in’ (whatever that means!), struggle at school, or have been diagnosed with developmental difficulties that require a little extra help to develop their sometimes hidden potential.  Play therapy is useful for a whole range of emotionally-based problems of behaviour and adjustment.

GL: Are these reasons different in any way to those you have encountered working in other countries?

Nicola: Regarding my work with children, I would say that generally the reasons are the same here – parents come because they are worried about their children –  and though the way I work using play is unknown in France, it attracts a lot of people looking for a more child-centred approach. International families often come to the cabinet when they feel misunderstood or judged by more traditional French therapists who might be unfamiliar with different child rearing and cultural practises (for example long-term breastfeeding or co-sleeping), or the challenges facing  multi-cultural families.

I certainly do not pretend to understand the cultural background of all of the families I work with, but through my own personal experience, I am aware of some of the daily struggles one faces just trying to adapt to something as potentially stressful as a new school system …

GL: Where do you come from and where did you train as a therapist?

Nicola: That’s not such an easy question for me to answer… I was born in Germany to German parents, and have since lived in six different countries across four continents. I originally trained as a psychologist specialising in child development in the UK, but after a short career in a major child and adolescent psychiatry unit in London conducting psychological research I decided to train as a play therapist.

I think I realised that I am much better suited at playing Peter Pan with four year olds than at establishing a diagnosis or quantifying human experience in order to plug the results into a computer for analysis.  Don’t get me wrong, I respect and value psychometric testing when it’s necessary and well-carried out by a sensitive psychologist – but those are not my skills and no longer the approach I practise. My training as a psychologist remains extremely useful to me and it definitely informs my work, but I have tried to move away from ‘putting problems in boxes’ to working and thinking problems ‘out of the box’.

GL: What languages do you work in and why?

Nicola: I work using the languages I am fluent in – that is English, German and French.

GL: Why did you come to Grenoble?                   

Nicola: Our move from the USA to Grenoble was not an easy one for me – I loved living in California, but at that time it was necessary for our family to return to Europe. Luckily we were able to settle in Grenoble since it’s so central in this fantastic mix that is Europe.

GL: What difficulties, if any, did you have in setting up your cabinet in Grenoble?

Nicola: Perhaps the biggest hurdle for me was that play therapy didn’t exist here – at all. There wasn’t even a French translation for it, so I made up my own, la Thérapie par le Jeu. I am affiliated and registered with several international play therapy associations – but none of my foreign qualifications were recognised in France. Coupled with an attitude I frequently encounter here of “no one’s every done that before, so surely there is no point changing things by trying something new now….” I took a risk setting up my practise without any professional network.  And now, of course, that the cabinet is up and running, the French reaction is extremely positive and open minded with reactions such as “why don’t you train people here”!

GL: What advice would you give people setting up their own businesses/private practices in France?

Nicola: I’m not sure about giving advice, other than don’t be put off by all the scary looking forms and impressive civil servants. It does sometimes feel like everyone is trying to dissuade you from even trying, either by piling useless and endless paperwork at you or by sounding generally negative and complicated about relatively straightforward business. But if you have enough time to stand in queues and patiently rephrase your question for the third time, often that very same administration (like the URSSAF) can actually be a goldmine of information. France really is ready for some innovative business ideas, if you can just navigate and bully your way through the system.

Hoping to relocate to France?

Sylvie Leroux is account manager at ETC Logos, a company specialising in relocating foreign employees to the Grenoble area. Here are some of her top tips for successful relocation.

That’s it, your management has made the decision!  

THEY need YOU in Grenoble, to exchange your skills with the French team … 

You might have a sense of mixed feelings and certainly a whole load of questions left unanswered by your company (at home or in France). 

Well, here are a few basic tips … 

First, you need to decide wether you want to be helped or not. You can get a relocation agent, someone who knows the town, the area; a local company being better than an international group. They will advise you on the right place to live according to your criteria and they know the right people, which might be just as important as having the right documents. They have good contacts with real estate agents, bank managers or French administration staff and with a phone call,  they can settle any problem which would be trivial at home but can become huge when abroad. 

“We, at ETC Logos, have been working in Grenoble for more than 15 years and we’ve got a very good network,” says Isabelle Callard, Relocation Manager. ‘”When I came back from the USA in 1986, I started with the concept of relocation, people didn’t really know what it meant, today, it’s easier as we are well recognised in this field.” 

Second, be patient! Immigration process: 3–4 months; house search: 2–4 weeks; getting a plumber to come and fix a leak: from 2 hours to up to five days! 

The concept of time and priorities is different all over the world and France tends to be very slow on some issues. 

Again, the person who deals with your relocation will follow up these issues and make things easier for you. You can get down to work and they’ll think about calling the plumber one more time! 

A third piece of advice I would give is that you need to be prepared to face a different culture. 

Although we’re living in a global village, the concept of culture is engrained deeply in each one of us, often without us being aware of it. 

France is in Europe, France is a developed country, France is part of the G20, but France and French people have their own social and working habits which you’ll need to get used to. Grenoble even has its own culture, being a very cosmopolitan, expensive and provincial town. 

The relocation agent can understand those differences and try to work with you on them by providing cross-cultural seminars. 

But beware, a number of people call themselves consultants in relocation or relocation agencies … so make sure you or your company selects one that has a comprehensive range of services, starting from the immigration process before the move to getting someone who will accompany you during your stay and assist you when the assignment is over. 

These people will be the ones you put all your trust in: they will get you to sign official documents in French – of which you may not speak a word – for your house, your immigration file, your bank account. 

Now you can still decide to do it all by yourself, but remember that it might be the recipe for a disastrous relocation.

Helen McEwan (left) with children joining in on English Talk Radio

The May 21 English Talk Radio show features Helen McEwan of ABC Anglais, and took place at Les Petits Bilingues, Grenoble.

Listen to the show: here

English Talk Radio is a talk show in English on 90.8 Radio Campus Grenoble. We talk about film, theatre, finance, restaurants, travel, and have a variety of topical guests. There are four presenters: Kristine Minski talks about finance, Christina Menez talks about China, Mary Zaccai talks about student issues, and Vivian Draper – animatrice/rédactrice – hosts the show. Every Sunday at 12.30pm, and every Wednesday at 7pm on 90.8, Radio Campus Grenoble and live on www.campusgrenoble.org – and also here on Grenoble Life.

A map to Association Babel

Claire Bryars is President of Babel, a language and cultural exchange association in the centre of Grenoble. She tells us about the organisation, its activities and its history.

Babel is an association founded in 1978 by a handful of people who wanted to develop and promote language teaching and cultural exchanges in France and abroad.  

I was one of the founding members and have been President since 2003. As a teacher I have also organised intensive English courses and accompanied groups to England and Wales.

When we started we were extremely fortunate to be provided with a room in the heart of Grenoble, next to the Couvent des Minimes where we have been ever since.

The activities have been very varied over the years but from the very beginning we have given language lessons (English, French for foreigners, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Spanish) and had conversation groups.

We have also organised seminars, intensive adult courses, children’s classes, teacher training sessions, trips to England, Wales and Italy, had play readings, cultural evenings and produced a monthly newspaper (The Newssheet) which eventually became Breakaway.

For a few months we also presented a weekly radio programme. There is also of course the Library, an important part of our association. It was created in 2000 with the aid of Alliance Grenoble Oxford and Open House and is housed in Babel.

All the above activities are available to members and their friends who may also attend the cultural evenings. We have an Open Day in September and a yearly Christmas party. A monthly letter informs members of the coming events and a website has recently been set up.

Coming up next at Babel there is an inter-cultural evening (Italian/Spanish) on the 27th May followed by a trip to Italy. The Open Day is the 11th September (14h–18h) and Babel will participate in the Journées Européennes du Patrimoine on the 18th and 19th September with other associations housed in the Quartier du Vieux Temple. We hope to see you there!

A permanent member of staff is present on Tuesdays (12h15–13h45) during the library opening hours. Otherwise anyone wishing to join can leave a telephone message (04 76 42 43 91) or send an e-mail (association.babel@ laposte.net).

URSSAF - another elegant French acronym

Patrick Owen shares his experience starting an English teaching business, becoming an Auto-entrepreneur and dealing with France’s particular administrative complexity and love of acronyms.  

So as I come to the end of my ACCRE, I’ve contacted the URSSAF who told me to contact the APCE.  I also contacted the RSI and the CIPAV but had no response.  Therefore I sent an email to the CNAVPL.  I must, also, remember to send my annual report to the DRTEPF.  If all of this sounds like double Dutch, welcome to my world, since I started my own business.  I knew the French administration loved acronyms having lived in France for eight years, dealing with the CAF, EDF, GDF, etc.  However, when I set up my own company I entered a whole new ball game. 

After working in various language schools I decided to work for myself.  Everyone warned me against it; “It’s really complicated,” and, “The charges are really high,” were just two of the comments I heard.  It is amazing that France has so many small businesses, when you hear all the negative reactions.  In the beginning, I wasn’t sure what type of business to create with various projects in mind.  However, I soon discovered that in France, once you have trained to do one thing changing direction is not easy. Changing careers involves financial and time investments that I did not have.  I therefore decided to set up a language teaching business, since this was what I knew best. 

Now, it might be useful to explain why I had decided to set up my own business.  Many language schools will employ teachers on freelance contracts, as I had discovered during my first year in France.  The problem is that to work for a business school or university, where the better pay rates are, you need a principal employer.  In addition, for a reason that I can only speculate at, few employers are willing to sign the paper agreeing to be your principal employer.  There are two solutions: one is to use a société de portage, the other is to be your own employer.  The société de portage acts as your employer, in the sense that they take care of all the administrative paperwork, of course for this service they take a fee.  My feeling was that the fee charged didn’t really justify the work involved,  I therefore decided to set up for myself. 

I attended an event held by my local Chamber of Commerce, which didn’t turn out to be much help.  I was unable to get answers to my questions and, as I was not setting up a commercial activity, they were not the right people to ask.  In the end, it was internet forums that proved to be the most help.  I typed my questions into Google and sifted through the responses.  It was here that I learnt I would have to see the URSSAF.  They seem to be the organisation that catches the companies who are not commercial or tradesmen.  I also discovered that provided I didn’t earn too much and didn’t employ anyone else, the process was fairly simple. 

I printed a form on the internet and headed for the URSSAF.  I had been told I didn’t need an appointment.  This worried me slightly, as I had experienced the queues at the Social Security and the Prefecture.  I was pleasantly surprised to be received within ten minutes of my arrival by a pleasant and helpful adviser.  She rapidly entered my details and answered my questions, in less than an hour I was in business, literally.  She offered me a free appointment with an accountant and, best of all, showed me I was eligible for a dispensation of social taxes for one year.  I left the URSSAF with a whole different image of the French administration. 

The dispensation for one year is important and a big helping hand.  Normally a company’s charges are fixed for the first and second years.  Then the third year’s charges are calculated on the real income of the second year.  The problem is that, although, the first year’s charges are relatively light, in the second they double and this kills a lot of small businesses.  Now, certain categories of business creators, the unemployed for example, can ask for a first year free of charges.  I qualified because, although I resigned, I had been looking after my kids one day a week and received income support.  This taught me that you have to read everything because there is often an advantageous exception which you may not always be told about. 

While surfing the internet, I also discovered that if I wanted to teach in companies I would need to make a déclaration d’activité with the DRTEFP (Direction Régionale du Travail, de l’Emploi et de la Formation Professionnelle).  In France, companies are obliged to pay a tax towards the training of their employees.  This tax is often collected by organisations which manage the training funds.  These organisations will only accept training courses run by companies who have made the declaration.  Many people wrongly refer to it as an agreement, however the DRTEFP are very strict in their literature that it is not an agreement from the state, merely a declaration.  

I discovered that with the right documentation, a curriculum vitae, a casier judiciaire vierge (a document you can order online showing you have never committed a crime), and your first training contract the procedure was straightforward.  It is the contract which can be a little complicated, if you haven’t got a declaration number how can you sign a contract?  I got around this problem by noting that my declaration was being processed, and offering my first client a clause whereby if I didn’t get the number the contract was null and void. 

I treated starting my business rather as a challenge and as time went on it became a puzzle, for which I was never sure I had all the pieces.  To be honest I enjoyed pitting myself against the French administration and proving those who said it would be hard to do wrong.  It must be said that I chose the simplest possible structure and being a teacher, who teaches in companies, I have very few overheads. 

It is worth mentioning in conclusion that a law was passed in 2008 making it even easier for freelance teachers.  The status of Auto-entrepreneur is designed for people who may have multiple employers as well as working for themselves.  The process of setting up is very simple and can even be done online.  The real boost however comes in terms of charges and tax.  The Auto-entrepreneur can choose to declare his turnover each month or trimester.  The social charges and tax are calculated based on what he declares and paid immediately.  This avoids the nasty bills arriving one year after a good year.  It also means that if you have a month with no income you pay nothing.  This regime is much more sensible for someone like me. 

Unfortunately, and here is the downside of my experience, getting information about this new status has been hard.  I have read the law and the Auto-entrepreneur’s handbook.  As a sole trader I can ask to benefit from the same regime, and I have done so which brings us back to the beginning of the article.  The acronyms are all the people I have contacted to ask for help changing my status.  

On the whole my experience has been positive; the principal problem has been people.  Everything one needs to know is on the internet.  When dealing with employees of the various administrations it is a case of pot luck.  The first person I saw was excellent, others have been less so.  I once made the mistake of phoning on the day of a strike, my call was answered after prolonged ringing by a harassed and unhelpful lady.  I blame myself for this one, though, after three years in France I should have known you don’t phone the public service on strike days, I was lucky someone answered.  My advice is to be determined, do your research and treat the experience as fun, and you will be fine. 

Patrick Owen
www.englishcoach38.com
letter-from-france.blogspot.com

A filled blackboard. Photo: Rainer Ebert

In response to criticism of the education system on Grenoble Life and from the Anglophone community in France, Iain Smears mounts a passionate defence of French schooling.

Many people in the Anglophone community in Grenoble will come into contact with the French education system either through their studies or those of their family members. There are aspects about it which seem to draw criticism from a considerable proportion of the English-speaking community.

In this article, I would like to depict how my own experience of doing maternelle, primaire, collège and lycée in Grenoble, then of going to university in the UK, has shown me the many benefits of the education on offer here. In fact, it is precisely some of those aspects of the system which are often criticised which I would argue have been of value to me in my university studies. I will focus on secondary education, or more specifically the Bac Général, as I have only glimpses and second hand experience of French higher education and cannot claim to know much about the other paths in secondary education.

A major concern for some is the long hours of schooling throughout collège and lycée. I did the Bac Scientifique with the OIB (L’option internationale du baccalauréat), and I’m the first to admit that it was demanding. On a few occasions, I’ve been asked by parents with children about to embark on this path if it’s true that I did 50 hours of work a week. Their frowns of anguish are of little surprise to me when I place a finger on my lip, recollect, then declare that it was probably a dozen or so hours more than that.

I do see the sense in many of the objections to long school days and I will readily concede that perhaps the content of lessons from 5-6 pm isn’t what I remember the best – however, little is said of the end result of French schooling: how does it influence one’s experiences in higher education and after that?

I chose to study mathematics in the UK. Bit by bit, I noticed how my fellow students were finding the course more trying than I was – some would find it hard to do their work on time, others found it hard to get out of bed, some needed vast amounts of caffeine or chocolate to feel ready to take on their work. Someone put my thoughts into words by calling it a “great big hangover for having partied for the previous 18 years.”

For my part, I continued at my usual rhythm inherited from Terminale by learning my lectures as well as I could and doing my homework sooner rather than later. I think that strong discipline not only leads to successfully acquiring the material, but also helps to explore the subject to its fullest, satisfy one’s curiosity and therefore enjoy one’s studies.

The extensive testing and harsh grading schemes in French education also attract criticism. Yet I believe that it is instead very beneficial to get substantial practice of long examinations. Being able to focus and to stay sharp under pressure is an important part of exam technique and I am glad I was able to get practice in this before end-of-year exams at university.

As for the unforgiving grading, it made those good grades well deserved – something in which I found satisfaction. I found that for me and other pupils at school, it encouraged a determined attitude towards trying one’s upmost. Compare this to the comments I have heard of several students in the UK about how they were “spoon-fed just to pass exams” and “weren’t proving [their] own ability, but that of [their] teacher”, which has not helped them find self-confidence and belief in their ability. I think that learning that someone can indeed rise up to a challenge is important for him to value and appreciate his work and also helps in face of future challenges.

It is true that some people can find the difficult grading scheme discouraging. But even though grades matter for later progression, it should be remembered that what is learnt matters most. Whether someone gets a B or C on an A-level or roughly equivalently [i] a 10 on the Bac, what they have gained from school will likely be the same. When that person goes onto university, it is what that person has acquired that will be key. I know of some who struggled in a subject throughout lycée, then needed that knowledge to some extent in their later studies, and have told me since that they felt they were at an advantage against others in their group.

However if there is a clear-cut problem with the grading system, it is that it puts at a disadvantage French students who wish to study abroad, e.g. the UK. This is because admissions tutors might not be aware of the discrepancies between the systems and take estimated grades for the Baccalaureate at face value – i.e. they would assume, say, that an A is worth 16 on the Bac. Things are made worse by the fact that high numbers of UK students get the top mark: according to wikipedia [ii], 43.7% of students taking an A-level in Mathematics got an A in 2007. And unlike A-levels, Baccalaureate students cannot retake exams to improve their grades. This can result in disproportionately demanding offers for Baccalaureate pupils.

A final advantage of the French education system, which is not immediately apparent to those still undertaking it, is that it offers flexibility in later choices. Of those who did the Bac Scientifique in my class, some have gone into media relations, politics, languages, nursing… Some feel that the schooling did not suit them, but what they have done enables them to embark on a wide range of paths afterwards.

In conclusion, even though the French secondary education system has its faults, I hope it will not be forgotten that the overall result of the extensive schooling is threefold. First, it is an opening to numerous topics – it showcases vast bodies of knowledge and works to stimulate the pupil’s mind in all forms. Second, it helps to equip its pupils with the attitude, determination, self-confidence and ethos which are important in all walks of life. Third, it aims to keep as many doors open as possible all the way until the end of the Baccalaureate. Combined, I think these three aspects allow the education system to offer what one generally wants: the freedom to choose one’s way through an opening to the world.

The crèche: in safe hands

Grenoble Life editor James Dalrymple blogs on his experience with French childcare in Grenoble and the difficulties getting that all-important place at a crèche.

Handing over your baby to complete strangers is not first on our list of desirable experiences but it is an everyday reality for working parents. France has a relatively high proportion of working mothers and an enviably fertile population, but a surprisingly short basic maternity leave. These are just some of the contributing factors that necessitate widely available and affordable childcare, which in turn do their bit to help get the balance right between being a parent and having a career.

The scolaire system

Getting a place at a municipal crèche, however, is notoriously difficult in Grenoble (and probably elsewhere in France). The largest intake of babies is in September when toddlers doff their mortar boards and graduate to Ecole Maternelle (nursery school), freeing up space for the newbies. Thus, unless you are confident of conceiving in accordance with the demands of l’année scolaire, you may find yourself out of luck when your congé de maternité or parental comes to an end. (For your info, nine months of pregnancy added to around three months of post-natal maternity leave - give or take – would make this September a good time to conceive in order for your baby to get into the crèche in September 2011 – you know what to do!).

Such crèches are subsidised by the Mairie, but parents still pay the bill depending on their means: making them affordable to all. The charges are subject deductions from the CAF before you see them, so that there is none of the time-consuming reimbursement admin which affects visits to many doctors. For my wife and I, it amounts to about two euro an hour. What’s more, thereafter, you can declare this expense against your annual income tax obligations (impôts) which sees this figure drop by a further 50%. In short, the piggy bank can be left intact for the time being.

In my experience the crèches are clean, well-equipped and staffed, with fresh meals prepared on the premises and bubbly personnel. At the end of each day I am given a detailed report on my daughter’s food intake, sleep time and number of nappies (couches) filled with unnerving precision. I am always reassured she is in safe hands, free to explore a terrain filled with ludic objects to peruse, which makes a change from her reordering my CD collection or trying to rewire a wall socket chez moi. 

The nanny state

The alternative is a crèche familiale: effectively smaller groups of children cared for at somebody’s home. This is billed as a municipal service and thus subsidised but is closer in spirit to having a private nanny. In our case, we were desperate for the lively atmosphere of the crèche for our daughter, with the different carers and larger number of children. Whereas many people appreciate the crèche familiale, we didn’t feel comfortable leaving our daughter with only one person: a person who wields such an enormous influence in a child’s life yet does so largely away from the scrutiny from her peers.

Although I’m sure the majority of women who work at crèches familiales are professional, I have heard of instances in which they were not. And if you refuse the woman the Mairie offers you, they immediately blacklist you and you have no chance of getting subsidised municipal childcare. It seemed that if we accepted this process, it was a big step into the unknown. Private nannies were also scarce at the time, and among those we met who weren’t fully booked there were some who didn’t seem to even particularly like children. These individuals were also unwilling to accept temporary terms with us while we waited for a place at the crèche to become available, as they wanted a longer commitment.

In my local quartier, the municipal crèche is situated ideally at two minutes walk from our flat, and would have stood as a mocking reminder of what we had missed if we hadn’t got a place there. Finally we resolved to make an arrangement whereby our daughter attended the halte garderie, which is effectively the same as the crèche but only for up to two days maximum. Normally this is organised on an ad hoc basis or, as in our case, with temporary rolling contracts. Luckily we were able to make other arrangements for the remaining hours that we needed but it allowed us to ingratiate ourselves a little with the staff there and secure our position on the waiting list until a place made itself available. This happened in three months.

Baby betrayal

At first our daughter was crestfallen upon being left at the crèche, acting as if having befallen an enormous betrayal. Traitor! she seemed to cry upon being passed to the crèche staff. There is an integration system by which you can leave your child at the crèche for a couple of hours at a time, gradually building up to full days, but babies are an unpredictable bunch. One day you feel a guilty tingle of satisfaction when your baby cries on being handed over to a carer: yes, my baby still loves me best! The next day your child will cry when you come to pick her up. Traitor! you seethe in silence. In the parental logic, the latter is just the baby ‘releasing tension’ at the end of the day.

The inevitable inconvenience to all this contact with other children is what has seemed like an endless loop of spectacular illnesses. The first time you see a baby projectile-vomit (à la L’exorciste), it is terrifying, but it is impressive what one can become inured to. The winter just past has been a hard one: with the somewhat false alarm of swine flu providing unwelcome distraction from the lurid retinue of tummy bugs and gastros doing the rounds. At the crèche, there is no escape from the steep curve towards stronger immune systems, but this has to happen at some point.

The three days a week my daughter spends at the crèche currently provide most of her contact with French, despite the efforts of certain staff members to speak English to me. As my wife and I speak English at home we hope this will be an effective path towards her obtaining bilingualism; but it is interesting to see the different phonemes she manages in her babillage. Among the distinctly Anglophone syllables we have started to identify some impressively rolled Rs. Once she yelled what was clearly a resounding Merde!, but I’m sure she didn’t learn that down at the crèche.

If you want my advice, persistence is key. Where there is will there is a way.

Still searching for the right path in Grenoble?

Grenoble Life’s Shonah Kennedy shares her experience of coming to the city on the “coat-tails” of her husband and discovering she was not the only woman in Grenoble who had temporarily placed their life on hold to be with the man of their dreams.

Heading back to Grenoble after a mini-break in Switzerland I wondered why I felt a little apprehensive. Then it hit me. I was going back to Grenoble AND going back to work! That is right – after what seemed like a formidably long time – I have a job! So, on the return journey to Grenoble, and inevitably to work, my thoughts were consumed by the metaphorical journey I took to get to where I was … it felt like a round-the-world trip, with multiple stopovers!

Until I had coffee with a lovely American girl, I felt that I was on the aforementioned sojourn alone – I imagined I had been the only one ever to have temporarily placed my life on hold to be with the man of my dreams, to live his dreams for a while, as mine simmered on some distant stove-top. However, as we chatted it emerged that she had decided to take a slight detour from the road she was traveling on when her husband received a job offer here. I felt relieved – even though she had been through many of the bureaucratic and emotional ups and downs that I had had to endure – as I was not alone anymore. Actually I would come to learn that the round-the-world was almost over-booked!

Even though my dear husband was very supportive and really encouraged me to get “out there” and look for the job I now have, and be able to write about it here, I really felt as if I had started this metaphorical travel with no preparation – I hadn’t purchased the latest guide book, I didn’t know the sites to see and I didn’t even think to take a language course … so when I ended up on the road, I felt as nervous as if I was going to hitchhike solo the whole way, and just hope that I arrived at the destination I was intended for.

After the coffee with my, now, dear American friend I started thinking there must be others out there like me, wandering around in the wilderness of a round-the-world which wasn’t entirely self motivated. In fact, I found a conglomerate of women living lives they would otherwise not have expected.

Now I have a job, in a profession I adore, and feel a somewhat useful part of society my lost days are few and far between. However, I have spoken to some women who still feel lost, after many years of being here. The decision was not entirely theirs in the first instance, to move to Grenoble, they “followed” – for want of a better word – their husbands here and have never really found their Grenoble feet. These women left good jobs, independence and a place where they felt at home to be with the one they love, but sadly the love of the town has never found them.

Then there are the women who have had a wonderful transition (are these the ones who acquired an upgrade to first class on their round-the-world, I wonder?!) and have not felt as if they have given up their path in lieu of their partner’s, but more taken a segue for a limited period and see many positives in the entirety of the adventure – new place, new language, new friends and an experience they would not otherwise have had.

After speaking to many women (and I know I keep mentioning women, it is not that I assume this situation only happens to women, but during my discussions on the topic of partners following partners, I only heard two separate rumours about men who came to Grenoble because their wives had jobs here) being in Grenoble for many different reasons – marriage, husband’s job, husband’s contract, boyfriend’s research etc. – I came to the conclusion that even though we are all on the same metaphorical journey we will all come home with different travel stories. Some may suffer from travel sickness, while others don’t. Some are in first class, while there are many of us in an overcrowded economy. Some get the interactive TV screens, while for some it is offline for a while, and they must wait for it to be reset. Whatever the situation the journey itself is seemingly memorable.

I would like to thank all the women who shared their stories with me, and I would like to make you aware that each of you has enhanced my round-the-world more than you will know!

Upstage 2010

Grenoble Life’s Camille Bromley was in the audience at Ste-Marie-d’en-Bas for this year’s Upstage theatre production: Joe Orton’s Loot and Harold Pinter’s Mountain Language. Here’s what she has to say.  

Grenoble is home to a plethora of theaters running shows every night of the week, but not many of those are performed in English.  Luckily we have Upstage productions to step up to the task; every year Upstage puts on a six-day running of English language theater, performed by high school students at the Cité Internationale.  This year producer and director David Simpson presented a double-bill, Joe Orton’s Loot and Harold Pinter’s Mountain Language.  

Those expecting “High School Musical” should look elsewhere.  Although the team of actors is made up of high school students, the plays chosen confronted difficult and provocative issues. The group emphasizes that its shows are professional productions aimed for all mature audiences, and challenging plays are chosen to reflect this.  

First on the bill was the short but intense Mountain Language, a serious political play about the imprisonment and torture of an ethnic minority group and their loss of culture and identity as a result of the forced suppression of their language.  The play was written after writer Harold Pinter became aware of the treatment of Kurds in Turkey, but the play’s setting is non-specific.  Heavy subject matter and a demanding script, which the actors handled with deliberate subtlety, making the events on stage resonate even more.  

Loot, a subversive black comedy recounting a funeral, a bank robbery on the same day, and the consequent mayhem, is full of lively, sharp characters and witty one-liners.  The actor playing Nurse Fay got the character’s prim voice and maligning saunter down pat, while Inspector Truscot and Hal got through their bits with perfect comic delivery, including a Clouseau-ish French detective impression that won the house over.  

In both plays gender roles were not strictly kept to, with girls playing male roles to balance out the distribution.  To make the small number of roles available to more actors, two actors playing each role alternated nights.   

The play ran from Monday to Saturday the week before last.  Thursday night opened to a full house in the Ste-Marie-d’en-Bas, a small theatre with plenty of ambience just off of the place Notre Dame.  Many Anglophones were audible in the audience, but a good mix of Francophones was present as well.  

An impressive show, by an impressive group of bilingual students.  I look forward to next year’s.  

Upstage 2010 poster

Odyssey Intercultural

Michelle Mielly is MSc Marketing Program Director at Grenoble Graduate School of Business. She talks to Grenoble Life about her background, adapting to life in France and Odyssey Intercultural, the training consultancy she founded.

Grenoble Life: What is Odyssey Intercultural and who is it for?

Michelle Mielly: Odyssey Intercultural is a brand I created four years ago in my work as a consultant with Act’Rmc here in Grenoble. Its name reflects the long and multi-faceted journey that one experiences when working and living interculturally.

The training I have developed targets individuals, teams, and organizations wishing to acquire greater intercultural competency. They may be involved in an acculturation/expatriation process, working in a multicultural team environment, experiencing the ins and outs of a corporate merger or international joint venture, or managing any form of diversity in an organization. Any of these common situations requires intercultural competency.

GL: What are some of the dangers of poor intercultural understanding and management?

Michelle: Stated simply, failure is the biggest danger. Failure in business ventures is often attributed to incompatibilities in strategy, business models, operational technicalities, or management styles. However, when one looks at some of the most spectacular failures in international business, the hidden dimension of culture is often the origin.

The examples are multiple: Disney’s implantation strategy in France and in Hong Kong, the Daimler-Chrysler merger, Lucent-Alcatel’s missed mission, Schneider Electric’s difficulties with a number of its foreign subsidiaries, and many more. Some of these examples illustrate that cultural issues create great obstacles, but the good news is that you can overcome them with hard work and the investment of time.

Another danger is missed opportunities. Creating a bad first impression takes a long time to correct, so it’s better to go into international business with an open mind and conscientious preparation. Many opportunities are lost due to individual cultural differences that inhibited the establishment of a long lasting and productive relationship.

When people don’t feel respected, if they perceive a lack of interest on the part of the other, if they lack the fundamental trust at the foundations of the relationship, or if they think they are being stereotyped negatively, they go into defensive mode. Most of the time they actually start behaving in ways that may confirm the other’s stereotypes!

It must be stressed that in speaking of cultural differences in the corporate context, we are often talking about corporate, and not national or regional cultures. There are dozens of examples of mergers or acquisitions between the same national cultures, but the corporate cultures involved were profoundly imprinted and elusive to change.

GL: Odyssey Intercultural specializes in European-North American relations. Could you elaborate on how these relations can be complicated or sensitive and why Grenoble in particular might require such a service?

Michelle: Cultural differences exist between any two cultures: just looking at Western Europe’s dazzling diversity is overwhelming! Statistically speaking along national cultural dimensions, there are much greater differences between France and Denmark for example than there are between France and the US.

So why train people to work better with North Americans (Canadians and US)? Precisely because there is an incorrect perception, due to excessive and sustained commercial and popular culture exposure, that these cultures are familiar, superficial, and that there is not much more to know about them.

Upon closer examination, however, one finds differences of deep and significant import. It is one thing to watch American sitcoms, eat at McDonald’s, study the English language, visit Toronto or the Grand Canyon for two weeks. It is absolutely another to work, communicate, and negotiate with North Americans on a daily basis.

One example: the perception of time. First, is time a disposable resource? What is an acceptable turnaround time in responding to an email (reactivity levels)? What is the best way to organize time allocation for a project, or just for a meeting? How does one divide one’s personal time from professional time and is this necessary? Should people be available during vacation periods? How much vacation is necessary? What are the expected working hours in companies?

Grenoble’s high tech economy provides a stunning example of how globalization has simultaneously simplified and complicated our work environment. And this environment has an impact on our personal lives as well (increased travel, the need to work odd hours to accommodate conf calls internationally, etc.).

Managers now have teams working 24/7 on their global projects, so deep integration through collaborative technology is a reality today. An industrial project, for example, involves teams in multiple time zones with multiple local environments that contrast sharply from one site to another.

While technically we have the means to run long and short term projects across the globe, on a personal individual level, we often simply do not have the intercultural tools at our disposal to sustainably manage the complexity of the different cultural realities that each site and international counterpart presents throughout the project lifetime.

Partnerships in many forms between Grenoble-based organizations and North American organizations are extremely common and new ones are forming constantly. Due to the perceived similarity of our cultures, most of my clients do not see a need for my services at the start of the project, but usually begin to perceive the need once the challenges have begun to appear.

GL: Why and how did you set it up?

Michelle: I set up this activity to be able to develop trainings that had begun to be requested by local companies to whom I had been referred. As in any activity, a couple of companies ‘took a chance’ with me and offered me a first opportunity to develop a training on French-American intercultural communication.

Thanks to their confidence, I was able to get my grounding in this fascinating field and to develop and test my trainings on people directly working in the corporate environment. My work with people on both the French and American sites of these organizations has helped me see the importance of working with people on both sides of the fence.

GL: Tell us a little about your background

Michelle: Ethnographically speaking I fully identify myself as a southerner: born and raised in Texas to parents from Louisiana and Oklahoma. I grew up in a small town outside of Houston, where I spent a great deal of my time riding my horses and learning the value of simplicity and the happiness of being outdoors.

I started learning French when I was about 15 and then switched from the rodeo circuit to the international summer exchange circuit. I worked my way through undergraduate studies, three graduate programs including Pennsylvania State U and Harvard, and in between got some great experience working in the field.

Trained in linguistics, foreign language pedagogy, intercultural studies and anthropology, I’m politically progressive but culturally conservative. I am proud of my roots and the values I received from them and encourage my students and clients to never lose sight of those values, no matter how much adaptation they must do internationally.

GL: You’ve also worked in Africa and Central America, can you tell us a little about this and how it influenced your thinking.

Michelle: In my 20s I spent a lot of my time backpacking—Europe, Latin America, SE Asia, Africa. Studying comparative literature with a focus on contemporary Central American writers led me to Costa Rica where I had an exceptional experience. I wrote for the local English speaking paper in San José, translated the poetry of Ana Istaru, and had the chance to manage an ecotourism outfitter in the Northwestern pacific region of Guanacaste with 14 employees. This experience made it clear to me that development work was for me.

When I went on to study for the Ph.D. at Harvard, I focused on Francophone African civilizations with a focus on modern day cultural producers and how they contribute to economic and cultural development. I got to live and work with the extraordinary artist Werewere Liking in the Ki Yi Village, Ivory Coast.

These experiences involved huge amounts of negotiation, adaptation, and exhausting reappraisals of my priorities. I initiated as a part of my doctoral thesis for example a US tour of seven African artists in the US in 2004 involving 10 universities across the US, from New York all the way to Ohio.

I began to recognize that I had a certain ease in working with very different cultures and in coordinating among diverse partners in complex situations, constantly negotiating for the best compromise for all. I had in fact through these experiences developed my own working philosophy and own tools, but not until my work in intercultural management had I actually started thinking about them in terms of knowledge transmission.

GL: Concerning European-North American relations – as I’m British, where do I fit in? Do your clients ask for intercultural training on British working and cultural habits? How are we often perceived by others (wrongly or rightly)?

Michelle: Well, you and I have a lot in common in terms of cultural heritage. The US could be considered to simply be the most successful colony of the Commonwealth! And yes, I have actually been asked for help in companies working with the British, but I always involve a British colleague or graduate student in order to legitimize my work on that culture, to provide the most authentic training possible.

In terms of perceptions, the French have the perception that the British are not as trustworthy as the Americans. I think both cultures (French and English) perceive the other as ‘perfidious’, as traditionally both sides of the Channel have portrayed the other as capable of treason. Idiomatic expressions such as filer à l’anglais or ‘to take French leave’ illustrate the mistrust. And who can blame either? There is a lot of water under that bridge of collective memory.

Another perception that the French have is that the British have a more complex communication style with more ‘code’ and irony. And that is one that I fully agree with!

GL: What are some of the difficulties you have faced adapting to life in France and how have you overcome them?

Michelle: In terms of my greatest difficulties to adapting to France in particular, I think most of them were due to differing communication styles and my own unrealistic expectations. These created great obstacles for me here, and it took me some time to have close French friends.

I had learned from my southern American upbringing and values, what we call southern gentility, that there are certain things you just cannot do, for example:

It is impolite to confront or challenge others’ ideas in public, particularly if you do not know the person well. It is impolite to say provocative things about another country or civilization in front of the person representing that country. It is not kind to interrupt someone when they are speaking. It is not good manners to correct another person’s accent or pronunciation if they are learning your language. Finally, outside of communication issues, it is extremely rude to jump in front of someone in a line (or a queue as you say in the UK).

I progressively discovered to my astonishment that all of these behaviors were common in France, part of the way people operate here generally. It is perfectly fine to criticize others in order to spark a debate or discussion, to see whether you are capable of holding your own when it comes to rhetorical skills (of which the French have plenty).

It’s part of their philosophical heritage to critique other civilizations and to look upon the outside world as less attractive than France, but they actually want you to convince them otherwise. That’s why they provoke heated discussions which are in no way unfriendly. A sign of a strong relationship between two people here is to be able to argue heatedly and passionately with each other, often in public.

Frequent interruptions in France are normal and common in discussions, formal and informal. Correcting someone’s French is the only way to help that person avoid sounding ridiculous to others, and having someone else correct them later.

Last but not least, if you do not have a strong territorial strategy for defending your place in a queue, people will simply cut in front of you. It was me who needed to adapt my behaviors and expectations to this new environment, to shift from passive to active mode.

GL: Could you give Grenoble Life readers some tips on adapting to life in France?

Michelle: I think the above description could suffice: it’s all about changing your expectations and recognizing your cultural limitations in order to move on. If French people seem strange, rude, or complicated to you, they may be thinking the exact thing of you! You have to be a lot more flexible in another country than you are at home, you have to tolerate a lot more discomfort and sense of displacement.

It can really be frustrating at times and often discouraging. The movement from one place to another, literally translatio, requires a self-reflexive capacity for adapting to the new environment and to those with whom you are in contact. Yet more important than any of this is having a strong dose of empathy. In other words, forcing oneself into the uneasy position of the other, and trying at all times to imagine things from their perspective.

See www.odysseyintercultural.com for more info.

Trudi Penkler: Active Adaptation Counselling

Trudi Penkler is a psychologist, psychotherapist and ‘Intercultural Consultant’ with her own practice, Active Adaptation Counselling, in Grenoble. In the second of a two-part interview, she talks to Grenoble Life about the experiences families can have adapting to life in France.

Grenoble Life: What kind of difficulties can families have adapting to life in a new culture?

A lot has been written about culture shock, but in my experience few difficulties in adapting to a new culture can be attributed to this alone. Certainly there are some very real challenges to be faced in making our lives work in unfamiliar surroundings. Actually living day-to-day in a new country is very different from a holiday visit. Sometimes we can feel completely ‘outside’ of what is happening around us, disconnected, as if we’ll never understand or be part of where we are. There can be a sense of loss when nothing seems to be as it was before.

Although we have risen to the challenge of relocating to a new country and find the differences we encounter interesting and stimulating, we may not identify with anything within the culture around us to begin with and may feel that we are having to live in isolation, surrounded by a world we have no part in. The social support network of family, friends and people who shared our way of life before, is very much missed and it takes time to recreate this again.

We may feel robbed of the roles that gave meaning to our lives and defined our social identity before. Generally this proves to be temporary as we start forming new habits and patterns, new friendships and connections which bring meaningful structure to our lives again and also when we realize that the previous chapters of our lives are still important. If, however, sustained helplessness, anger or resignation emerge, with continued feelings of anxiety, disorientation, confusion and depression, this requires attention.

When we establish our homes in a new environment, we’ve stepped out of the rut of our own ‘normality’ for a while. Any day-to-day challenge we would have managed in familiar circumstances will require more of us in unfamiliar ones – more concentration, more energy more time. Being prepared for this and accepting it upfront as part of the adaptation process, rather than resisting it and hoping for things to feel the same as before, is helpful.

We also need to be aware that we take ‘ourselves’ with us wherever we go. This means that pre-existent problem areas like fragile marital situations or wobbly self esteem, parenting difficulties or dependency issues will not go away or magically be ‘fixed’ in the new situation. Not only will they re-emerge, but they will be amplified by the stresses of moving. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes being brought face-to-face with difficulties that we’ve been carrying with us for years, but can no longer ignore, pushes us to address them.

Education is usually a very important priority for globally mobile families and whereas younger children generally adapt relatively easily, moving older children may be more difficult. Adolescence is of itself a time of change during which young people begin identifying more with their peers than their parents. Resentment, disengagement, helplessness and unhappiness can set in, if these young people feel they have been uprooted against their will and they will need empathetic understanding rather than motivational lectures from their parents. It is important to keep communication lines with teenagers and younger children open, especially about choices concerning them, at all stages of the relocation process.

When couples move, one partner’s career has often been favoured and the other may have renounced their own professional development and feel that they have lost too much, particularly if they are unable to resume a professional activity in the new country, because of language, legal or family constraints.

Leaving parents who are aging or in ill health behind in our home countries may be difficult.

GL: What other advice would you give families considering making a move to a new culture?

We don’t only take our weakness with us when we move across cultures, we also take our strengths, sometimes strengths we didn’t even know we had. We all have the resources within us to adapt to change, if the conditions are there to allow access to those resources …

But we do need to be very clear on the reasons for a move like this. Each individual family member may not be equally enthusiastic or benefit as much from the change, but each will be happier to be part of it all if the reasons have been clearly discussed and they makes sense.  

When we’re going to embark on an adventure like this, preparation is indispensible, not only in terms of the logistics of the move, but in familiarising ourselves with information about the new culture. Knowing more about the documented “do’s and taboos” of another culture is not going to prevent us from encountering obstacles and making mistakes anyway though.

A very important aspect of good preparation will involve also thinking about how we’re going to deal with change. Our emotional reactions and personal experience of a new situation are so much more positive when we’ve considered this beforehand and are consciously prepared to develop a tolerance for difference and uncertainty.

Things will be new and exciting, but the ease with which we did things in a familiar environment will not be there to begin with, especially if acquisition of another language is part of the equation. Simple tasks that we did without thinking before will take more time and effort. Although this may be frustrating, this doesn’t mean we’ve become less effective.

Coming to grips with the language of the country we’ll be living in will be essential, but there is no rule book as to how best or how quickly this should happen – we shouldn’t allow ourselves to be bullied into feeling inferior, while we’re actively learning and not yet proficient in a new language. Adapting to a new culture is not an end-point or a destination. It is a process, a learning process. We’re on the path and we are continuously progressing as long as we keep going. The pace of our own individual progress should not be measured or dictated by self-appointed ‘experts’ we may meet.

We’ll need to be gentle with ourselves, set realistic (yet ambitious) goals and respect the values and protocols of our host culture, without compromising our own. For a while our judgement will be a little cloudy while we’re learning about a new culture. It is important to consciously switch on the ‘data gathering radar’ in our minds, observing curiously all the time and verifying our conclusions by asking questions, rather than assuming we’ve understood what we’ve experienced. Most people will not find our questions bothersome and on the contrary, will enjoy being considered wise enough to be consulted.

Everything is easier when we feel stronger, so looking after ourselves health-wise should be a priority. Children should be kept informed of family decisions all the way (they’ll the need reassurance that their parents are ok, if a little lost and confused, still ok and still in charge).

We shouldn’t give up on the things we love or do well, music or painting, football or throwing a frisbee, but we’ll need to put effort into finding how to continue these activities in a different way. We also shouldn’t push ourselves to do things we don’t really want to, even though everyone else seems to be doing them. Some people really don’t like skiing or really aren’t interested in discovering the wonderful French wines here – and that’s just fine!

Keeping regular and ongoing contact with faraway loved ones will be very important too. You won’t have ‘betrayed’ them by coming to France and the more part of your experience they remain, the easier the separation will be for everyone.

And we’ll need to take the time to have fun and enjoy being where we are. This is not a test of endurance but an adventure and an “Adventure is worthwhile in itself.” (Amelia Earhart)  

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Please do not hesitate to contact me. My office is at 2 Rue de la République, in downtown Grenoble, just off of Place Grenette opposite Haagen-Dazs.

Tel: 04 76 98 93 85 e-mail: trudi@aac-intercultural.com website: www.aac-intercultural.com

Trudi Penkler

Trudi Penkler is a psychologist, psychotherapist and ‘Intercultural Consultant’ with her own practice, Active Adaptation Counselling, in Grenoble. In the first of a two-part interview, she talks to Grenoble Life about helping foreigners adapt to life in a new culture, going professional in France, and being a Ghostbuster!

Grenoble Life: What is an Intercultural Consultant?

Trudi Penkler: Our professions, education and social interactions are becoming more and more ‘globalised’. We can be based ‘at home’ but work with teams and organisations all over the world. We can also find ourselves living, learning and working in different cultural environments from the ones we’ve spent most of our lives in, sometimes for a short while, sometimes longer. This can mean trying to ‘belong’ in more than one place, or having children who do.

Intercultural consulting aims to provide information, awareness and skills, to help people be more effective in their work, pursue their research or studies comfortably and manage the demands of their daily lives with competence, in unfamiliar cultural contexts.

Active Adaptation Counselling was founded to serve this objective in 1998.  My work is about finding and emphasizing what works well in intercultural or multicultural situations, not what doesn’t. It’s about focusing on commonalities and strengths rather than differences and weaknesses. It’s about building bridges across the ravines that we imagine separate us from each other in terms of communication, understanding and interacting constructively. The experience of relocating across unfamiliar cultures myself provided the opportunity of looking closely into how to deal with diversity and developing expertise in this field, while continuing to practise as the psychologist and psychotherapist I was to begin with. 

Perhaps the best description of what I do was given to me by a young man of twelve who had come to see me, struggling to accept and settle into a new school system that at first seemed most alien to him and who was finally feeling more at ease … “You know what you are?” he said “you’re a ghostbuster.” I decided to keep the title!

GL: Tell us a little about your background

Trudi: Born in South Africa of parents and grandparents who were also born there, I never imagined living anywhere else. During the worst of the Apartheid years however, conditions became increasingly unbearable. It was inconceivable then, that Nelson Mandela would ever become the first president democratically elected by all the people of that country. ‘Broadening our horizons’ and trying to make our lives ‘elsewhere’ as parents of a young family, was a choice we felt constrained to make. Discovering a new culture and language were high on the ‘pro’ list when choosing to come to France. These were indeed to become great advantages, but naively we could not have imagined how hard won they would be!

Before coming to Grenoble, I had studied to work in both nursing and teaching biology, but a natural ability to deal well with crisis situations and to identify and redirect negative thinking and behaviour patterns towards more constructive ones, motivated more specific qualification in psychology, guidance and counselling. Experience in emergency situations with the South African Red Cross and responsibility for adolescent counselling in schools reinforced this choice.

GL: Why did you decide to develop a counselling service focusing on families moving to a new culture?

Trudi: The English speaking community was a lot smaller when I first came to Grenoble in 1986. Was it really more than two decades ago now?! Very little at the time, apart from house-hunting services and French lessons, was being provided by the companies and organisations that were relocating their employees, or students, even political refugees to the area. Interacting with other expatriates, I began to observe that wherever we’d come from, whatever the reasons for us being here, there seemed to be a pattern of common challenges and ways of coping with these – or not. It appeared that while some individuals embraced diversity and change easily, flourishing in a new cultural context and dealing well with situations and experiences very different from what they had known before, others managed less comfortably, sometimes very much less so.

What began as random observation and informal, voluntary help where appropriate, led to an avid interest in intercultural adaptation mechanisms, a need to understand these better and to establish the environment within which to contribute professionally. I spent a number of years reading and researching the thinking and behaviour patterns involved in cross-cultural adaptation, as well as studying the methodologies in cultural awareness training before beginning to work in this field.

GL: What challenges did you face in transferring your professional skills to France and set up your own practice here?

Trudi: Deciding to do something in France is one thing. Identifying the appropriate administrative processes and getting the paperwork right is another! Until I learned that “Non Madame, ce n’est pas possible,” were merely the opening words to further discussion, I would return defeated from the various offices that apply the regulations that govern self employment (trying to register my professional activity) or from the university (trying to obtain recognition of my qualifications).

Often when we’ve come from elsewhere, what we are trying to do in France doesn’t fit into any of the ‘boxes’ on the forms to fill in and much time is wasted in finding an alternative or solution. There is a cultural phenomenon that can work in one’s favour though and this is that unlike in our ‘bottom line’ Anglo Saxon cultures, negotiation can be a possibility, as long as one accepts the status quo to begin with and then looks at ways around obstacles from there.

Beginning almost as a ‘freelance consultant’, then establishing a practice and a small company concurrently, required carefully familiarising oneself with the details of ‘how things work’ officially, especially as in my case there are two distinct categories of services provided – i.e., Consulting in professional contexts as well as psychotherapy and counselling.

Balancing overhead costs and incoming revenue when we first start building up a client base can be daunting. I had the good fortune of sharing offices for financial reasons at first, with four wonderful French therapists, two of whom worked part-time for the government in judicial and social placement cases and also independently as therapists. Their input in terms of ideas, information and support was invaluable.

GL: What services do you offer?

Trudi: Although the services provided by Active Adaptation Counselling are two-fold – i.e., consulting in professional environments and personal counselling or therapy – the premise underlying both, is that active intervention can improve or repair our experience of a situation or event.

Intercultural consulting can involve any of the following: individual, management and team coaching; mediation and facilitation, which can be motivational, goal-directed or problem-solving; cultural awareness training programmes; workshops and lectures or presentations on specific topics or themes; independent screening for potential relocation; expatriation preparation, not only for those coming to France, but also for French expatriates moving elsewhere; preview visit interviews and ‘welcome’ talks; performance review and interview preparation; and repatriation or reintegration preparation for returnees.

Psychotherapy and counselling is provided for adults, adolescents and children, for couples and families. Problems and difficulties are addressed, but also aspirations and self development. What happens to us, as well as how we think and do things, all have an effect on how we personally experience of our lives, our work and our relationships. Psychotherapy and counselling can be useful when we are experiencing stress, emotional difficulties, psychological obstacles to learning, relationship problems, difficulties in adaptation to change, substance dependency, crisis situations, grief, difficulties in coping with physical difficulties or illness, post traumatic incident syndrome or simply when we need tools for going forward positively or improving a process rather than being stuck.

Lastly, my experience in the medical field has made it possible to provide medical interpreting services – i.e. the presence of an interpreter and counsellor during medical visits or hospitalisation.

GL: You work with international companies in the region – why do they approach you?

Trudi: Three main scenarios lead to requests for consulting to companies: Firstly, when intercultural awareness is important for individuals or teams working in multicultural or geographically diverse contexts and coaching, training programmes or workshops are required.

The second is when communication or motivation in multicultural teams needs to be stimulated and again, coaching services or workshops would be useful.

Thirdly, when cultural misunderstandings have led to errors in judgement or paralysis of a situation and external mediation or facilitation would get things moving forward again.

Smooth carrying forward of objectives can be hampered at various levels of management, by miscommunication or simple lack of awareness. This potentially becomes all the more complicated in diverse teams whose cultural filters are not all based in the same values and traditions. When we take the time to identify and focus on commonalities and the strengths to be drawn from diversity rather than differences and weaknesses – the most gridlocked of situations can gain momentum again.

Rarely, help can be required to defuse or get through a crisis situation, either the personal situation of an employee or group becoming critical in the workplace, or an external incident like a business travel accident, or hostage taking, which would require emergency support in handling the situation itself and for the employee’s family if necessary.

GL: What do your therapy sessions typically involve? (i.e., do you work with families, or in one-to-one sessions?)

Trudi: We find it appropriate to take responsibility for our own physical health. My sessions are about taking responsibility for our mental and emotional health too. Every case is different. Although most counselling is individual and face-to-face, couple, family or group counselling is often appropriate and constructive. Telephone counselling is also common for those living further afield and I’ve come to use this more often since consulting regularly by telephone for a company in America supporting French expatriates living there.

When the step of seeking help is taken, it is because something in our lives is not serving us well. As my clients often have to continue functioning effectively and in a ‘foreign’ environment to boot, my aim is always to actively begin the process of movement, from the present situation towards a more positively perceived one. When we look at our responses to others, to what happens to us, even to our own thoughts and fears, we also start reclaiming responsibility for ourselves and our own wellbeing, whatever the situation.

Endless digging about in the past without a clear intention or purpose does not make sense to me. Understanding where a difficulty may have its source is certainly important, but identifying and acting on what can be done about it from there, allows us to start leaving behind the ‘victim status’ we may be stuck in and become central actors in our own life stories again. This is what I help people do, through a structured method, like putting together the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. I hold up a mirror of what I have gathered from what is expressed. This brings a life situation into perspective or provides a different angle of seeing things, which can affirm and reassure, provoke reaction or even motivate change.

Therapy is always an interactive process. It is not a random one however and requires structure and direction. Although Jungian and existentialist at heart, I draw on both CBT – Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and NLP – Neuro-linguistic Programming methods.

It is essential to me that those who work with me, leave every session more fortified and have access to the strategies and tools we’ve explored together, that will help them to be able to cope better, even if only a little each time, with the demands their lives are making on them.

GL: Are there cases where you find you cannot help?

Trudi: There are severe pathologies and difficulties, that I would be neither qualified nor capable of taking on and in these cases I would suggest referral to medical professionals who would be better suited to the problem, accompanying the client all the way if necessary though.

In recent years, more English-speaking medical and paramedical professionals have set up in Grenoble and I have instigated an English Speaking Therapy Forum so that we are in contact with each other, share information and are better able to serve the needs of the community. The WWNG (Working Women’s Network of Grenoble) has also been most important in facilitating the exchange of information so that professionals in the field get to know about each other, what is available and how to find it.

In part II, coming soon, Trudi will be talking about the difficulties familes can face when moving to a new culture and offering some advice on how to manage this adaptation.

Upstage website

The March 10 English Talk Radio show was recorded at the Cité Scolaire Internationale de Grenoble, and includes an interview with the director, the cast and the crew of Upstage, which is putting on two plays: Loot by Joe Orton and Mountain Language by Harold Pinter, performing March 22–27 at 7:30 pm at the Théâtre Ste-Marie-d’en-Bas.

English Talk Radio is a talk show in English on 90.8 Radio Campus Grenoble. We talk about film, theatre, finance, restaurants, travel, and have a variety of topical guests. We are four presenters: Kristine Minski talks about finance, Christina Menez talks about China, Mary Zaccai talks about student issues, and Vivian Draper – animatrice/rédactrice – hosts the show. Every Sunday at 12.30pm, and every Wednesday at 7pm on 90.8, Radio Campus Grenoble and live on www.campusgrenoble.org – and also here on Grenoble Life.

Listen to the full show: here

Just landed in Grenoble? Don't worry, there's a club for you. Photo: Guillaume Brialon

Just landed in Grenoble? Grenoble Life editor James Dalrymple gives his rough guide to Grenoble’s expat clubs and Anglophone businesses and services.

I have been asked by the French Entrée website to write a post with general advice for expats in Grenoble and the surrounding area, including relevant clubs and associations to join. Where to begin? Maybe you have already heard claims that Grenoble has one of the biggest Anglophone communities of any French city. I’m not sure of the real stats, and I will resist the temptation to invent some here, but suffice to say you stand a good chance of meeting other English-speakers whether you wish to or not.

It can be a bone of contention. Some people get defensive about the expat thing, saying something along the lines of, “I didn’t come to France to meet other [insert relevant English-speaking nationality here], I came to meet French people etc.” I don’t really subscribe to this view. When I lived in the UK, I always gravitated towards people who were very international in their outlook, and counted many cultures among those I called my friends. Just because I came to live in France, doesn’t mean that I should only spend time with French people just to feel good about myself. Among the expat groups and associations listed below, one may find many Anglo-French couples, so-called ‘third culture kids’, and all manner of general pan-European activity that belies the widely held view of what expat communities are.

Most new English-speaking Grenoble residents, particularly those with families, are likely to encounter Open House, the city’s long-established and possibly largest expat association. Among the activities Open House organizes are children’s parties, excursions, wine tastings, lunches, outdoor activities, book groups, coffee meetings and French-English language exchange.

The more student-orientated Happy People 38 organizes intercultural social events and language exchanges. Meanwhile, Celtic Connection promotes Irish and Scottish culture and sport in Grenoble and hosts Hallowe’en and St Patrick’s parties, a Burns’ supper, and summer picnics. Scottish expats and a host of other nationals can also be found at a weekly Knitting Bee at Café Leyritz, Place Vaucanson, every Tuesday afternoon at 2pm.

Although not Anglophone I feel duty-bound to make you aware of the lovely people at Le Club Danemark – Rhône Alpes, who are known to organise Glögg parties, Danish lessons and excursions, including cross country skiing. For more info contact: danemark-rhonealpes@live.com

English Talk Radio, presented by Vivian Draper, is a bi-monthly show on 90.8 Radio Campus Grenoble.  The show talks about film, theatre, finance, restaurants and travel, and has a variety of topical local guests; every Sunday at 12.30pm, and every Wednesday at 7pm on 90.8, Radio Campus Grenoble.

For those expats who want their young children to have plenty of contact with the English language, there are some associations which can help with this, including Communication Café and ABC Anglais. Alternatively, French language classes for adults can be obtained from a variety of institutions and associations outlined in depth here.

If you are looking for American or British style cakes there is The Cake Shop and Bookworm Café. The latter also hosts book and poetry groups, language classes, local artists’ exhibitions and occasional musical performances. They also buy and sell second-hand English books, and have English newspapers and magazines to peruse. Furthermore, if you meet French friends yet to be convinced of the potential merits of American cuisine, Pumpkins might be wise place to convert them.

If you can’t find the book you are looking for at Bookworm Café there are two Anglophone libraries, La Bibliotèque Anglophone de Meylan and the English Library at Babel, which also runs book groups for teenagers and adults. Many municipal libraries also have English-language selections, particularly the International Public Library.

Given the dubious French proclivity for dubbing foreign language films into la langue maternelle, you may want to exercise caution when going to the cinema. Le Club (rue du Phalanstère) and La Nef (boulevard Edouard-Rey) are two theatres with dependably interesting programmes, all in version originale. For more info on the city’s movie theatres and film festivals, check out this comprehensive guide.

For church-goers, members from about 10 different denominations and 15 nationalities are welcome to attend The English Speaking Church of Grenoble, which also has a programme of social activities including dances, crafts nights, family evenings, visits to local attractions and walks.

In terms of professional development, the most dynamic and active association is the Working Women’s Network of Grenoble, which organizes networking lunches, workshops and seminars, and is run by a very helpful and efficient body of women. For opportunities to do volunteer work there is VSArt, an association that brings cultural opportunities to disadvantaged and elderly people. The Grenoble chapter was set up and is run by American Meredith Charreyron.

Grenoble also has a number of amateur English-speaking theatre groups. Students of different ages from Cité Internationale Scolaire de Grenoble participate in an annual pantomime and Upstage, respectively. The latter puts on very high quality plays every year at Ste-Marie-d’en-Bas, a 166-seat theatre off Place Notre Dame. Likewise, students of the English department at Stendhal University put on productions on campus every year. English-speakers are also invited to join a new Grenoble English Theatre Group, run by Nathalie Joshua. Novices welcome. For more information contact her at nathaliejoshua@hotmail.com

For health and well-being, Anglo-style therapeutic massage and aromatherapy can be obtained from Amy Cannata (waterfallwellness@me.com) and Shiatsu massage from Rebecca Skillman.

Finally, of course, I mustn’t forget to mention your very own Grenoble Life, which has articles and practical info for English speaking residents past, present and future. It also includes photo sharing, free classified ads and interviews with prominent members of the Anglophone community.

If I have forgotten any essential clubs or organizations, please use the comments box below to add to the list.

Microphone. Photo: hiddedevries

English Talk Radio is a talk show in English on 90.8 Radio Campus Grenoble. We talk about film, theatre, finance, restaurants, travel, and have a variety of topical guests. We are four presenters: Kristine Minski talks about finance, Christina Menez talks about China, Mary Zaccai talks about student issues, and Vivian Draper – animatrice/rédactrice – hosts the show. Every Sunday at 12.30pm, and every Wednesday at 7pm on 90.8, Radio Campus Grenoble and live on www.campusgrenoble.org – and also here on Grenoble Life.

The February 24 English Talk Radio show took place at Université Stendhal with Caroline Schlenker and students of the English department acting class.  Listen to the full show: here

Classroom. Photo: sfar

Gregg West is an American history and geography teacher at Cité Scolaire Internationale. He also handles the school pantomime, organic gardening club, interpersonal communication classes and music club.  In this explosive article for Grenoble Life, he describes his career-long efforts to change the education system in France.

It would be preposterous to assume that any education system in the world does its job correctly, when one observes the amount of poverty, crime, violence, drug addiction, alienation, loneliness, pollution, general unhappiness, and other symptoms of human foolishness, frailty, or limitations.  But one could just say, “Oh well, people do their best and one can’t ask more of them than that.” Nevertheless, when one is a teacher and has to face an educational system day in and day out with its many constraints, it can be very trying, for even if he or she sees many kids succeed and go on to brilliant careers and happy, if not totally unperturbed, lives, there are a lot of others who will live troubled existences.

Over the last 37 years, I have tried to learn to teach and have perpetrated my teaching upon unsuspecting people, both children and adults, in North America, Scotland and France, but I have also had these teaching systems (pardon my syntax) perpetrated upon me. The following observations about the French system are not at all intended to exonerate other systems from similar criticism.

More is better

Since settling permanently in France in 1983 I have witnessed a system which believes that more is better despite the famous saying of Montaigne (loosely translated) that a “well-made head is better than a full head.” Indeed, in the Connexion of February 2010, the minister of Higher Education, Ms. Valerie Pécresse went so far as to say to a journalist “you seem to be contradicting yourself when you cast doubt on the level of lycée students passing the Bac but then suggest reducing the number of hours.”  Really, Ms. Pécresse, this is a national disease, thinking that more is always better. So why not give children 16-hour school days? Children need time for other things than school work to become thinking, feeling, well-balanced individuals. I thought everyone knew that … hmmm.

A second aspect of the French system that is curious for those of us from English-speaking cultures is the belief held by many that school is only for instruction of specific subject matters, does not require a global education of children in terms of understanding their social and psychological context, learning to motivate them, inciting them to improving their citizenship, social relations, and so forth and that, therefore, teachers do not need to learn anything but their own subject matter at university. No interpersonal communication, no group dynamics, no pedagogical methods, no interdisciplinary knowledge to coordinate interdisciplinary projects … It apparently threatens many whose work status and contract only commits them to knowing their subject … even if inspectors put pressure on them to teach better … and the French government has just decided to shut down IUFM (teacher training institutes), something highly consistent with this view.

In this extremely cerebral environment, a third characteristic of the French system, at least insofar as it concerns university-bound students, is that they needn’t develop artistic, manual or day-to-day skills like typing, driving a car, first aid, or cooking at school. (Well, they DO learn road security, but only the theory … ) In short, learning does NOT involve doing things, except writing essays, carrying out a few carefully limited classroom experiments, doing research and other relatively abstract tasks. So these other skills surprisingly only get developed among a minority of people who have the money to do them outside of school or have families patient and qualified enough to help them learn these things. When I see high school kids pecking away with their fingers on a keyboard, when I have to fork out over 1000€ for driving classes, or when I see the beginnings of obesity among French young people like in my native America, I do wonder about these priorities.

Lip service

Finally, as with many other school systems, the French speak of democracy, but practice dictatorship, pay lip service to cooperation and solidarity but practice competition, praise acceptance of differences, but punish those who do not “fit in” with ridicule, humiliating grades, and other forms of social exclusion, lecture people about human rights while submitting high school students to 50 hour weeks (35 hours of class plus 15 hours of homework a week), claim to be ecological while using throw-away pens, producing millions of tons of new, bleached, non-recycled fibre paper waste that are not even recycled, and brag about their great cuisine while abandoning their children to canteens that serve poor quality, poorly balanced meals that contain pesticides, instead of making quality and organic food priorities.  What is the saying, “Do as I say, not as I do?” Problem is, it doesn’t work that way and, as Leonard Cohen said, “Everybody knows…” Kids’ strongest learning experiences stem from doing and from example.

In such an unnatural neurotic environment, is it any wonder then that many French kids suffer from depression, insomnia, smoke a lot of cigarettes, become fashion victims or anorexics, drop out due to a lack of motivation (around 10%), or decide not to care about politics or association activity, plunging into a life of semi-blind consumption as adults, with no personal artistic side that they can cultivate to express themselves healthily? Is it any wonder that they become recalcitrant at suggestions that they drive less (so little physical exercise during their childhood), watch less TV (when did they learn how to entertain themselves?), vote more (when did anyone ask their opinion anyway?), or think about important issues (weren’t they only supposed to give teachers the answers required?), or question notions the media and political elite expound as evident (nuclear energy and genetically modified organisms aren’t dangerous, are they, or THEY would tell us … like our teachers … wouldn’t they?) Once you’ve got people conditioned, it is very hard to change them. Some would even suggest that this conditioning has been done CONSCIOUSLY to preserve the privileges of elite, but I’m not much of a conspiracy theory advocate, so I’ll leave this idea aside. I think it’s just force of habit and past conditioning … an unwillingness to question what came before.

Unfamiliar future

At any rate, all that I have described is what one would call a SCHEMATIC, OVERDRAWN picture of the French Educational system. Of course, there are positive sides, but you all know those; France is one of the world’s leading countries in social programs, economic productivity, democratic freedoms, and so forth … well, for the moment at least … But is this preparing us for an oil-poor, resource-poor future in a world where company relocation to Newly Industrialized Countries may force us to reorganize a great deal of our economy and learn to share, be happy with less, and use our imagination to find new, workable ways of life?

But of course changing things is never easy. People are afraid of unfamiliar ways, they think that what they know is the only way, there are vested interests, it involves calling habits and training into question, it doesn’t suffice to throw money at problems, and even good ideas, if poorly or insufficiently applied will lead to failure. In short, it isn’t a technical impossibility, but it remains a political improbability.

Political debate

I decided in 1987 to try to do something about all this. I spent five years in a minor political party which seemed highly motivated to lead change in society as the chairman of their education commission, consulting hundreds of students, parents, teachers, and others involved in education, as well as union representatives and school directors. We worked out propositions to change school radically (more on what these were later) … something in line with the party’s desire to “create a cultural majority for change.”

I sent the propositions to the hundred or so representatives of various regions in the party’s governing committee a few months before it was scheduled for debate on the agenda. But the day of the debate, there were “more urgent matters” so debate was pushed back till the very end of a Sunday afternoon when one third had already left to take their trains, leaving only 10 minutes to debate a topic that concerns every single citizen of a democratic country. Of those remaining, fully half were teachers … and a plurality of these opposed all the measures which might require them to retrain to handle new functions. So without any guidelines on HOW to change our propositions, we were sent back to the commission to “work on the propositions some more…” Thoroughly disgusted, I resigned as commission chairman.

An alternative school

In the U.S., as a young teacher, I had already experienced the difficulties of even modifying one local system of education, so I reasoned that if what I considered the most progressive political party in France and its host of teachers were unable to be open towards real change, then there was little hope of changing such a huge system from within. I worked for the next seven years on the idea of creating an alternative school, parallel to the system, in hopes that an example outside the system might show people what is possible. But here too I was to be foiled. Among the enthusiastic parents supporting this idea, most were penniless; among the enthusiastic teachers supporting this idea, most, not surprisingly, wanted to be paid! Real estate was too expensive to rent in large towns, and small towns placed obstacles in our path, fearing we might lower already precarious enrolment figures, provoking the closing of their public schools. There were also dreamers who talked about “borrowing seven million francs” from a bank as if any bank would ever entertain such an idea. A subscription among political activists raised some 135,000 francs, but we were never able to establish a three year budget that promised any hope of surviving, even on minimum incomes, so we were obliged to abandon the plan and send people’s money back.

At this point I decided to give up. I had a good job in a public school and began trying to develop extracurricular activities to compensate for the unidimensional aspects of school. I created a music club and later a theater program where kids could learn self-management, cooperation, create, express themselves, develop their confidence, teamwork and self-esteem, associate with older students and adults as role models instead of submitting to age segregation, and receive recognition without grades from those around them.  I found no need to involve parents for the music club, but broke an additional taboo when I got parents involved heavily in the theater program … something few French school teachers like to see … parents in the school working with kids … perhaps because it threatens their own prerogatives to teach as they see fit … but this was only outside of class …

In my own classes, I developed a method of teaching involving considerable debate and discussion, with occasional projects and games, but the program was often so immense that time was always pressing us to return to a teacher-centered curriculum.

Moving the mammoth

I suppose this is why when I was approached by a sympathetic political activist, I accepted getting involved in an association whose goal, like mine, was to move the mammoth (change the educational system) even though I remained very sceptical about the possible success of such an effort.

Over a period of about three years, we developed a support group of some 300 people, including thirty to forty teachers and three school headmasters, and we elaborated propositions very similar to those the education commission I’d managed had put forth only to be rejected. We outlined a plan for creating special schools, particularly in the junior high years (collège), and hopefully one or two in each department, which would function differently and thus serve as an illustration of alternative approaches to education. The basic ideas behind these schools included:

• Only four hours of academic solids per day, so less Math, less French, less language, less science, less history and geography (oh dear!!!). Interdisciplinary projects as a way of exploring basic subjects.
• Groups for enrichment, remedial work and orientation for one hour a day.
• Workshops to learn practical subjects, develop artistic abilities, and physical education 1 hour a day.
• Collective expression and action a few hours a week to put democracy into practice.
• A severe limit on homework and no grading, but still evaluating and testing.

One can like or dislike these propositions, but the fact remains that they allow schools to handle a number of the objections mentioned above and the existence of a certain number of schools of this type in the Northern part of Europe tends to confirm that they can be a positive experience, developing well-rounded, independent, thinking students … if properly applied.

We sent a 10-page summary and a longer 40-page detailed version of the project to various people in positions to make decisions. We met with those in charge of education at City Hall and the Conseil Général, as well as the man in charge of innovation at the Rectorate and the Academic Inspector of Isère. All reacted favorably, saying the idea looked great. When we said we also had a list of teachers and an administrator to run the school though, the Rectorate and Academic Inspection suddenly began hemming and hawing about the fact that they would need to talk to unions about it, that they couldn’t name people on the basis of aptitude or motivation, but only on the basis of seniority points (meaning the death of the project) and that they would have to check with their hierarchy on whether this was all possible (i.e., if it wasn’t pursued, it wouldn’t be THEIR fault …) Despite attempts to get them to put this on paper, they refused and they began doing what bureaucrats do when they don’t want something to happen. They sat on it, refusing further meetings, correspondence or any other indication of their position, killing the project.

Things I can do

So, at age 57, tired of spending so much energy for nothing, I chose to devote myself instead to things I CAN do without political games and support from people higher up. I continued with my teaching job, interpersonal communication classes, the music club with its concerts and CDs, the theater program with up to five shows and 750 spectators per year (our headmaster even had a stage built for us … and other groups in the school to use.) And I created an organic gardening club in our school.

None of this however will make the changes I believe that France (and other countries) desperately need in their education systems if they want to create a vast majority of real human beings capable of adult behaviour, wisdom, commitment, values, and coherent behaviour emancipated from the manipulative, narrow channels that current systems carve for them.

Mary Veale, "Borders, technique", 2007. Cast glass/tissue. Photo: Jean Pierre Angei

Mary Veale is an Irish artist based in Grenoble. She talks to Grenoble Life’s James Dalrymple about her new exhibition Mutations. 

Grenoble Life: Could you tell us a bit about your background and how you came to live in Grenoble. 

Mary Veale: I was born in Kilkenny, Ireland; I trained as a nurse and midwife and in neurology initially. After a brief working period in nursing I began my artistic training and completed my diploma foundation studies in Exeter College of Art in 1983. After that I moved to the north of England and completed my BA in design of glass and ceramics at the University of Sunderland where I was fortunate to work with the master of Swedish design Goran Warff. 

After graduation I worked in the setting-up of one of the first artists’ co-operatives in Newcastle-upon-Tyne at 36 Lime Street, Ouseburn Warehouse Workshops. We got awarded the Prince’s Trust Award for innovation in 1987. 

After setting up my first workshop I returned to study for my Masters in Fine Arts at the University of Northumberland. The theme of my final Master’s show was based on the Cleveland child abuse crisis. My first daughter was born during this period. 

I came to live in Grenoble initially for a sabbatical year in 1991, returning with my husband Daniel Veale working in medical research and respiratory medicine. 

GL: You say on the Un certain detachement (UCD) website that your works are inspired in part by “what it means to move cultures,” could you elaborate on this?  

Mary: The lack of opportunity to show local artists’ work in Grenoble caused us to set up the co-operative Un certain detachement in 2005. This group was set up by myself, Claude Gazengel and Alain Quercia. Claude Gazengel wrote a text based on her history about living abroad and crossing cultures (she had lived in Barcelona for three years). The group began with the idea of a mobile gallery and hence the Vending Machine Project was born. Now we have 30 international artists from five different countries involved in this international art project; and are using three vending machines. The concept is to make multiples in art and distribute them via a vending machine. The machines can be moved and shown in a variety of places. 

My multiple was based on the idea of “displacement“, which could be seen as a mental, physical or metaphysical state. As one moves cultures one has, in certain respects, to become detached from one’s origins. 

The idea of glass cast tongues (being cut off or dismembered) may be symbolic of the language problems that I have experienced - notions of fragility and breakability are present in my work.  While taking on a new language and culture can be a very enriching experience, it can also be very unsettling; thus the idea of fragility or moulding of glass can be very poignant. When speaking in a foreign tongue sometimes words and meanings get lost or remain unsaid. I like the idea of working on the spaces within the silences. I call these ‘silent spaces” where words are lost or unsaid or become mutated. I have tried to use this idea of lost words or silent spaces in my glass books; which are a work in progress started when I first arrived in Grenoble. 

GL: On the UCD website you state that glass can distort and protect. Some of your works feature scrawled or warped messages, while others enclose seemingly organic, even visceral matter. There is a vulnerability to certain works, but the shell or flower-like formations are made from hard materials. Likewise, your artworks seem to be personal, even intimate, but themes of liberty, borders and social exclusion are recurrent. Could you talk about the political dimension to your work and how it relates to the personal? 

Mary: I have worked on various themes over the past few years and a lot of my works are through ideas which may have been inspired by literature, poetry, music and current affairs. 

I am particularly interested in issues based on being an artist and the role of an artist today in society. Being a mother of three daughters and woman has also marked my work. 

Glass is often my chosen material as I can explore so many concepts and ideas through this material. 

Of course a lot of my art work is personal and when I am concerned about a particular issue but as the work develops a universal meaning can be traced also, I hope. 

My first work made in Grenoble was with the Ecole De La Paix. I worked on the concept of a glass book about peace entitled the Livre des larmes. This was in 1998 to commemorate the signing of the peace agreement in Northern Ireland. Since this date I continue to add pages, so it’s like a work in progress – as are peace processes in lots of places in the world. 

Most of my work is installation-based and may have many diverse media, including paintings, sculpture, light works, video and books. 

The theme of liberty is one that I have worked on. I organised a debate on this subject at the Fort Du Murier during the weekend of the Journée nationale du patrimoine in 2007. I invited guest speakers, local politicians and historians and opened the debate to the general public. The theme was: What does the concept of Liberty mean today? This debate was recorded and a video was also made during the debate and I made specific works after this debate. 

GL: Tell us about your new show Mutations. 

Mary: I like this word mutation as it can be so large in its meaning and connotations. It suits my work. 

To explore mutation in my work I start with genetic changes that happen in the body, as I interpret scientific images or concepts such as ageing and memory into a visual language. 

Mutation is a natural phenomenon in the creative process as marks and gestures constantly alter and change, becoming exposed, hidden or unstable. 

Mutable, changeable, unsteady: many of these words find resonance in my work through the use of particular materials such as glass, wax and paint. Through the creative process I am constantly bringing change, instability and alternating form and content through a complex process of looking and seeing. 

To be in a state of mutation is often felt by individuals who have become displaced or moved from their origins. Being outside one’s original culture could be a form of mutation particularly as one adapts and assumes another culture with its language and customs – as has been my experience. 

My works in this exhibition are from recent paintings and glass works and are based on the theme of mapping the inner body and “landscape”, or topography. I interpret the brain and its complex systems of neuronal pathways through looking and drawing, later to be defined into the language of paint or glass sculptures. The medical imagery I use as a starting point, which then leads to an exploration of wider issues to do with memory and loss. 

The philosophical dimension is also present as I try to understand our fears and emotions. The use of glass is a perfect metaphor for all that can be held within, frozen in time. The abstraction and reworking of medical imagery helps me to understand more about how our bodies work and how the inner landscape of our bodies is less of a mystery. 

Art can make visual many complex scientific concepts in a way which is less mysterious we as we understand the world around us through our actions emotions and reactions. Through this work I am not trying to show any answers but trying to understand for myself a little of how the body functions and changes in certain circumstances. 

I am interested in the idea of collaboration between different professions and therefore I worked in the Sleep Laboratories at the CHU Grenoble, looking at sleep studies and making a video recording of this procedure. Often the different areas of science and art have common grounds, especially in neurology. Medical imagery in recent times, such as the MRI scanner, brings a lot of new information to the scientist and also maybe to the artist. We as artists can contribute perhaps by having a different way of looking at a subject. I hope to commence a residency at the new neurological institute here in Grenoble working alongside scientists. 

I have works that explore the thought process, memory and memory loss, as my mother was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. 

GL: You talked earlier about the lack of opportunity to show local artists’ work in Grenoble. Could you talk more about this? 

Mary: A lot of artists in Grenoble never get to show their work in the city as it lacks any professional body to help organize a database. Just recently Entre ‘Arts got closed down and it used such a database over 10 years. 

The lack of space for artists led me to set up the vending machine project with my colleagues here in Grenoble. There are no studios for artists in Grenoble as was the case in Newcastle. Therefore, the city and local artists lack a cohesive structure to help them continue in their professional careers. 

As I was involved in the setting up one of the original co-operatives with other artists in Newcastle, I carry on this idea that artists cannot work in isolation and do need to have proper studios with low rent, as being an artist does not bring a regular income. 

I spent three years working on a proposal with a group of artists and architects here in Grenoble to set up studios and a set of workshops for international artists designed for the Le Petit Hall at Bouchayer Viallet. However, commerce won the day and art was not seen as economically viable. I see this as a huge mistake for the city as we see in Lyon how the Biennale D’art brought 165,000 visitors to the city thus bringing a lot of commerce. Therefore art can be an economic venture for a city. 

GL: Where can people go to see more of your work at that of your fellow artists? 

Mary: One of UCD’s vending machines is presently in-situ at the parliament party office of Genevieve Fioraso, 7 rue Voltaire. This exhibition continues until 15^th March. 

The recycled vending machine is beautifully reconditioned by our sculpture Vincent Gontier and our graphic artist Céline Charles. 

The machine contains artists’ multiples made in a variety of media (paintings, video, sculpture, photographs, which are signed unique works from 30 international artists. All the works can be purchased for a very reasonable price.

You must also visit Restaurant Du Petit Lac in St Egreve where Jac the owner has invited 24 or more artists from Grenoble to design a table. All the tables are on display can be eaten off and are really great. This is a project worth seeing  and I have a table also there.

Mutations – an exhibition of recent paintings and glass works by Mary Veale – continues at Moulin Villancourt, Pont de Claix, until 20^th March.

Looking For Sam, March 10-11, 2010

Caroline Schlenker instructs the acting class for students in the English department at Stendhal. She talks to Grenoble Life about staging plays with her students, teaching English through drama, and this year’s production, Looking For Sam, March 10-11.

Grenoble Life: What is your role in the Stendhal English department theatre workshop?

Caroline Schlenker: I am the instructor of this course. I teach the core acting class as part of the English Licence Degree for second year students, as an alternative class to the conversation module. I teach diction, pronunciation, basic drama techniques, and stage the students’ production each year. The workshop meets every week for two hours (but there are additional rehearsals for the play). 

GL: How often does the department put on a play?

Caroline: Last year, we exceptionally put on two plays (Once Upon A Time In A Screen/Stage Audience, a project between cinema and theatre, in partnership with the cinema le Club in Grenoble; and Macbeth, staged by third year students). This year, however, we will only put on the play Looking For Sam, although the third year students will present a short extract of their own work as a (surprise) opening to the Sam Shepard play. It is a play they have written (!) and staged. 

GL: What kinds of plays and themes do you normally tackle?

Caroline: It varies. We put on Harold Pinter sketches thanks to the chance meeting of Susan Blattes, then head of the English Department, and the actor/director Patrick Seyer at a Pinter play. Their encounter led to the idea of a joint venture on Pinter with the English Department. The project was then to work on Pinter through the specificity and rhythm of his language and the relationship between the characters that this language thus establishes. The students worked on the texts through the drama in the English class I was teaching, and shaped their characters through the staging by the professional director Mr Seyer.

This partnership was so interesting and stimulating in fact it led us to work together again on a project on cinema, Once Upon a time in a Screen/Stage audience, which I directed whilst he did the actor training (in English!). For this project, the idea of working on the different spaces of theatre and cinema was an idea I always wanted to tackle. Cinema has always fascinated me. 

The Macbeth project was an idea of the students, who asked to work on Shakespeare and studied the staging of The Winter’s Tale at the MC2 in Grenoble. This year we are working on Sam Shepard as a way to explore the sound and musicality of American English – a way for us to approach language differently, once again. Working with a musician helped me to have yet another approach to the language, and to the text!

GL: Who chooses the script?

Caroline: Setting aside the Pinter and the Macbeth projects, I choose the script!

GL: How long does it take to prepare and rehearse for one play? Tell us a little about what it involves.

Caroline: We have some basic drama classes between September and December (where we work on literary classics such as Pygmalion or the works of Oscar Wilde, or some other types of classics such as Monty Python and Rowan Atkinson’s stand up comedy drills) in order to practice pronunciation and intonation and learn some basic conversational techniques, such as how to make a point, or how to make the other person react in some way with words. We also learn voice and body integration, and we explore imagination through the English language (the only language spoken in class!).

When working on a text, we learn to think about a character’s goals, tactics, his relationship with the other characters and we write his curriculum vitae. In January, we get our texts for the final production (I write the transitions for our scenes, and our rehearsals start). Each group rehearses about four hours a week (each scene constitutes a group – there are four scenes). So I see them about 10 hours a week (two hours are with the whole class during our actual class time). We perform in March. A lot of commitment and motivation is involved in this process!

GL: Tell us more about this year’s production.

Caroline: It’s an exploration into Sam Shepard’s work. You see, Sam Shepard once told an interviewer: “I preferred a character that was constantly unidentifiable, shifting through the actor, so that the actor could play almost anything, and the audience was never expected to identify with the characters,” With his shifting vision of identity, the way in which he portrayed the characters in his plays, Shepard was giving away a bit of himself.

Our question then was: who is this Sam Shepard, and is he as a writer shying away from revealing his true self? Another component of his character that intrigued us was his love for music, and his failure to become a musician. Through the play Looking For Sam, we decided to make an imaginary investigation into how Sam Shepard wrote his plays. With the collaboration of a local songwriter/ singer Noel Belmondo, we invented the musical (and linguistic) scenery for the text. 

It is our fantasy, through the influences of rhythm and music we found in the language, of how the text came to be. We hope the audience will be