Le sujet 2006 - Bac ES - Anglais LV1 - Expression |
Avis du professeur :
Un dialogue et 2 sujets d'argumentation difficiles qui
supposent une bonne exploitation des acquis et demandent une pensée structurée
et une bonne culture générale (sujet 1.b.). |
"I am a teacher and I understand this
is the place at which I should present myself for a position in
that particular profession." Through
the woman's warm smile I detected a little confusion. Too well
bred to say "What?" she looked a
quizzical eye on me, which shouted the word just as audibly. I
repeated myself clearly but before I had
completed the statement the woman asked of me sweetly,
5 "Did you say you are a teacher?"
"I am," I said. My own smile was
causing me some pain behind my ears but still I endeavoured to
respond correctly. I handed her the two
letters of recommendation which I had taken from my bag in
anticipation of their requirement. She
politely held out her slim hand, took them, then indicated for me
to sit. However, instead of studying the
letters she merely held them in her hand without even
10 glancing at their contents.
"What are these?" she asked with a
little laugh ruffling up the words.
"These are my letters of
recommendation. One you will see is from the headmaster at—"
Interrupting me, her lips relaxed for just a
moment before taking up a smile once more. "Where
are you from?" she asked. The letters
were still held in mid-air where I had placed them. "I
15 am from Jamaica," I told her.
She was silent, we both grinning on each
other in a genteel way. I thought to bring her
attention back to the letters. "One of
the letters I have given you is from my last post.
Written by the headmaster himself. You will
see that—"
But once more she interrupted me:
"Where?"
20 I wondered if it would be impolite to tell
this beguiling woman to read the letter in her hand
so all her questions might be answered. I
concluded it would. "At Half Way Tree Parish
School," I told her.
"Where's that?"
"In Kingston, Jamaica."
25 "Well, I'm afraid you can't teach
here," and passed the unopened letters back to me.
I was sure there had been some
misunderstanding, although I was not clear as to where
it had occurred. Perhaps I had not made
myself as understood as I could. "If you would read
the letters," I said, "one will
tell you about the three years of training as a teacher I received
in Jamaica while the other letter is
concerned with the position I held as a teacher at—"
30 She did not let me finish. "The letters
don't matter," she told me. "You can't teach in this
country. You're not qualified to teach here
in England."
"But..." was the only sound that
came from me.
"It doesn't matter that you were a
teacher in Jamaica," she went on, "you will not be
allowed to teach here." She shook the
letters at me. "Take these back. They're of no use."
35 When I did not take them from her hand she
rattled them harder at me. "Take them," she
said, so loud she almost shouted. Her smile
was stale as a gargoyle. My hand shook as it
reached out for the letters.
And all I could utter was
"But—"
"Miss, I'm afraid there really is no
point your sitting there arguing with me." And she
40 giggled. The untimely chortle made my mouth
gape. "It's not up to me. It's the decision of
the education authority. I can do nothing to
change that. And, I'm afraid, neither can you.
Now, I don't mean to hurry you but I have an
awful lot to do. So thank you for coming."
Every organ I possessed was screaming on
this woman, "What are you saying to me?"
She went back about her business. Her face
now in its normal repose looked as severe
45 as that of the principal at my college. She
picked up a piece of paper, wrote something at
the top. She looked to another piece of
paper then stopped, aware that I was still there.
"How long is the training in England?" I asked her.
"Goodbye," she said, pointing a
finger at the door.
"Must I go back to a college?"
50 "Really, miss, I have just explained
everything to you. You do speak English? Have you
not understood me? It's quite simple. There
is no point you asking me anything else. Now,
please, I have a lot to do. Thank you."
And she smiled on me — again! What
fancy feigning. I could not stand up. My legs were
too weak under me. I sat for a little to
redeem my composure. At last finding strength to pull
55 myself up, I told this woman, "I will
come back again when I am qualified to teach in this
country."
"Yes," she said, "you do
that. Goodbye."
Small Island, Andrea Levy, 2004
(abridged and adapted)
Choose subject 1 (a+b) or subject 2.
1.
a. Some time later the two characters in the text
meet again. The narrator has become "qualified to teach in this
country" and decides to go and see the same person again. Write their
conversation. (150 words)
b. Should French diplomas be valid everywhere in Europe? (150 words)
2. How can
overcoming obstacles at school or at work make someone stronger? Illustrate your
point with one or two examples. (300 words)
I - LES DIFFERENTS TYPES DE SUJETS ET LEURS CONTRAINTES
Sujet 1. a : Dialogue dans le futur entre les 2 personnages. Vous devez introduire votre dialogue et respecter le profil psychologique des deux personnages. La narratrice s'exprime dans un anglais de qualité, veillez à respecter ce paramètre.
Sujet 1. b : Sujet d'argumentation qui vous permet de développer vos idées sur l'Europe et ses échanges internationaux. Structurez votre présentation et illustrez vos arguments par des exemples sans excès. Sujet difficile qui exige une bonne culture générale.
Sujet 2 : Encore un sujet d'argumentation qui permet de mettre en lumière vos acquis et votre capacité à problématiser. Ce sujet peut aussi faire appel à votre expérience personnelle. Un sujet délicat qui demande une certaine maturité d'esprit.
II - LES NOTIONS ATTENDUES
1. a.
● Regret
de la principale :
- I wish I had
- I shouldn't have + verbe au participe passé
- I could have + verbe au participe passé
- It was silly of me to...
- How stupid to...
● La principale campe sur ses
positions :
- There's no denying that you are certified/ qualified
but...
- I wish you wouldn't bother me anymore.
- There's no point arguing about it
- If you had been in my shoes, you would have reacted the same way.
- Why don't you try to understand my point of view.
- I have to respect authority.
1.b.
● Opinion
personnelle :
- As for me
- As far as I am concerned
- To my mind
- In my opinion
● Pistes de
réponses :
- It allows people to have
an enriching job experience.
- It may foster people circulation for tourist or economic purposes.
- It enables them to have the opportunity to share their expertise and be more
competitive
- However, it goes without saying that it is imperative that French diplomas
be standardized
and levelled with European criteria in order to maintain its
quality standards and avoid
brain drain to the United States.
2.
Introduction :
- In my opinion...
- There is no denying that...
overcoming obstacles at school or work make someone stronger.
- I am convinced that
- I am well aware that
- I am in position to say
Demonstration :
- used to + infinitive
- I was able to + infinitive
- I managed to + infinitive
- I succeded in + verb + ing
- People expect us to / want us to be
to act a certain way under any
circumstances
- We are supposed to
- We are taught to
Conclusion :
- Eventually
- To finish with
- We may feel like concluding that
- All in all
- All things considered
- One has to fight to succeed (no pain, no gain). Yet even if life is
a constant battle, every cloud has a silver lining.