FULL ENGLISH WORKSHOPS, OR HOW TO LEARN DIFFERENTLY
For the past two years, Le Lab Lisieux Normandie has been organizing English tutoring workshops for middle and high school students in the Lisieux area.
Today, we head to Michelet Middle School. It’s 1 p.m., and while all the kids are outside playing and having fun, a voice comes over the loudspeaker: “It’s English time.” Not many respond to the announcement, but the few students who make their way to classroom number 18 are about to enjoy a lesson unlike any other. This is a “Full English” workshop — meaning entirely in English — led by Alicia, a 19-year-old German volunteer at Le Lab Lisieux Normandie.
In this class — if we can call it that — there’s no need for notebooks or pens; here, learning happens through fun. Some attend because they love English, like Nagui, while others come simply out of curiosity. One student shares that she sometimes has long breaks during lunchtime, so this helps pass the time.
We keep coming back each time.
Being still young, the students aren't fully bilingual yet — you might hear something like “j’ai quatorze ans years old” — but they do know the basic vocabulary, which they can use during the memory game. One student shares that it’s her favorite game, simply because she enjoys it. The door remains open during the workshop, allowing anyone to join at any time, so some curious onlookers hop on board along the way.
Joyce, a 7th-grade student, explains how she discovered the workshop: “The girls and I wanted to go to the library, but it was closed, so we came here — and we've been coming back ever since.” At first, the students are shy, but soon the energy rises and the competition kicks in. The game clearly has an effect, especially when the second activity begins, where students have to form words using letters and the points start to count.
Learning little by little
The secret to the success of these workshops lies in the learning itself — not as a theory, but as something truly experienced by the students at Michelet Middle School. Victoria explains: “I don’t understand anything in English class, and it’s much stricter, so I lose interest quickly. Here, they’re nice.” Nagui shares that he likes coming because “we learn little by little.” The enthusiasm is so strong that it’s the children themselves who ask for the third game, where they have to make others guess words by drawing them on the board. Joyce confirms: “It helps us make more progress.”
The only downside of these workshops for the students is that they’re only available on Mondays and Tuesdays, as Le Lab is present in other schools on the remaining days, such as Gambier High School in Lisieux. It’s a valuable solution to France’s shortcomings in this area — according to an EF EPI study, France ranks 49th out of 116 countries assessed for English proficiency.
Article written by Arthur Courtois
