The teaching of modern languages in France and francophone Switzerland (1740–1940): a historiographical overview

Abstract

This paper has two aims: firstly, it sketches the history of language teaching in France and francophone Switzerland over a period of 200 years, with a particular focus on the teaching of German. Secondly, it seeks to shed light on some of the francophone historiographical approaches which have influenced recent research in this area. Historical sociolinguistic studies have highlighted the multilingual nature of the Ancien Régime. Mainstream conclusions from the history of language teaching methodology have been complemented by contributions from sociolinguistics which shed light on the developing status of teachers, their working conditions, their role in educational institutions and their professionalisation during the nineteenth century. From the beginning of the twentieth century, despite the dominance of monolingual ideology, discussion of modern language teaching started to take place transnationally. Today, historians are also working across borders in order to get a more accurate picture of the development of language teaching.

Monolingualism is a body modification practice

“…A line of evidence is the double standard between state recommendations for teaching French as a foreign language, and the teaching of non-French languages in France. Linguistic pedagogies created for French since the eighteenth century are grounded in immersive methods (Extermann 2018). The Alliance Française states "French immersion courses are among the best ways to learn and improve your French language skills in a short amount of time" 10 .…”

Néo-grammairiens et phonéticiens dans la réforme de l’enseignement des langues vivantes en Europe : Henry Sweet (1845-1912), Paul Passy (1859-1940) et Otto Jespersen (1860-1943)

“…Partout, l'extension de l'enseignement est à l'ordre du jour (Bréal 1872). Matasci (2010Matasci ( , 2016, Mombert (2014), et Extermann (2018 inter alia illustrent l'évolution du système éducatif français et de l'enseignement des langues vivantes dans cette conjoncture. La circulation des idées pédagogiques et des hommes est importante, comme le montre la création de musées pédagogiques dans toute l'Europe (Fontaine & Matasci 2015).…”

Modern Approaches to Teaching Foreign Languages at French Universities

“…According to B. Extermann (2018), «society under the Ancien Régime both in Switzerland and France was multilingual, which may appear surprising given the prestige at that time of French within the rest of Europe as well as the fact that after the French Revolution, French linguistic policy aimed to unify the nation through a single national language». The researcher adds that «linguistic borders, however, rarely respect political ones, and the linguistic landscape at that time was made up of many different regional languages and local dialects» (Extermann, 2018).…”