Questionnaire Comparatives- between England and France
Tue s ne(e) en France?
Were you born in England?
Question 1: Out of my 50 questionnaires 3 of the student were born in a foreign country, I think this doesn’t really give much information for my research.
Question 1: From the 50 questionnaires given out 15 of them were born in a country other that England
Si non, out u ne(e)
If not, where were you born?
Question 2: If the students were not born in France they were either from London/North Africa or Madagascar. Students’ coming from these countries is quite standard. The fact that a student was born in England was quite surprising to me, but it made sense as her mother was from England and her father from France. This situation often happens. This leads me to my next question.
Question 2: When the students were not born in England they were either born in, Russia, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, or African countries. I was rather surprised to see so many students from so many countries. It was pleasant to see so many foreigners happily joining the Bradford community.
Tes parents, sont-ils nés en France?
Were your parents born in England?
Question 3: The chart below illustrates if both parents are born in France/ one of them or both are from a foreign country
I found this very appealing as it show barriers are being broken. Integration is becoming a term that is readily accepted, as French people are marrying people from a different country. This means the individuals of Bordeaux have integrated with people from different cultures and backgrounds.
Question 3: This result was very different to France, students either had both parents born in England or they both were not born in England therefore one of their parents did not marry someone outside their origin, so maybe integration hasn’t reached the same level in Bradford, as it has in Bordeaux.
As-tu de la famille à l’étranger? Si oui, est-ce que tu as
Souvent des contacts avec eux?
If you have relative abroad, do you keep in contact with them?
Question 6: It was very unexpected to see the number of students keeping in touch with relatives or friends that live abroad
I believe these results are because when a family comes to France they are very eager to integrate and learn the new language that they find there isn’t enough time to visit family living abroad.
Question 6: Again opposite to France all the student kept in contact with their family and friends living abroad This showed how important the student felt it was to ‘stick to their root’ as one of the students said.
Tes parent, qu’est-ce qu’ils font dans la vie?
What do your parents do for a living?
Question 8: There was a variety of what the students’ parents, did for a living. The list was very varied, full of many professions. Nevertheless parents coming from a foreign country were either unemployed or doing a labour job. This shows how their parents strive to create for their children the best upbringing.
Question 8: The idea was slightly different in schools of Bradford; many of the students had parents that were self employed. In spite of this there were a certain percentage of parents who were unemployed or retired. This exemplifies that the parents of the pupils are working hard to build a business for themselves so they can provide the best conditions for their family. It also shows how the society of Bradford has allowed immigrants to evolve their lifestyle for the best.
Tu te considères de quelle nationalité?
What nationality do you consider yourself to be?
Question 9: I was curious what my results will be to this question, the people that were born in France considered themselves as French or European. Students that were born in countries that differ to France still saw themselves as French. I talked to a student that had a foreign background about her nationality, and she said that she preferred to be called ‘Français nationality as she lives in France. It shows that she belongs in France and has every right as anyone else to live in France’.
Question 9: Many of the students were confused; they were torn between two nationalities which is why many students stated to have 2 nationalities. I found this delightful as they were so free and comfortable saying that British is not their only nationality.
Below a graph shows the number of nationalities the student gave:
Qu’est que tu étudies?
What subjects do you study?
Question 10: The subjects the French study are similar to those in England however they do not learn religious studies. For this reason they thought everyone was a Christian and didn’t know much about religions and cultures. In Bordeaux there were not many places of worship as there are in Bradford. When I asked a student if there are any places of worship in Bordeaux he simply said ‘he doesn’t know if there are any.’
However, things differed in the lycée. They don’t learn a subject based on religions but they do learn about Spanish and English cultures via their language lessons. I flicked through a few of their language books and found it rather amusing how their books perceived a stereotypical view about English people (e.g. for breakfast we have bacon, beans and eggs every morning.) Which brought me to the conclusion you can’t learn a culture by studying books. It’s something you have to go and learn for yourself.
Question 10: The subjects are much more varied in France and I now have learnt how important it is. Student are picking up ideas becoming open minded and have realised how vital it is to attain knowledge of cultural issues interacting with one another’s origin and beliefs. At the same time, not feeling afraid when expressing views; this is important for the evolution of our community.
Comment vois-tu ton avenir
How do you see your future?
Question 11: this question was often missed; however some of the students that attended the lycée had ‘spécialité communication’ written down.
Question 11: This question was either blank or had ‘don’t know’ scribbled across it I guess students are now thinking about their future and not just drifting into a subject. Especially second/third generation immigrants are very grateful for being given a chance of studying, and try to make the best experience of it.
Question 13: The only people that said ‘yes’ to this question are the pupils that have one or both parents from a foreign country. They said they celebrate Christmas, it shows that the children are willing to involve themselves in festivals that are celebrated by their friends; another example of wanting to integrate.
Question 13: Most pupils also wrote Christmas, probably for the same reason.
Est-ce que tu as des passé-temps? Si oui, que fais que et quand?
Do you have and hobbies, if so what do you do and when?
Question 15: Often the hobbies between the students were pianist, dance, guitar, tennis, football or karate. As seen from the list it is safe to say that most of French children are very active, therefore they are meeting new people of diverse backgrounds everyday. Again showing multiculturalism isn’t a new subject and people are introduced to new races everyday.
Question 15: Many of the students didn’t have active hobbies. They enjoyed social activities more, such as shopping, going to cinema etc. So it could be said that children of Bradford don’t meet new people often.
Est-ce qu’es tes meilleurs amis, ont les memes origins que toi?
Are your best friends from the same background and cultures as you?
Question 17: In the Lycée I got more ‘yes’ answers to the question ‘are your best friends from a different culture to you.’ The reason is mainly because there were more pupils in the lycée compared to the college. Yet still in schools of Bordeaux, most of the students have friends from another origin to theirs, the number is illustrated below:
These friends often come from Maghreb countries, a popular place where immigrants arrive from.
Question 17: As guessed many of the students had friends with a different origin to their, the term multiculturalism has been acknowledged and people are willing to make this a world wide term
Quelle(s) langue(s) parles-tu avec tes parents?
What languages do you speak with you parents?
Question 20: The most surprising thing I found was the pupils that had one or both parents from a country other than France, were unable to speak their origin’s language. This happens probably because the parent speaks French during the day (e.g. in the workplace) as well as the children. So to keep communication, French is spoken at home and the effort of learning their origin’s language is lost. The parent wants to help their children to learn the mainstream language so French is spoken often. This shows that the foreigner are very enthusiastic about integrating and meeting new people and are ready to embrace the new culture with open arms.
Question 20: Yet again the opposite has occurred. Second/third generation immigrants learn their origin’s language first and learn English as their second language and yet still seem to catch up. This may happen because one of the parents cannot speak English and therefore have to communicate in their origin’s language while teaching their children in the process. Bringing my conclusion to; when foreigners arrive in England they don’t have the need to learn English as there is always help available due to a friendly, multicultural society.
Qu’-est-ce que tu pense des anglais?
What do you think of the French?
Question 21: Seeing what the French thought about the English was quite appealing, the students at the college were misconceived and wrote things based on me, to be nice and not what they thought. In the Lycée things were rather the opposite they were very opinionated which was what I wanted, but their opinions were based on famous people (e.g. Prince William and Robbie Williams.) Or it was what they hear on the news which was worthy of note. As always, the majority of the population is affected by media.
Question 21: As expected the students also had stereotypical views on French people like they eat snails all the time. I guess these views only change if you actually go and stay in France.
Tuas déjà voyage? Si oui, ou es-tu allé (e)?
Have you ever been abroad? If yes where have you been?
Question 23: Since the French have a lot of hobbies and like the exploring side of life there was no surprise that they went to travel a lot but it seemed rather obvious that it was only the students coming from French families, who went on lots of holidays. But pupils coming from immigrant families were unable to visit different countries due to financial difficulties.
Question23: Travelling was definitely enjoyed by the students of Bradford. The line ‘I wish I could to more places’ was repeated I think this showed the pupils take pleasure in encountering new things.
Last Thoughts
In Clisthène College there were many pupils from diverse cultures, ages, accents and different upbringings. It seems the student of Clisthène have broken thought the barrier of being different. Now it is regarded almost ‘cool’ to be individual. Now it’s fashionable, pupils try to be unique; therefore people of different ages, races, backgrounds, even sizes are accepted with open doors, making Clisthène College a beautiful garden of flowers with a mixture of sizes and shapes intertwining with one another, forming a colony of diversity.
I was very glad that I got an opportunity of visiting a lycée as the students were much more attracted to my research due to the riot that were also taking place in France. During my stay at Clisthene I attended a few lesson, I think the way the pupils are taught, affects their thinking. By observing the class I could see how the pupils interact with the teacher as well as with one another and just by observing I came to a lot of my conclusions when analysing questionnaires.
So is a multicultural society possible in the 21st century? Both France and England have come along way and are still breaking records. It is safe to say that multiculturalism is taking the world by storm. Many individuals minds have evolved, yet many have stuck to their opinions and haven’t allowed themselves to accept differences.
With increasing awareness and education, societies from different backgrounds and cultures will help build a multicultural country and eventually a world where every individual will accepted.