Let’s stop dumbing down and give back the taste for learning and surpassing ourselves. Young people should rediscover “being proud to be proud” of their learning. Why not encourage them to read? The real one, not the one on social networks where many write their messages to the sound! It is too important to preserve the French language, let’s not put it on sale at a discount!
I think it’s a good idea to simplify the agreement of past participles. Few emails I receive that do not have mistakes. The spelling decline is evident; you will have to adapt. On the other hand, long live the dictations, which precisely teach us to write without mistakes. The dictations, in my opinion, are not to please the students, but to learn to write well.
I am 75 years old and I continue to take French lessons, because I have a deep desire for improvement. Every day, I send a little text in French to my sister-in-law, who is a French genius. She corrects me and explains to me. I can say that by dint of working on this famous verb to have, I am beginning to master it well. So, please, nothing should be changed in this verb.
I agree with this proposal, which does not disfigure the text while simplifying its writing. Hopefully teachers can spend more time on sentence structures, spelling and vocabulary. Besides, it would give time to also correct errors (horrors?) of spoken language, such as: “it looks like it”, “address a problem”, “when we are going to go”…
It would never occur to a math teacher (at least I hope) to question the value of pi by saying that it’s complicated to learn that it equals 3.1416 , then that it would be better to simplify the number to 3 since it is easier to remember, it requires less explanation and it is more in line with today’s reality! Imagine the engineers, mathematicians, and scientists we would have if their calculations were inaccurate because they were taught a shortcut!
Barely 400 years ago, texts were written in a French that was very different from today. This has evolved for the sake of the language and its understanding. Not only are the rules important, but necessary, you just have to dust them off when they become an obstacle to your liveliness. Strongly the reform proposed by the Quebec Association of French Teachers.
It’s leveling down. The fact that students have difficulty matching words correctly is not sufficient justification for changing grammar rules. We seek to create a Quebec Creole, and not to integrate and maintain ourselves in the great French community of the world.
I consider myself to be very good in French and I master the past participles very well. I am from the time of daily dictations. That said, I totally agree with a simplification of these ridiculous rules and, in particular, all these exceptions which put off so much those who try to learn our language. French as it is today is so much more difficult compared to English that an overhaul is imperative.
I believe that this proposal is completely far-fetched. After the agreement of the participles will come other requests for facilitation like no longer distinguishing between “ce” and “se”, “é” and “er”, and why put an “s” in the plural and an “e” in the feminine . This request is really an insult to our beautiful language. We have worked hard, we have learned it, we must continue to be strict about learning it.
Excellent idea ! If we want to keep our language, it must be more accessible and less restrictive. In this way, people will have less difficulty when learning and will be more inclined to use it. I was absolutely against the revisited grammar, but a few decades later, I am forced to realize that it is not realistic. So, I am for any change that could iron out the difficulties. I’m willing to hear “horses” even if it scratches my ear.
I would like someone to explain to me why our parents and grandparents often only had a 4th grade and knew how to write a text without mistakes with very beautiful calligraphy.
