Pauline Etienne
28 August 2007
Port Louis — Loreto College Rose-Hill is one of the rare secondary schools that proposes German in its curriculum. This year, the Upper VI students have even had the chance to go on a study trip in Germany.
Mauritians took part in the end-of-year party of the German school when they went there to practise the language and discover the culture.
"When we had just arrived, it was bit hard to understand them. But it gradually became easier." Those who were lucky enough to go to Germany are unanimous about the difficulty of understanding the German accent. But they came out of this enriching exchange programme with so many good memories and a better mastery of the language that they would now "encourage all girls in Form III to choose German".
Loreto College Rose-Hill is the only school - except private fee-paying ones - to offer German as a subject up to Higher School Certificate (HSC). This choice goes back to 1972, under the supervision of Monique Monty and Monette Adolphe, but the "speciality" of the school remains the fact that it offers a third language. Lucinella is among those who had the choice between Loreto College Port-Louis and LCRH but chose Rose-Hill. "I live in Port-Louis but I really wanted to try German, as I knew I wanted to work in the tourism sector later," said Lucinella.
According to the head of the German department at the school, Marie-Noëlle Leutier, "many girls want to come here because of the possibility of studying German here". And, as Aurélie puts it, "a third language is always useful and I just wanted to try something new".
Rigour and personal effort
But what was new and exciting at first turned out to be very difficult with time. "I have been so discouraged at times," acknowledged Aurélie. But Marie-Noëlle Leutier made it clear: "I always tell them German is not easy right from the beginning. It demands rigour and personal effort."
German is part of the curriculum for everyone between Forms I and III. The first three years could be classed as a beginner's course and deal mainly with the rules of grammar. Then, pupils make their choice for their combination of subjects for Form V and Upper VI. "Until Form V, the learning of German remains quite bookish since the exam is a written one. It is only afterwards that pupils really start practising the language," said Marie-Josée Hortense, a German teacher.
So, this year the department wanted to try something new to give a better chance to pupils for their oral exams. "When they finish school, the girls are able to hold a conversation but they are not confident because they are not exposed enough to the language. It is only when they start working - in the tourism sector for most of them - that they realise they are fluent," said Marie-Noëlle Leutier. But some of the 19 girls sitting for German at advanced level this year had an opportunity of realising that earlier through the exchange programme with a school in Auerbach.
This three-week trip was not only an opportunity to practise the language but also of discovering the German culture they have been studying for almost seven years. The girls with whose families they stayed will be paying a return visit to Mauritius in March next year. The Mauritian girls even took part in the school end-of-year party where they had a stand with Mauritian food and performed in a short sega show.
Of course, teachers would love to give this opportunity to pupils every year but it is very difficult. It took them about four years to organise this trip, which involved money and planning. They finally succeeded thanks to the school fund-raising activities, the Parent-Teachers' Association, the Old Girls Association, sponsors and the contribution of parents.
But even if they can't organise it for all pupils, at least one should have the chance of going to Germany every year thanks to a scholarship given by the consulate. Katia Couronne is the latest one to have benefited from that scholarship for a "cultural and pedagogical trip of four weeks", as to Christelle Ng Kon, a former pupil who has now become a teacher, commented.
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