Lessons from the past: The case of French in Swiss commercial training at the end of the 19th century

«How do we organize supervision to prevent our students from speaking a language other than French?»*

In the 1890-1900s, as l’École de commerce de Neuchâtel was establishing itself as the place to be for learning French as a foreign language, teachers were faced with a question that is still relevant today: how to make the use of a foreign language, French or any other, a part of everyday life? What is necessary for pupils to continue using a foreign language outside the classroom?

At the crossroads of sociolinguistics, language didactics, and the sociology of education, this project has two major aims:

• Anchor the production of knowledge about language teaching and learning in a historical perspective.
• Benefit from the creative and innovative potential of history in the design of contemporary tools for language teaching and learning.

* Original in French : « Comment voulons-nous organiser la surveillance pour empêcher nos élèves de parler une autre langue que le français », teachers’ meeting, École de commerce de Neuchâtel, January 23, 1900.

Referentin: Zorana Sokolovska