Gilles Berger was my French teacher and tutor group leader in my last four years at Sydney Grammar School, from 1992 to 1995. In those four years I saw that he gave his students the ability to speak French, frequently to the point of fluency, by going far beyond the bounds of the traditional French teacher. Even with beginners, Gilles Berger conducted his classes almost entirely in French. He taught students vocabulary not by direct translation into English but by utilising familiar French words to convey a particular meaning. His very way of speaking French was instructive because it considered the level of his students: he would add new, more difficult vocabulary and grammatical constructions only when he sensed that students had understood, digested, and could actively use the old ones. Very quickly he would be able to create a classroom situation in which all students felt comfortable to converse entirely in French.
Although Gilles Berger was a brilliant classroom teacher, I never had the impression that I was in a classroom when I attended his lessons. I was always far too entertained and interested to think that I was sitting in a dreary room in a conservative boys' school. Gilles Berger inspired us to speak French not only by his teaching method but also by never failing to captivate our attention. He managed to transform boring textbook exercises into philosophical discussions which introduced us to new ways of thinking and provoked us to come up with our own ideas. And by engaging with topics as diverse as Eastern thought, Existentialism, and Vegetarianism, he allowed us to see the limits of our own experience, and forced us to think beyond our own context. He was one rare teacher who changed us as he taught us. Or, from another point of view, by captivating the attention of every student in every class, and by doing it all in French, he gave us all the ability to speak a foreign language.
Sincerely,
Ben Urwand
Doctoral Program in Cinema and Media Studies
The University of Chicago
This is to certify that Gilles Berger is an exemplary linguist and worthy teacher of French. Under his tutelage over a period of six years I, along with six of his students in the 3unit course, mastered the language culminating in our unparalleled performance in the 1999 HSC exams. Three of his students made the merit list and indeed these three happened to be the top three male candidates of the state.
However glowing his ability to produce these results may be, a more worthy testimonial lies in his generous warm-hearted character. He has been not only a teacher to his students but also a friend. And this is rare.
Yours sincerely,
Arjun Goyal, Medicine, Sydney University
I was taught French by Gilles Berger for the final two years of high school at Sydney Grammar School. During that time my love and fascination for the language continually grew, under the wonderful teaching of Mr. Berger. In fact, teaching may be the wrong word, for Mr. Berger took a refreshing, unorthodox approach to us, the students; whilst making us learn the essentials of the language he also transformed the classroom into a forum for discussions on life, current affairs and philosophy. Furthermore, he never "watered down" his French, and always speaking to us as equals, and even friends; though this took some getting used to since usually teachers
tend to oversimplify things for pupils, it raised our proficiency in the language greatly. The standard of his teaching can clearly be seen in my results in the 3U French H.S.C. of 1999, where I came 8th in N.S.W. with a mark of 47\50, largely to the good fortune I had in having Gilles as a teacher.
Yours sincerely,
Marcel Fernandes
I have known GILLES BERGER since 1991, when I appointed him to the Modern European Language staff of Sydney Grammar School. He was the outstanding teacher of French of the decade. Intelligent boys flourished under his tuition, to the extent that boys taught by him were way ahead of their peers when they went to university. His teaching was widely regarded as quite inspiring.
M. Berger's success as a teacher did not depend merely on his advantage as a native speaker, nor on his efficiency as a pedagogue, but most of all on his attractiveness as a man to young people. As well as teaching French throughout the School, he coached tennis and soccer. Above all, his depth and integrity as a thoughtful and highly sensitive man won wide respect among pupils and colleagues alike. He is a most unusual person, combining imagination with wisdom.
I have no hesitation whatever in commending him to anyone who might have need of his service.
Dr. R. D. Townsend
Cobthorne, Oundle
Peterborough PE 8
4 E F, United Kingdom
Headmaster@oundle.co.uk
I am very pleased to be able to write in support of M. Gilles Berger. He came to Sydney Grammar School in 1991, already with a distinguished reputation as a teacher at Tertiary level. Since then he has taught classes at every point in the School, and he has played a crucial part in the improvement of modern language teaching at Grammar over the last nine years. Boys studying French here now leave with a good working knowledge of the language as a conversational tool, as well as a sound acquaintance with its literature. M. Berger's achievement here has been quite extraordinary. A large number of his former pupils would, I am sure, be happy to testify to this.
His interest in the School has extended beyond the classroom. He has coached tennis and soccer, and worked in a pastoral role as a tutor in our House system.
In short, M. Berger is a man of great culture and civilisation, and an absolutely first class teacher. I should be more than happy to provide more information if it is needed.
Dr. J. T. Vallance
Head Master
Sydney Grammar School, College St
Darlinghurst, NSW 2010 St,
Tel: 9332 5800 Fax: 9331 5164
This reference is for Gilles BERGER, whom I have known sine 1986 when he was appointed Lecturer in the Department of French Studies, University of Sydney. Since that time I have had frequent professional contact with him.
Over the past two and a half years he has worked with colleagues at the School of French, University of New South Wales, on a video course for the teaching of French and produced a number of aural comprehension tapes; he taught my Third Year Course in Linguistics in Session 2, 1987 when I was absent on Long Service Leave; I also published one of his articles in the journal of which I am Editor, "Babel", the national journal of the Australian Federation of Modern Language Teacher' s Associations.
Gilles Berger is a highly motivated and energetic teacher, with an excellent theoretical and practical knowledge of language teaching. He has a dynamic classroom presence and a down-to-earth practical approach. He is perfectly competent at all proficiency levels, although his native speaker status means that his talents are better utilised at the intermediate and advanced levels
When he taught at UNSW, he was liked and respected by both students and staff. His planning and preparation were excellent and he was able to motivate and stimulate the students
Gilles Berger is a colleague of great personal and professional integrity for whom I have great respect. I highly recommend him as a teacher in any educational context.
Dr. A. L. Chamberlain
School of French
University of New South Wales
Gilles Berger was appointed to a three year fixed-term lectureship in this Department. His main responsibility was teaching the students enrolled in the Beginners Courses. He also taught advanced language classes and an elective on Commercial French.
He is a dynamic and stimulating teacher. He has specialised in the use of audio-visual methods and has achieved excellent results. He has used this experience to make, in collaboration with French colleagues at the University of New South Wales, a series of video programs for people beginning to learn French. These videos are based on communicative situations in everyday life and motivate learners to improve their speaking competence.
The three years Gilles Berger has taught at the University have given him the opportunity to adapt to the levels and expectations of Australian students. Native speakers often bring with them the standards of their home country which are not appropriate in the Australian setting. Gilles Berger has made this transition successfully. He is extremely cooperative in everything he is asked to do and his enthusiasm for his teaching makes working with him a pleasure.
Associate Professor Ross Steele (Head)
Department of French Studies A18,
The University of Sydney NSW 2006
Tel: (61-2) 9351 2381 Fax:(61-2) 9351 4757
email:Ross.Steele@french.usyd.edu.au
21 Kazungula Place, Upper Crystal Creek,
NSW Australia.
PO Box 1283 Murwillumbah,
NSW Australia.
Telephone 61 2 6679 1016
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