French Teacher

Good. She is clearly in the wrong job if she's going to undermine her students ' confidence like that. That's not how they learn.

My father taught MFL so I fully respect the profession. My dad got v high up in his career and was v well respected. He ended up mentoring teachers across the country.

Why was he so successful? I saw him in action. He was passionate about teaching and loved his students. I did not hear anything negative about it except for when the government got involved!

Sadly, I have met teachers like the above in my own school years and those of my children. They did not perform well in their classes either. Those who inspired me and my children were the ones who oozed enthusiasm, were positive. It really showed they loved their jobs and the children

And that attitude, Gandalf, is exactly why one third of NQTs leave the profession within the first five years.

Op. Your dd's teacher os a bitch. Her approach is v discouraging and unlikely to bring out the best in teems who tend to be under confident anywaydespite the bravado they sometimes show. You are right to flag it up to the head before the real thing. I had a French teacher like this. I was reasonable at French but it put me off. I did a lot worse than predicted and went onto do other languages which i did better at

My daughter doesnt want to be a parrot that learns answers to questions to pass an exam which I get the impression is what the teacher is trying to do .

Except is the very basis of the syllabus and unless she does exactly that she won't get decent grades.

Language GCSEs are not about learning the language unfortunately. They are about parroting some learned phrases.

my DD is projected to get A's A's in most subjects*
I expect this is what it comes down to. You are anxious that your DD might not get her predicted grade is French and you are looking at external factor that might push her down.

This teacher's way is clearly not exhibit great teaching skills, but it's no different to many teachers. You will find the same with markers.

Your DD is actually in a fortunate situation where she knows what to expect AND can prepare for it. That's a lot more than what my DD got at her oral English exam. Through an accumulation of events, she ended up in tears, which is totally unlike her and left the exam very upset. She blamed herself though, not the teacher. In the end, she never found out what grade she got for it, but she got an overall A in English Language. She can now look back and say that she is almost pleased that it happened because she is naturally a very confident at speaking in public and strangers, and this made her realise that you can never take for granted that you will do well in an exam even when you are highly confident.

I too was a chatterbox when I was a kid and got told off all the time for it. Teachers still loved me. I'm now still a chatterbox at work, but it hasn't stopped me make it to the top! Your daughter will be fine, but the best way you can help her is to learn to focus on what she can control to succeed, not trying to remove blockages she can do nothing about.

To answer your original question, no I don't think you should ask for a different teacher to conduct the exam.

1. School is highly unlikely to agree to this
2. This was just a year 10 exam. In the real thing your daughter may find the teacher is more encouraging. At this stage teachers can be annoyed that students haven't revised properly. In the real thing, it's too late to be anything other than encouraging.
3. By the real exam your dd will know the teacher better. This is often considered helpful in an exam.
4. Facial expressions can be helpful too! If the teacher winced slightly, some sharp pupils will realise they have just used the wrong word/tense and quickly self-correct, thus gaining more marks!

Also if a teacher is making a concerned face during an answer (which is what the grimace you describe surely is) that's a fantastic cue for your daughter to elaborate and try and improve the language she's using, possibly slip in another tense. Not to throw a fit be she's decided the teacher hates her

If your daughter was so lively a teacher suggested she was high it is a concern, especially when you state she was overconfident. It is difficult, but do remember teachers use euphemisms in reports and lively means pain in the butt!

'Chatterbox' is an interesting choice of word. It is a polite way of describing a child who persistently disrupts lessons because they will not shut up. I fail to see how you can be a chatterbox in class and not disrupt lessons. Otherwise what do you actually mean by 'she's a chatterbox'? Such pupils often do less well than they should, because they are not actually paying attention in lessons (and dustract others too).

OP- Do you usually express opinions on the duties teaching staff should carry out and does the school take these opinions into consideration?

Surely the fact that she knows her, and therefore knows what to expect means that it is unlikely she will feel intimidated by her in 12 months time?

You say that she didn't do as well as expected because she didn't revise as much as should have and struggled to improvise, so really, her lower than expected grade (if that's what she gets) will have nothing to do with the teacher's manieurism but with her lack of good preparation?

The only difference between this teacher and another if she doesn't hide the fact that pupils are not responding as they should, but surely she can't be blamed for the fact that they don't if they haven't prepared well.

It sounds like a massive cope out to try to divert from the real reason why the oral didn't go well. What are you going to say? 'Can you make sure that this teacher doesn't sit the orals because she is too good at knowing when a pupil tries to improvise because they haven't studied the subject and the lack of her encouraging poor response isn't acceptable'?

of course she is
she has talked through class and missed bits
she is overconfident and hasn't revised.

It is a shame that you can't see this.

If you go into school and request that this teacher is removed from the oral examination I shall be extremely interested to learn what the school's response is.

Ktown
As for chatterbox unless she is disruptive, which it sounds like she isn't,

She is a chatterbox
She is doing this in lessons
She is disruptive

Sounds to me like your dd is covering her arse in case things don't go well.

Is the teacher of French nationality or lived in France for a long time? French teachers are not taught to be friendly and encouraging, so this kind be a culture thing. That doesn't mean they are likely to score lower, it just means that they expect pupils to be challenged rather than encouraged.

Tell your DD that what the teacher says (verbally or non verbally) is irrelevant because she should feel confident about what she says regardless of feedback. Don't tell her to avoid eye contact, it's rude. Just tell her to do her best and that's all that matters.

We had external examiners when I did language exams. I'm sure there was no suggestion of vetting them to check how personable they were.

It is tough but your child will have to learn to deal with all sorts in life and will have to adapt accordingly.
It will be hard but tell her not to take the eye rolling too seriously.
As for chatterbox unless she is disruptive, which it sounds like she isn't, then that will likely calm Down With age.