Sir Robert Taylor Society
Enriching Modern Languages Teaching
President: Dr Helen Swift,
St Hilda’s College, University Lecturer in French and Schools Liaison Officer for the Modern Languages Faculty
The 52nd conference of the Sir Robert Taylor Society
St Hilda’s College – 17th and 18th September 2010
During the course of the two-day conference 40 members of the society met at St Hilda’s College to hear a variety of talks on literary topics and to gain an insight into the life of the modern languages faculty in Oxford. The hospitality offered by the college was excellent, and the mixture of stimulating academic discussion and the opportunity to meet colleagues from other schools and from the university informally provided a refreshing and informative break from school routine.
This year saw the end of Professor Tom Earle’s 3 year term as President, and we are most grateful to him for his enthusiastic and positive response to the challenge of re-building the society. The encouraging attendance and the quality of the programme are a testimony to his good judgement and hard work on behalf of the society. His successor, Dr Helen Swift, who as a member of St Hilda’s, was instrumental in ensuring we were warmly welcomed by the college. Dr Swift has already made a significant impact, and, in her role as schools liaison officer for the modern languages faculty, will be able to make a very special contribution to the future of the society.
The conference opened with an enlightening talk on Montaigne’s thoughts on education by Dr Richard Scholar. Having the text and translation in advance allowed us to focus on the ‘explication’ rather than struggle with the basic meaning of the text. The very lucid analysis revealed how important and ‘modern’ Montaigne’s writing is.
Dr Julie Curtis gave a most engaging presentation on the ab initio Russian course at Oxford. With the self-consciousness common to all teachers we were keen to avoid public humiliation, but the lesson, like those of all good teachers, gave us confidence and involved us without embarrassment. Dr Curtis made clear both the demands of such an initially intensive course, but also the rewards and the opportunities both academically and professionally to which it can lead.
Dr Emanuela Tandello gave a fascinating and stimulating talk on Svevo and the representation in his works of Trieste in its heyday. It is one of the most important aims of the Society to introduce teachers to new things and to awaken new interests, and it was a joy to discover something about an author and a city about which most of us knew very little. There will be a number of us reaching for a copy of Svevo’s works - and visiting Trieste if we can find a train (Apparently one sign of the decline of this once great city is its omission from main-line rail routes).
As well as talks on less familiar authors, we always hope that there will be a stimulating lecture and discussion on a well-known writer. We were delighted that Dr Olivia Vázquez-Medina (‘History and Writing in the Novels of Gabriel García Márquez’) gave us such an acute and enthusiastic insight into the writing of García Márquez. As the President remarked in his vote of thanks, the applause reflected our enjoyment, and it was a great note on which to conclude the conference.
The talks were well balanced by the excellent hospitality, and in particular the splendid dinner on the Friday evening. On Saturday afternoon a number of us were given a superb guided tour of the Bodleian Library including the medieval splendour of the Duke Humfrey section which we feared closed for renovation. Having enjoyed the hospitality of one of Oxford’s ‘newer’ colleges, it was a fitting end to experience something of the historic past of this great university.
We are most grateful to the modern languages faculty for providing us with this opportunity to visit Oxford, but also to colleagues who are keen to understand how the quality of the Oxford experience and its teaching in modern languages meet the needs of their students. It was a great pleasure to meet both old friends and those attending for the first time. I hope we shall meet again next year.
Jon Corrall
Secretary
