Fun with French

After teaching for ten years at Llanishen High School in Cardiff, Wales, Catherine Murphy left the classroom last year to spend more time with her two little girls and her Web site, Zut.

"I created Zut because I was fed up looking for sites on the Net that did everything I wanted them to," Murphy told Education World. "Don't get me wrong, there's lots of good stuff out there; it's just not very exhaustive. I wanted a site that would cover all the topics studied in the British curriculum. I couldn't find one, so I created my own."

Zut is designed to provide teachers and students of French as a foreign language with interactive exercises at all levels -- from beginner to advanced. The exercises focus on three skills: writing, reading, and listening. In addition to her own work, Murphy posts other educators' original worksheets as well. She encourages other teachers to submit their work, which she will happily publish.

"I particularly like the work I've done for Year12 pupils (aged 17 or 18)," said Murphy of her current site. "It's not as colorful or as full of pictures as the work I've done in previous years, but it's very complete. I know teachers are finding it useful." Teachers report that they enjoy Zut's simplicity of use and appreciate the listening comprehension activities -- lessons that can be difficult to find on the Web.

Murphy is currently working on a Christmas section -- with recipes, songs, games, and listening and reading activities -- that will appear in time for the holiday.

"I love doing this site," Murphy reported, "and I'm so glad every time teachers or pupils say they've found it useful!" In the future, with funding, Murphy hopes to expand the site to include other languages, such as German and Spanish, too.

Article by Cara Bafile
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