Details
Description
After losing her high tech job in Paris, Alice Wunderland dreams of a new, unemployment-proof career as English teacher and decides to dedicate a year to training for France's prestigious competitive exam; After all, she reasons, how hard can it be for an educated American to pass a test in English?
She enrolls at the Sorbonne, but her Arizona English fails to impress. Even Shakespeare's English falls short. Only one English will do: Sorbonne English! Even while learning this new language, Alice vows to investigate: Why devise an English exam that few native speakers can pass ? Could this explain why French schoolchildren rank last for English skills in Europe? Is it true that Frenchness is a question of formatting? If so, can a foreigner even one with French nationality ever become truly French? As riots break out in France among the children of immigrants, Alice cannot help but wonder: could there be any connection between her bewildering experience and theirs? A hilarious, hair-raising insider's look at the esoteric world of French Education. (Harriet Welty Rochefort --author of French Toast).
Features
- Theme: Autobiography: General, Biographies & Memoirs / Memoirs, Biography & Autobiography, Biography & Autobiography / General, EDUCATION / General, Education, France
- Date Published: February 01, 2009
- Publisher: Summertime Publications Inc
- Author: Laurel Zuckerman
- Pages: 300
- Edition: First Edition in English
- Format: Mass Market Paperback
Additional Information
- ASIN: 0615252893
- ISBN: 0615252893
- Item can be gift wrapped.
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- Estimated Ship Dimensions : 1.29 inches length x 0.22 inches width x 1.98 inches height
Reviews
Average Guest Rating:
Reviewer: Booklover (New York) See all my reviews
I read “Sorbonne Confidential” in one sitting which almost never happens to me. It’s the story, apparently true, of an American who wants to become an English teacher in France only to discover that there’s a very good reason why French people have such a hard time learning English. Zuckerman, alias Alice WUNDERLAND, delves into the absurdities of France’s ancient and venerable teacher selection process with thinly disguised glee, turning frustration into humor and confusion into a veritable investigation of what makes France tick. Great dialogues, well-observed characters, and fast-paced plot. (Well not exactly plot, because it’s more of a memoir, though it reads like a novel.) A very funny, fascinating backstage look at how France produces its elites. And a real shock for Americans who imagine the Sorbonne to be a kind of Harvard. I’m giving it to all my friends, especially teachers and professionals trying for a second career. And, of course, anyone whose been or wants to go to France.
