Case Study 1
Read the passage and answer the following questions:
I started for school very late that morning and was in great dread of a scolding, especially because M. Hamel had said that he would question us on participles, and I did not know the first word about them. For a moment, I thought of running away and spending the day out of doors. It was so warm, so bright!
Questions:
1. Why was Franz afraid of going to school that day?
a) He had not learned his lesson on participles
b) He was late for school
c) He had fought with his teacher
d) He disliked the subject
Answer: a) He had not learned his lesson on participles
2. What was Franz tempted to do instead of going to school?
a) Stay at home
b) Play outdoors in the warm weather
c) Visit his friend’s house
d) Go to the town square
Answer: b) Play outdoors in the warm weather
3. What does Franz’s hesitation to attend school indicate?
a) His lack of discipline
b) His fear of school punishment
c) His regret for not studying earlier
d) All of the above
Answer: d) All of the above
4. What was Franz supposed to be prepared with for school that day?
a) A mathematics test
b) A French poetry recitation
c) A lesson on participles
d) A history assignment
Answer: c) A lesson on participles
Case Study 2
Read the passage and answer the following questions:
“But the thing that surprised me most was to see, on the back benches, that the village people were sitting quietly like ourselves; old Hauser, with his three-cornered hat, the former mayor, the former postmaster, and several others besides. Everybody looked sad; and Hauser had brought an old primer, thumbed at the edges, and he held it open on his knees with his great spectacles lying across the pages.”
Questions:
1. What surprised Franz the most when he entered the classroom?
a) The school was closed
b) The villagers were sitting in the classroom
c) The teacher was absent
d) The students were playing
Answer: b) The villagers were sitting in the classroom
2. Why had the villagers come to school?
a) To celebrate M. Hamel’s farewell
b) To learn French before it was banned
c) To show respect for M. Hamel and their mother tongue
d) To check the students’ progress
Answer: c) To show respect for M. Hamel and their mother tongue
3. What did Hauser bring with him?
a) A gift for M. Hamel
b) A German textbook
c) An old primer (French book)
d) A letter from Berlin
Answer: c) An old primer (French book)
4. What emotion did the people in the classroom display?
a) Happiness
b) Excitement
c) Sadness
d) Indifference
Answer: c) Sadness
Case Study 3
Read the passage and answer the following questions:
My children, this is the last lesson I shall give you. The order has come from Berlin to teach only German in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine. The new master comes tomorrow. Today is your last French lesson. I want you to be very attentive.
Questions:
1. Why was this the last French lesson?
a) M. Hamel was retiring
b) The French government banned the language
c) The Prussian order imposed German in schools
d) Students lost interest in French
Answer: c) The Prussian order imposed German in schools
2. How did M. Hamel want the students to behave?
a) To be rebellious
b) To be attentive and value their language
c) To protest against the new rule
d) To remain indifferent
Answer: b) To be attentive and value their language
3. What does this passage symbolize?
a) The power of language in preserving culture
b) The superiority of German over French
c) The weakness of the French government
d) The strictness of M. Hamel
Answer: a) The power of language in preserving culture
4. What was the immediate reaction of Franz to this news?
a) He was happy
b) He was relieved
c) He felt regretful
d) He wanted to run away
Answer: c) He felt regretful
Case Study 4
Read the passage and answer the following questions:
“When a people are enslaved, as long as they hold fast to their language, it is as if they had the key to their prison.”
Questions:
1. What does M. Hamel mean by “the key to their prison”?
a) Education can help people escape prison
b) Holding onto one’s language preserves identity and freedom
c) The students should revolt against the government
d) Learning German is the only solution
Answer: b) Holding onto one’s language preserves identity and freedom
2. What is the significance of language in the story?
a) It is a tool of resistance against oppression
b) It is a burden on students
c) It is a cause of conflict between Germany and France
d) It is a means of communication only
Answer: a) It is a tool of resistance against oppression
3. How did the people of Alsace and Lorraine react to the ban on their language?
a) They happily accepted it
b) They regretted not learning French properly earlier
c) They started learning German immediately
d) They protested in the streets
Answer: b) They regretted not learning French properly earlier
4. What does this passage emphasize?
a) The importance of cultural identity
b) The impact of colonization
c) The necessity of learning new languages
d) Both (a) and (b)
Answer: d) Both (a) and (b)
Case Study 5
Read the passage and answer the following questions:
It was because they were sorry, too, that they had not gone to school more. It was their way of thanking our master for his forty years of faithful service and of showing their respect for the country that was theirs no more.
Questions:
1. Why were the villagers feeling sorry?
a) They realized the importance of their language too late
b) They had to learn a new language
c) M. Hamel was retiring
d) They disliked their new teacher
Answer: a) They realized the importance of their language too late
2. How did the villagers express their respect for M. Hamel?
a) By protesting against the Prussian rule
b) By attending the last lesson
c) By organizing a farewell event
d) By refusing to speak German
Answer: b) By attending the last lesson
3. What does the country that was theirs no more imply?
a) France had abandoned Alsace and Lorraine
b) Alsace and Lorraine were now under Prussian rule
c) The villagers lost their citizenship
d) The French language was no longer taught
Answer: b) Alsace and Lorraine were now under Prussian rule
4. What is the central theme reflected in this passage?
a) The importance of education
b) The pain of losing one’s cultural identity
c) The strictness of M. Hamel
d) The need to learn multiple languages
Answer: b) The pain of losing one’s cultural identity
Case Study 6
Read the passage and answer the following questions:
Ah, how well I remember it, that last lesson! All at once, the church clock struck twelve. Then the Angelus. At the same moment, the trumpets of the Prussians, returning from drill, sounded under our windows.
Questions:
1. What does the striking of the church clock signify?
a) The end of the last French lesson
b) The arrival of the new German teacher
c) A call for a village meeting
d) A break for the students
Answer: a) The end of the last French lesson
2. What does the sound of the Prussian trumpets symbolize?
a) The beginning of a battle
b) The victory of Prussia over France
c) The end of French culture in Alsace and Lorraine
d) The arrival of soldiers in the village
Answer: c) The end of French culture in Alsace and Lorraine
3. How does this moment impact Franz?
a) He becomes emotional and realizes the importance of his language
b) He decides to move to another place
c) He feels happy about learning a new language
d) He ignores the situation
Answer: a) He becomes emotional and realizes the importance of his language
4. What is the significance of the Angelus ringing in the background?
a) It marks the end of an era
b) It signals the beginning of a celebration
c) It reminds the students to pray
d) It indicates the arrival of M. Hamel
Answer: a) It marks the end of an era
Case Study 7
Read the passage and answer the following questions:
Poor man! It was in honour of that last lesson that he had put on his fine Sunday clothes, and now I understood why the old men of the village were sitting there in the back of the room.
Questions:
1. Why had M. Hamel worn his fine Sunday clothes?
a) It was a special school event
b) It was his last day of teaching French
c) He was meeting the new teacher
d) He was expecting school inspectors
Answer: b) It was his last day of teaching French
2. Why were the old men of the village sitting in the classroom?
a) They wanted to learn French
b) They wanted to bid farewell to M. Hamel
c) They were asked to supervise the students
d) They had to translate the lesson into German
Answer: b) They wanted to bid farewell to M. Hamel
3. What emotions did M. Hamel appearance and behavior reflect?
a) Anger and frustration
b) Pride and sorrow
c) Excitement and enthusiasm
d) Indifference
Answer: b) Pride and sorrow
4. What does this passage highlight?
a) The villagers newfound respect for education
b) The fear of German rule
c) The excitement of learning a new language
d) The importance of school uniforms
Answer: a) The villagers newfound respect for education
Case Study 8
Read the passage and answer the following questions:
He had the courage to hear every lesson to the very last. After the grammar, we had a lesson in writing. That day M. Hamel had new copies for us, written in a beautiful round hand: France, Alsace, France, Alsace. They looked like little flags floating everywhere in the schoolroom, hung from the rod at the top of our desks.
Questions:
1. What does the phrase France, Alsace, France, Alsace symbolize?
a) The students̢۪ love for their country
b) The unity between France and Alsace
c) A silent protest against German rule
d) All of the above
Answer: d) All of the above
2. What does the description of the new copies suggest?
a) The students were learning calligraphy
b) M. Hamel was trying to instill patriotism
c) The students were being tested
d) The class was preparing for a competition
Answer: b) M. Hamel was trying to instill patriotism
3. How did M. Hamel conduct the last lesson?
a) With deep emotion and dedication
b) With strictness and anger
c) With indifference and carelessness
d) By encouraging students to forget French
Answer: a) With deep emotion and dedication
4. What do the words on the copies being compared to flags signify?
a) The celebration of a national festival
b) The last sign of resistance against the Prussians
c) The end of M. Hamel̢۪s career
d) The beginning of a new curriculum
Answer: b) The last sign of resistance against the Prussians
