English translation: in the typically French intensive early selection process
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GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:
bachotage de la sélection précoce à la française
English translation:
in the typically French intensive early selection process
French to English translations [PRO] Bus/Financial - Education / Pedagogy / Universities/France
French term or phrase:bachotage de la sélection précoce à la française
Hello All,
Not knowing how the French university system works, I'm hoping someone out there can advise me on this. Bachotage translates as cramming, but here I suppose I would put 'intense preparation' because cramming in English does rather imply you've left it till the last minute...
I'm confused by the selection precoce a la francaise part though. Do some students take the bac early? And is the a la francaise bit a reference to the peculiarity of the French system?
Sorry if this seems like more than one question, but I don't think splitting the sentence would help...
Once again, I would like to thank you all in advance for your invaluable help!
Context follows:
Pour répondre aux questions générées par
la curiosité humaine, il faut également transmettre les connaissances et, là aussi, nous devons être capable de répondre à l’ensemble de la communauté : celle des étudiants qui ne participe pas, par choix ou nécessité, au bachotage de la sélection précoce à la française et celle qui se destine aux études les plus exigeantes
Explanation: bachotage can mean just swotting up or cramming; it can also mean intensive preparation or training; it can refer to the Baccalaureat but it can also refer to other exams, such as entry exams and "concours". So far nobody is right and nobody is wrong. I hope to provide a happy compromise!
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 10 hrs (2008-06-04 22:23:33 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
I think that the text refers to the University environment and not that of the Bac. I think that the text is talking about entry into University where the pedagogical problem is that of differences of academic ability between the in-coming students and the necessity to bridge the gap. Some students will have followed the intensive preparation necessary for entry into "les grandes écoles" but because of restricted places and fierce competition they will have failed their entrance exams and so will enter into university. Others enter University directly from their respective lycées and so have not benefited from the "Grande Ecole" preparation and training of the others.
i.e. "we" must make knowledge available/accessible to everyone (whole community of students), not favorizing/giving priority to one categ or the other - need to adapt to those 2 distinct audiences
the idea imo is that "we" must be able to meet the requirements and needs of both (1) students who, volutarily or not (e.g. due to costs), did not follow intensive preparations and (2) those who did and aim at entering a prestigious school -
Automatic update in 00:
Answers
9 mins confidence: peer agreement (net): -2
Crammimg the early selection of french
Explanation: the hesitance abt gettin in a school
Priyanka Nabar India Local time: 13:09 Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 4
2 hrs confidence: peer agreement (net): -1
preparation of the baccalauréat exam
Explanation: I think the 'séléction précoce à la française' might refer to the baccalauréat itself. So the first group 'communauté' are those who do not take part in the revision/preparation/cramming for the bac for whatever reason. So group 1, those who don't take the bac exam and group 2, those who will go on to higher education.
Emma Paulay France Local time: 09:39 Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 36
the intensive preparation involved in early selection as it exists in France
Explanation: .. and for 'communauté', I'd be tempted to put 'those students..'
"Those students who do not undertake the intensive preparation.... etc. etc. "
A strange sentence, but this is what I think it means.... in France, if you have your baccalaureate, you can, theoretically, go to university - and (again theoretically) there is no selection. University is therefore geared to everyone with a bac, and not only 'high flyers'. The high flyers will go through a preparation for very demanding, and often very specific, competitive exams to 'grandes écoles' (commercial, engineering, humanities etc. etc.).
If you want to get into the really prestigious 'grandes écoles' (Polytechnique, for example) it is said that you have to start early... tutoring, going to the 'right' schools in Paris etc. (this is partly true, but not completely).
So the bit of sentence in your qustion refers to those who don't go through this kind of preparation with the specific competitive exams in mind (i.e. the 'ordinary' student) and the second part of your sentence refers to those who do - because indeed the preparation is very demanding...
katsy Local time: 09:39 Specializes in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 68
8 hrs confidence:
hot-housing due to the early selective setting in the French education system
Explanation: Hot-housing is a fairly common term that encompasses extra tuition, moving pupils up an academic year etc. In CES and lycée pupils are taught in ability groups/sets rather than mixed-ability classes for many subjects. The different types of lyées do provide a good education for a broad range of ability. This article seems to be looking at giving students the skills and knowledge to answer life's great questions. Hints of learning how to learn, rather than just cramming facts in? I like it!
bookwormkt Local time: 08:39 Specializes in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 16
in the typically French intensive early selection process
Explanation: bachotage can mean just swotting up or cramming; it can also mean intensive preparation or training; it can refer to the Baccalaureat but it can also refer to other exams, such as entry exams and "concours". So far nobody is right and nobody is wrong. I hope to provide a happy compromise!
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 10 hrs (2008-06-04 22:23:33 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
I think that the text refers to the University environment and not that of the Bac. I think that the text is talking about entry into University where the pedagogical problem is that of differences of academic ability between the in-coming students and the necessity to bridge the gap. Some students will have followed the intensive preparation necessary for entry into "les grandes écoles" but because of restricted places and fierce competition they will have failed their entrance exams and so will enter into university. Others enter University directly from their respective lycées and so have not benefited from the "Grande Ecole" preparation and training of the others.
Example sentence(s):
... that of students who by choice or by necessity do not take part in the typically French intensive early selection process and those who are destined for the most demanding of studies.
KathyPro Local time: 09:39 Specializes in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 8
The translation workplace 
peer agreement (net): -2
peer agreement (net): -1
