Pronunciation exercise using the "shadowing" method (Level C1-C2)

Acquisition du langage, Apprentissage du français, C1-C2, Développement de l'apprentissage, Examen, Figure de style, Langue française, Vocabulaire

Based on an excerpt from Guy de Maupassant's novel "Bel-Ami."

TEACHING STRATEGY:

The primary objective is to have students read aloud using the "shadowing" method in order to achieve the best possible pronunciation while maintaining the proper intonation and respecting the punctuation, which is very significant here.

Each paragraph will then be used to look up unfamiliar vocabulary in order to expand the student’s vocabulary.

A discussion will help students better understand the character’s intentions and his disillusioned nature, bordering on misanthropy.

An individual reading will allow us to assess progress and make corrections as needed.

Finally, a final “dramatized” reading will aim to bring the oral exercise into a more physical dimension by adding gestures, or even movement for the most intrepid of our learners.

As for me, now, I have closed off my soul. I no longer tell anyone what I believe, what I think, or what I love. Knowing I am condemned to horrible solitude, I observe things without ever expressing my opinion.

What do opinions, quarrels, pleasures, and beliefs matter to me! Unable to share anything with anyone, I am disinterested in everything. My thoughts, invisible, remain unexplored. I have banal phrases to answer everyday questions, and a smile that says “yes,” when I don’t even want to bother speaking.

I no longer discuss anything with anyone, I no longer defend anything, I no longer take offense at anything. I merely observe. I observe people’s opinions, doctrines, systems, and prejudices, and I say to myself: “How foolish it all is! How narrow-minded man is!”

Sometimes I amuse myself by repeating what this or that person thinks, what such-and-such a class, party, profession, or circle believes. And I am always astounded to see how convinced all people are that they are right, how much each one despises their neighbor, how certain each one is of their own judgment and scorns that of others.

Ah! If only we knew the vanity of all these certainties, the poverty of all these convictions, the foolishness of all this stubbornness! If only we could see clearly into people’s minds, we would discover the same stupid pride, the same ridiculous conceit, the same pretentious ignorance in the scholar, in the ignorant, in the intelligent as well as in the fool.

For all men are equal. The only difference between them is the degree of their foolishness.

EXTENSIONS WRITING ASSIGNMENTS ✍️ ✍️ ✍️ ✍️

This excerpt lends itself very well to C1-C2 writing exercises on introspection, disillusionment, social criticism, and philosophical argumentation.

1. Reasoned introspective monologue (C1)

Instructions

In the style of the narrator, write an introspective text in which you explain why you have gradually stopped debating with others.

Your text should:

  • express a psychological evolution;
  • include concrete examples;
  • use formal language;
  • incorporate techniques of emphasis and contrast;
  • be between 350 and 500 words long.

Linguistic Objectives

  • Qualify a judgment;
  • Use vocabulary related to thought and disillusionment;
  • Use:
    • concession;
    • hypothesis;
    • emphatic sentences;
    • anaphora;
    • the subjunctive.

Additional challenge C2

Incorporate a philosophical reflection on:

  • truth,
  • the illusion of certainty,
  • or intellectual solitude.

2. Philosophical refutation (C2)

the thinker, bronze, sculpture, rodin, male, paris, france, rodin museum, dante alighieri

Instructions

The narrator states:

“All men are equal. The only difference between them is the degree of their stupidity.”

Write a reasoned refutation of this statement.

You must:

  • challenge the narrator’s pessimistic view;
  • develop a structured argument;
  • draw on historical, literary, or philosophical references;
  • adopt a formal and nuanced style.

Length

600 to 800 words.

Targeted skills

  • Argumentation;
  • Logical structure;
  • Modalization;
  • Complex connectors:
    • certainly,
    • nevertheless,
    • still,
    • even if,
    • assuming that,
    • it must be acknowledged…

3. Change of perspective (C1-C2)

counseling, stress, angry, mental health, depression, frustration, psychotherapy, therapy, human, psychology, psychiatry, emotions, feelings, heart, god, brown health, brown heart, brown god, brown stress, brown angry, brown human, brown depression, brown therapy, brown psychology, counseling, counseling, counseling, counseling, counseling, mental health, mental health, mental health, mental health, psychotherapy, therapy

Instructions

Rewrite this passage from the perspective of:

  • a staunch optimist;
  • or from the perspective of a person deeply committed to political and social causes.

The character must implicitly respond to the narrator.

Educational value

Excellent exercise for:

  • working on polyphony;
  • changing the tone;
  • transforming a worldview;
  • enriching argumentative vocabulary.

4. Literary Sequence (C2)

Instructions

Imagine that an event deeply affects the narrator and forces them to open their heart to others again.

Write the continuation of the text while maintaining:

  • the style;
  • the rhythm of the sentences;
  • the literary register;
  • the psychological depth of the excerpt.

Guidelines

  • Include at least:
    • two rhetorical questions;
    • a gradation;
    • a extended metaphor;
    • a paragraph of pure introspection.
Happy woman with a tablet, celebrating success with arm raised, yellow background.

5. Literary Essay (Advanced C2)

Caucasian woman with curly hair and glasses in a thoughtful pose indoors.

Topic

Is withdrawal from the world a form of lucidity or a moral defeat?

Expectations

  • Problem-based introduction;
  • Dialectical structure;
  • Literary or philosophical references;
  • Open conclusion.

Possible references

  • The Pensées of Blaise Pascal
  • Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche
  • The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus
  • Characters by La Bruyère

6. Advanced Stylistic Exercise (C2)

Instructions

Identify and then imitate the stylistic devices in the text:

  • anaphora;
  • accumulations;
  • ternary rhythms;
  • exclamatory sentences;
  • generalizations;
  • derogatory vocabulary.

Next, write an original paragraph on:

  • social media,
  • political debate,
  • or contemporary certainties,
    imitating the style of the excerpt.
Luxurious conference room in Zittau featuring a microphone for professional presentations.

7. Preparatory Oral Production (C1-C2)

close-up, communication, deaf, ear, female, girl, gossip, hand, head, hear, human, listen, people, sense, silence, sound, orange community, orange communication, orange human, orange closed, deaf, ear, ear, ear, ear, ear, hear, listen

Oral exam topic

“Are people incapable of truly listening to others?”

Variation

Debate:

  • one candidate defends the narrator’s lucidity;
  • the other denounces his cynicism and resignation.

This excerpt is particularly useful for exploring:

  • abstraction;
  • argumentative density;
  • intellectual irony;
  • modality;
  • social criticism;
  • the development of a strong literary voice.

It is well suited to a C2-level work on nuanced thinking and stylistic mastery.