uncleduck

This week I've had the interesting experience of French exchange students in the class.  Alas their knowledge of English appears inferior to my knowledge of French, which is surprising for Europeans.  Undaunted by this, I remembered how when I was in school I felt sorry for French visitors who were left feeling out of things while they sat at the back of the room, ignored by the subject teacher.

The Germans never appeared left out - they always had perfect English and congregated outside the school building at every opportunity to smoke.

Anyway, our French visitors seem nice enough, although when I said to them "Hello, what is
your name?" they looked totally blank, so I resorted to Comment Tappels Tu, and they smiled and seemed to appreciate it.

They arrived for an ICT theory lesson about L'histoire des ordinateurs.  Big picture on screen - "La premier ordinateur", I write 1842 on the board.  Hopefully they realise it is a year, not the time of the train.

"Sir, how did it work without electricity?" one of my lot asked.
(someone translated for the French)

"Steam, I think, like an old train" - the French are confused.  I flick through dictionary, look hopefully at the oldest - "Vapeur"
"Ah, oui, vapeur - water - from kettle"

"Oui", I say

"Comme un vieux train" (or something like that), she says to her friend.  By this stage they are
getting into it.

I type on the screen: "Sorry if this is strange.  I am trying to include our French guests in the lesson"

"Sir, why are you typing", my own lot ask, "And why are you in a site called Babelfish?"

I press 'Translate', and "Désolé si c'est étrange. J'essaye d'inclure nos invités français dans la leçon" appears.

"Does this translation make sense?" I type - "fait cette traduction se comprennent?"

"Oui!" nodding of heads, tres bien

So, we muddle through.  We get on to Strowger, of the first telephone exchange.  Babelfish manages to work out that his competitor in business was married to the telephone operator, who put all calls for Strowger through to her husband - I point at my wedding ring and they seem to get it.  The business of Strowger and his rival - undertaker - doesn't translate properly.  I mimic the call.

"Ahhhh, mon ami et mort, je voudrais parlais avec.... " I mumble something from a dictionary - they laugh.  I think it's rude.  The older girl corrects my pronounciation.  I repeat what she has said and her friends look alarmed.  She explains something to them and hopefully they realise Strowger built the automatic exchange so that the rival's wife didn't put the calls directly through to her husband.

We move on to Alan Turing - Enigma Machine, WW2, figuring German codes.  I wonder if mentioning "Guerre Mondiale 2", as Babelfish calls it, is a good idea.  We muddle through anyway.

Bell rings... Au Revoir, Merci, etc.  Later, they smile at me in the corridor.  Bonjour Monsieur.  Tales of a madman escaped the asylum to teach ICT will go to France with them, no doubt.