#mandatory french from 6th grade

[lingwistyka-balto-slawistyka]

~◇~ Welcome to my langblr ~◇~

◇ Hi, my name is Alexandra, and linguistics is my passion! Below you will find the detailed information about my language study plan as well as the contents that will be posted on this blog.

• Short version: my native language is Romanian. My current focus is getting fluent in Polish (currently at around B1-B2), improving my French (also around B2) and finding a Romanian Sign Language course. In terms of linguistics, my main interests are historical and comparative linguistics, etymology, language typology, language acquisition, language evolution, innovation and word formation.

◇ Why "Lingwistyka Bałto-Sławistyka"?

• This sideblog started when I was writing a paper about the common origins of Slavic and Baltic Languages. The name is in Polish because it's the main language I'm learning. As for the Baltic part, I still really want to learn Lithuanian one day.

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

◇ Romanian (native language)

~~~ ◇ ~~~ About me ~~~ ◇ ~~~

~ ◇ ~ Language learning ~ ◇ ~

Languages I can speak:

◇ English (C2)

◇ Polish (B1-B2) <- priority

◇ French (B1-B2) <- priority

◇ Russian (B1)

Languages I want to study in the near future:

◇ Romanian Sign Language <- priority

◇ Lithuanian

◇ Old English

Languages I want to study eventually:

◇ Aromanian

◇ A Nordic language

◇ A South Slavic language

◇ American Sign Language

◇ Japanese

◇ Estonian

◇ A constructed language

Languages that I would potentially need to learn in the future:

◇ German

◇ Hungarian

◇ Ukrainian

~ ◇ ~ Linguistics ~ ◇ ~

Branches of linguistics I'm most interested in:

◇ Historical and comparative linguistics. Indo-European studies

◇ Etymology. Lexicology

◇ Typology

◇ Language acquisition

◇ Linguistic evolution. Creolization. Grammaticalization

~ ◇ ~ How I got into linguistics ~ ◇ ~

My first contact with foreign languages was my dad teaching me to say "I love you" in as many languages as he knew how to, since I was a toddler. During early childhood, the main foreign language I was exposed to was English, mostly via Disney movies, other cartoons, and, later on, the Internet. During middle school, I took up French, being a mandatory subject, and studied it in school for 8 years. At some point in 6th grade I tried teaching myself Japanese using one textbook and anime, and it didn't even get me to an A1 level. However, if I had the chance, I would take it up again in the future.

More importantly, in 6th grade, my teacher enrolled me in the linguistics olympiad, which I fell in love with at first sight. I had never seen such a thing before, and I was completely awestruck. I remember that it was a problem in which we had to decipher Luwian hieroglyphs. I loved it so much that I continued to attend this olympiad yearly for the rest of my pre-university schooling. Another relevant detail is that I learned the etymology of my name at around the age of 15, and binge read dozens if not hundreds of behindthename entries. This solidified a lifelong interest in etymology and historical linguistics.

Specifically because of my interest in linguistics, I pursued a philology (literature + linguistics) degree in college, being an English major and a Russian minor. I had taken up Russian from scratch, and reached approximately a B1 level. However, I also took an elective Polish course, only once a week for 3 years, and got a higher language level than Russian, which was my minor. It helps that I went to Poland twice in the meantime.

I am currently enrolling in a linguistics masters program, hoping to deepen my knowledge of the subject and learn how to do real research of my own. My short term language learning goals, aside from perfecting my Polish and French, would be to start studying Romanian Sign Language.

[none-ofthisnonsense]

The French School System - Part 2

Part 1 is here.

(This is accurate as of June 2023, but the way the Éducation Nationale is going, it probably won’t be so for much longer...)

SO! Part 2. Small explanation of Collège.

(Under a cut because it got long.)

Collège is the first part of secondary school, so what you’d call middle high in the USA I think? At the end of Collège is the Brevet, which is roughly equivalent to UK GCSEs.

These are the years (taken from my previous post):

“Collège” - 1st part of secondary school (at the end of 3ème is the Brevet (equivalent to GCSEs) which certifies the end of Collège) - equivalent to middle high (US) 11 - 6ème - Year 7 - 6th Grade 12 - 5ème - Year 8 - 7th Grade 13 - 4ème - Year 9 - 8th Grade 14 - 3ème - Year 10 - 9th Grade

Ages are the usual age when starting the school year.

*

Here are the usual time slots for each year in only the mandatory classes (so without options):

(https://www.education.gouv.fr/les-horaires-par-cycle-au-college-9884)

6ème: 26 hours/week without options

French: 4h30

Maths: 4h30

History-geography (+ a weird ethics and civics thing): 3h

First language (other than French, typically English): 4h

Science (in 6ème it’s regrouped as a general big thing instead of being subdivided): 4h

Sports: 4h

Art: 1h

Music: 1h

5ème: 26 hours/week without options

French: 4h30

Maths: 3h30

HG (+ the other thing): 3h

First language: 3h

Second language (mandatory, other than French, typically either Spanish/German/Italian): 2h30

Biology + Earth Sciences: 1h30

Physics + Chemistry: 1h30

Technology: 1h30

Sports: 3h

Art: 1h

Music: 1h

4ème: 26 hours/week without options

Exactly like 5ème.

3ème: 26 hours/week without options

French: 4h

Maths: 3h30

HG etc: 3h30

The rest is the same as 5ème and 4ème.

.

BUT. There are 10 extra hours in total during the year of “vie de classe” which are used for when your main teacher (prof principal) needs to talk to you, or to do class projects, or to vote to elect class representatives.

AND. 3 hours of the 26 (in 6ème), 4/26 in 5ème are used for “accompagnement personnalisé” which is basically your class goes in half-groups and has more attention given to each student than can be given in a full class. These can also be EPIs - enseignements pratiques interidisciplinaires - which are things that mix two subjects (or more) together to do a project. So if you did something that mixed French and Music, for example.

Students can also take an extra language from 6ème on, usually Latin/Greek or a regional language.

Additionally, students can have extra activities at school (clubs and sports things and stuff) which don’t count in the 26 hours.

*

Now! We are lucky here! Because I still have some of my timetables from when I was in 4ème and 3ème. 5ème is basically the same as 4ème, and in 6ème you just don’t have the second language.

Here they are:

4ème:

3ème:

Now, I’ll be the first to admit I was a dramatic little student who just wanted to take as many classes as possible.

Also, I was in the bilingual section and had more English than normal people because I was in an international school.

As you can see, in 4ème I had more than 26 hours. I had 33. This was because:

- I had an extra 2.5 hours of Mandarin (as the regional language because I lived in Asia)

- and 2 extra hours of English because I was in the bilingual section, and 2 extra hours of history-geography in English for the same reason

- Vie de Classe was counted in my timetable as a regular class (so 0.5 hours per week, or once every two weeks) because it was easier that way

All of which bring us to 33 hours.

.

In 3ème, for me: 33.5 hours.

Same things as before, but I only had 1.5 hours of HG in English, and an extra 30 minutes of accompagnement personnalisé . I’m still missing 0.5 hours in that but I’m too lazy to spot them.

*

All in all, this is pretty regular! It’s very common for French students to have Wednesday afternoons off, and I’ve yet to meet a school which doesn’t do that. We also have a lot of homework, in addition to all the classes. The system works fine for collège.

*

Now onto the Brevet! It’s a national exam.

(for the link skip to “Objectifs et socle commun”. And at the end there are some previous exams if you want to check them out)

It’s more or less equivalent to English GCSEs, I think?

It’s the lowest level official national certificate you can have that counts as a certificate of education.

It’s out of 800 points, including 400 determined by specific exams. You need minimum 400 points total to pass.

It’s four written exams: one exam in French (100 pts), one in maths (100 pts), one in history-geography (50 pts), one in science (50 pts).

AND one oral exam (100 pts). Which is basically a glorified presentation.

For French:

- worth 100 pts

- lasts 3 hours

- 3 parts (well 2 officially):

   - 50 mins: Grammar + reading comprehension + questions on a text

   - 20 mins: dictée (spelling text based on a text read aloud)

   - 1h30: writing (either text analysis or creative writing based on a prompt)

(Officially: the first two parts are together and collectively are worth 60 pts and last 1h10. The last one is 40 pts.)

For maths:

- worth 100 pts

- lasts 2 hours

For HG:

- 50 pts

- 2 hours

For science:

- 50 pts

- 1 hour

- 2 out of 3 sciences: remember how there are 3 science subjects? You get 2 out 3, randomly picked by the ministry for all of France. This also unofficially means 2 parts of the exam, so you get 30 minutes for science 1 and 30 mins for science 2. But you can do 25/35 or 50/10 no one cares.

-

-

-

-

Well, now that I’ve explained collège and the Brevet... onto the next post! Lycée!

[jackredfieldwasmyjacob]

I've always find the way we use honorific in Spanish vs honorifics in English interesting and how does that translate in school.

Like, in Spanish we use Don and Doña following the first name, so for example if someone I don't know wanted to be respectful towards me they would call me Don Víctor, not Don [Surname]. In school, however, we mostly just call the teachers by their first name, no honorifics needed, some of the teachers I remember were for example Pablo, Belén, Antonia, Leonardo, Joaquín, etc. There were some that required us to use the honorifics, but those were usually old-school (when my parents were small and before that the honorifics adressing teachers was mandatory), I only came across one, my tutor and maths teacher in 6th grade was Don Jesús.

And then we get into English teachers. For German and French teachers we just used the same way as speaking with Spanish teachers (although to be fair in my school they were mostly Spaniards themselves, for example I had three French teachers, two of them were Spanish and the third one was Belgian (Flemish if I'm not mistaken). But, for English teachers, and I'm not sure if this happened only in my school or if it is normal in all schools, we use a weird mix system. This was probably cause there was more chances of an English-native teacher teaching you (I had, apart from Spanish teachers, British, Irish, Statian, Canadian, Jamaican and Ugandan teachers), and they might've been uncomfortable with just not using honorifics. So, we did use Miss and Mister (we didn't use Mrs tho), normally followed by the first name. For example, some of the teachers I remembered were Miss Carol, Miss Diana, Miss Patricia, Miss Laura, Miss Natasha, Mr Kayson, Mr Farayi, and Mr Brian. But, still, there were some teachers that insisted on using the classic honorific + surname formula, for example I had a Mr. Goggin and a Mr. Brown. And then, there's Miss T., probably the most unhinged person I've ever met. She always smelled like tobacco, looked like she was high, and moved in an erratic way, I loved her. Well, she was a new yorker, but her parents were Russian; her surname was Tsvetkova, which was very difficult for Statian kids to pronounce, so she shortened it to just the T. When she came to Spain, she insisted on calling herself Miss T, and so we did.

So yeah, I find all of that super interesting, and I would love to know if in any other countries and cultures there was also this difficulty translating a way of using honorifics from language to language.

[tamacatleen]

Another post for Miraculous fandom’s fanfic writers etc and anyone who is interested

Hi, it’s me again! Remember when I said “maybe I’ll do a post about school, food, slang, pop culture and memes? 😂 ”  in my last post about helping Miraculous fandom’s fanfic writers etc ?

I think I’ll do it now, I just didn’t really know what I would begin with? School maybe...because that’s the first thing in the list (and I will split the post in question because after writing this one I realized it would be too long if I added “food, slang, pop culture and memes” as I said last time) so :

School

Okay, they are in middle school (we call it “collège”) I believe they are in 8th grade (4ème/quatrième) (I always thought they were in 9th grade (3ème/troisième), but they were 13 at the beginning, and now they are 14, so it would be more logical...I don’t even know if something was said about it canonically lol) I don’t really know what to say about it, nothing truly interesting happens in 8th grade, I mean, when I was in 8th grade we were supposed to go to London for 1 week (but it was at a time when there were terrorist attacks, thus the trip was cancelled) but it depends on the school 

Before, 8th grade was the year you start to learn a new language, most of the time it’s either Spanish (espagnol) or German (allemand), but now it starts in 7th grade if I remember well (I was in 8th grade in 2015/2016, and in the meantime it changed). We start to learn English (anglais) in 6th grade (6ème/sixième) (and sometimes in primary school but, again, it depends on the teacher). I don’t know how it was/is in other schools but I feel as if almost everyone wanted to choose Spanish, even family/friends said that they took Spanish, I only know a few people who took German, in 9th grade the whole class took Spanish courses, in 11th grade (première) and 12th grade (terminale) too (except like... 3 people? who didn’t take German either lmao). Some people even say they had to take German because their parents forced them to 😭 what I mean is, from experience, most people want to take Spanish as their 2nd language (LV2, langue vivante 2) (English is LV1, langue vivante 1 for almost everyone)

Oh and I didn’t have physics/chemistry (physique-chimie) in 6th grade, it started in 7th grade (5ème/cinquième), now it starts in 6th grade, I think

Other than that we have the same courses as in most countries, maths (maths/mathématiques), P.E./physical education (EPS/éducation physique et sportive), plastic arts (arts plastiques), history/geography (histoire-géographie, histoire-géo) (same teacher, most of the time, I don’t know if it’s the same abroad), technology (technologie) (a lot of people hate it and the teacher lol), biology (SVT/sciences de la vie et de la Terre) and..French (français) haha

edit : I forgot something here! the internship! in 9th grade! (stage de 3ème/troisième) it’s mandatory. I did mine in...February? (oh yeah and school starts in September and ends in June/July) it’s supposed to be a “watching” internship, you’re not supposed to do anything and the company isn’t supposed to pay you, but it happens in some cases. It lasts one week, I always heard that the ones who didn’t find an internship in time have to do it in their own school, with the supervisors, but I don’t know if it’s true

At the end of the last year of middle school (9th grade) we take an exam (that is apparently like the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE), I don’t exactly know what the GCSE is, but that’s what showed up when I looked up what was the corresponding diploma) that’s called diplôme national du brevet (DNB) but everyone calls it brevet or brevet des collèges, that you have to pass to go to high school

I think that’s all I have to say regarding what the education system (collège/middle school especially) is like here!

[psyduckstudies]

My Language Journey

Thanks for the tag pal, @barbarastudiess

Rules: TTag ten and share your answers

1. What languages are you studying/have studied?

Have: Spanish   Currently: Japanese

2. How long have you been studying?

I started Spanish in school when I was 12? ( junior high school around 6th grade.) I started Japanese officially in the beginning of July

3. Did you learn through class or self-study?

Both. I learned Spanish in class and Japanese on my own

4. Why did you decide to learn this language?

I learned Spanish because it was mandatory to take a language in school and Spanish was the easiest for me. Since the pronunciations of the words were similar to how the word looked, it was easier to read than French. (ex: oui in French is pronounced we in English but andar is pronounced the and-ar )

I’m learning Japanese because I have nothing to do this summer and I thought it would be cool. I always wanted to learn a different alphabet/characters. I also watch a  lot of anime so I thought why not Japanese.

5.What was a major highlight or stepping stone in studying this language?

Spanish: Being able to understand people when they talk in public and read the translated signs. Passing the ap exam in high school.

Japanese: Recognizing words in anime.

6, What was the hardest thing about learning this language?

Spanish: All the different verb endings and tenses

Japanese: Remembering the Kanji translation and writing them. confusing the hiragana with the katakana

7.What resources did you find the most useful for studying this language?

Spanish: My teacher, the textbook, and google translate tbh lol

Japanese: Memrise.com Apps: Kana Dojo, Takoboto: Japanese dictionary

8. Any tips for studying this language?

For any language study and review is important. I always forget what I learn from the day before. It helps if you use what you learn a bit every day. Like instead of saying hi and good morning in your language say it in your target language.

9. What is your next major language goal?

To be able to watch an episode of One Piece and understand at least three lines. lmao. 

10. Anything we can do in the tumblr community to get you there?

I need constant reminders and motivation. Just having someone who is learning Japanese or already knows it to give me tips or corrections or advice is helpful enough. :)

Tags: @to-japan-and-back @jadainjapan @blackteaandlanguages @mysmall-langblr @langblrrrrr idrk a lot of langblrs…. I’m going to leave it as it is.

[multifandom-hoes]

Is the last French final, really important? If not or yes, then breath. Hand on stomach only concentrate on how your stomach raise with every breathing, ind through your nose out through your mouth. College?! Your 16. Isn't that supposed to be 18-20?! 😱 -E

It’s not like a final, but more like  mandatory test kinda thing???? I have two French papers later on.... In May and June.... And yeah, it is important.... Cause that’s my marks for the final grADE..... I cri ;-;

I know, Irish educational system is very complicated :D

Basically, there’s your primary school, from like 4-11, or smth... And then there’s college... And that’s from 11-16

Then there’s option you can take, you can either go work, or continue studying... I’m planning to continue studying, and that’s like a high-school of sorts, we call it 6th form, and that’s from 16-18...

After that, you can either go work, or take a 1 year gap and go to uni, or you can just go to uni straight of....

[deliciouschopshopconnoisseu-blog]

Do You Need a Tutor  pt

 Do You Need a Tutor, pt

Do You Need a Tutor, pt. 2

Part 2 of this article relates to professionals, “non – traditional” college students, and military candidates who are making the tutoring decision. (Part 1gives advice and tips to parents and college students.)

Professionals have different tutoring needs. Sometimes, employees are contractually obligated to earn college credits every few years. Some employers withhold pay raises if education and training requirements aren’t met. Most employers also list a minimum grade requirement for courses.

Once you have gone to class the first time, review your course materials and syllabus. If some of it looks like it was written in French - and you’re not in a foreign language class - consider hiring a tutor right away! Your tutor can help you get off to a good start. Once you are back in the swing of things, you may not need the tutor’s help.

I have a “5 – year rule of thumb” for returning/ adult students: if you took your last college class 5 years ago or more, you should seek tutoring assistance when your classes begin. Visit the learning center and schedule a few appointments the first week of classes. Your tutor can answer general campus questions and help you complete your first assignments. This guarantees you have a tutor before their schedules fill up.

One exception to this rule is for professionals taking classes for personal enjoyment, or if those considering a career change. If you are considering a career change and have no time constraints, you may not need a tutor’s immediate help. Instead, wait a few weeks to see how things are going. If you’re struggling at week 3 or 4, visit the learning center to see if their free tutoring services meet your scheduling and subject needs. Look for an outside tutor’s help if your schedule prevents you from using learning center tutors or if you need more help than they can provide.

Adults 18 and over who are considering military enlistment are a separate group with different academic needs. In the early 1990’s, the United States military changed their educational requirements. Now, all military candidates (i.e. potential enlistees) must have a valid GED certificate or high school diploma before they will be accepted. Prior to this, enlistment requirements were much more lenient.

First, give yourself 3 or 4 months to prepare if you need to take the GED test. Don’t let recruiters rush your enlistment process! Use those months to study and prepare for the test. If you struggled with Math, English, and Science in high school, you should hire a tutor to help you prepare. These are the main subjects you’ll be tested on in both the GED and ASVAB. Find a tutor who can help with all your difficult subjects. Then, you’ll be ready to take and pass your GED and move on to the ASVAB.

The ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) test is another mandatory pre - enlistment exam. Subjects like Arithmetic Reasoning, Mathematics Knowledge, Word Knowledge, and General Science are tested as well as vocational subjects like Mechanical Comprehension and Electronics Information. (You can find a comprehensive list of all 11 ASVAB sections plus study tips here: http://www.military.com/join-armed-forces/asvab/asvab-study-tips.html.) If you have little to no knowledge in these areas, look for a tutor with professional experience in engineering, electronics, or automobile mechanics. You can also find a veteran who (obviously!) had to take and pass the test!

So, what do I do now?

Make a decision and stick with it! If you are a parent whose young child is struggling with reading and writing, try to help them a little more yourself if at all possible. Prepare them for tutoring if they continue to struggle after a couple of weeks. After working with you, they’ll be ready to give tutoring a try. Find a tutor who fits your child’s needs and learning differences as well as your schedule.

College students struggling in classes with very few tests and assignments during the semester should consider a combination of free, on - campus and outside tutoring at the first sign of trouble. Working adults should weigh employer requirements with personal career goals.

Professionals with employer - mandated educational requirements should find a tutor in the first week of classes if it has been 5 or more years since they attended college. Career changers can afford to wait a few weeks into the semester before deciding on an outside tutor.

Military candidates who need to take the GED test should consider the subjects that they struggled with in high school. Candidates with difficulties in Math, English, and Science should get help from former teachers, parents, or other tutors starting several months before their test. The ASVAB test requires electrical and mechanical knowledge. Take an online practice test and use your score to help you make the tutoring decision. Look for a tutor with professional mechanical or electrical experience, or a veteran who has already successfully passed the test.

I hope these articles have been helpful. Please take a minute to leave a comment, Like this post on Facebook, or Tweet the post via Twitter using the buttons below. If you have questions about whether a tutor is right for you, or if you would like advice for your unique situation, feel free to E-mail me using the “E-mail Jeff S.” button on my Wyzant tutor home page. (Use this link to find my page: http://www.wyzant.com/Tutors/IN/Muncie/8049624/#ref=1RPZSY.) I’m happy to help!

Flexible, Licensed, Well-Traveled Tutor!

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[newstfionline]

Public Pools in Southern France Become a Measure of Inequality

By Benoît Morenne, NY Times, Sept. 5, 2017

MARSEILLE, France--One hot evening this summer, Yanis Fatnassi left his home in a gritty northern neighborhood of this Mediterranean city, his swim goggles, bathing suit and swimming cap shoved in his backpack.

After about 40 minutes on a bus meandering past high-rise buildings and dilapidated parking lots, and then a short walk, Yanis, 17, arrived at the Martine swimming pool.

Luckily, the 25-meter pool, its rusty, spaceshiplike roof glowing in the setting sun, was open.

Yanis, the son of a deliveryman of Tunisian descent and a supermarket worker with Algerian roots, has been training to be a competitive swimmer since the age of 12.

It has not been easy. Last year, his practice pool was unexpectedly closed for nearly a month, just weeks ahead of a crucial tournament. Yanis did not perform well.

But at least Yanis knows how to swim.

In Marseille, a city of nearly 860,000 that stretches over 35 miles of coastline, a record-high number of children cannot swim. The lack of pools in good condition, combined with an atrophied public transportation network and the dominance of other sports--especially soccer--have the city lagging behind the rest of the country.

While the phenomenon affects the whole of Marseille, the more underprivileged, northern neighborhoods, the “Quartiers Nords,” suffer the most.

In this segregated area, where violence and drug trafficking are common, and where youth unemployment has at times reached 50 percent, more than two in three primary schoolchildren cannot swim, said Brahim Timricht, the head of Le Grand Bleu, an association that has given free swimming lessons to hundreds of children from Marseille’s poorer areas.

“We have kids that are afraid of water,” said Mr. Timricht, 43, a solidly built, avuncular kayak instructor.

Like reading and writing, swimming is among the essential skills that the French Republic has pledged to make available to its citizens since the end of the 19th century.

According to local authorities in Marseille, an average 47 percent of children from the Quartiers Nords entering 6th grade fail a mandatory swimming test, compared with 27 percent in the rest of the city.

Most pools in France were constructed in the 1970s amid a nationwide effort to build hundreds of sports facilities. Many in Marseille have fallen into disuse; others are frequently closed for repairs.

To those who live in poorer neighborhoods, the lack of access to public pools reinforces the overall feeling that residents, most of them descendants of immigrants, are not entitled to the same rights as others in the city.

“You live in a tower, with drug dealers downstairs, with no public transport; the sea is far away, and so are pools and good schools,” said Samia Ghali, the mayor of Marseille’s 8th sector, which includes parts of the Quartiers Nords.

For years, the young talents like Yanis Fatnassi on the Marseille Nord swimming team trained at the Piscine Nord, a sprawling six-lane pool in the Quartiers Nord. It was shut down for renovations in 2010, and has not reopened.

Today it sits abandoned, little more than an empty, garbage-strewn pit below a joyful fresco of jumping dolphins.

The facility, which served 40,000 inhabitants, has become the focus of an intense dispute between the residents and the local government, which is considering destroying the pool and replacing it with tennis courts.

“If it were not for the sea, I wouldn’t know how to swim today,” Sana Jalleb, a bespectacled 18-year-old playing soccer in a local sports hall, said on a recent weekday. “It seems as though they don’t care about us,” she added, referring to the local government.

Ms. Jalleb said she was worried about the younger generation. “I’m afraid my nephew may never be able to swim,” she said.

The frequent closures of the 14 indoor public pools mean many children in public schools in Marseille receive few swimming lessons. The French Education Ministry requires that children receive at least 30 lessons from ages 6 to 7.

“My mother taught me to swim,” Mr. Miron said, adding, “That’s also what parents are here for.”

Yanis Slimani, 20, a summer lifeguard at the Corbières beach, a popular spot for residents of the Quartiers Nord, said that he had only recently realized that one of his closest friends could not swim.

“I think most people hide it,” Mr. Slimani said as he scanned the beach.

Yanis Fatnassi said he was the only person in his class to join a swimming team. Of the dozen or so teams in the city, Marseille Nord is the only club in the Quartiers Nords.

He said swimming had taught him discipline, which, in turn, led to excellent results in school. He hopes those results will help him leave Marseille to study in London.

“I would say it’s essential,” the young man said.