CBSE Class 12 Board Examination

Board examination for Class 12 students under CBSE, a crucial exam for higher education and career opportunities, covering stream-specific subjects.

Class 12 English — Chapter-wise Notes & Quizzes

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English · 20 chapters
Summary, key terms, important questions and a practice quiz with AI diagnosis for each.
CBSE Class 12English Flamingo

Chapter 1: The Last Lesson

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Summary

Written by Alphonse Daudet, this story is set in the French districts of Alsace and Lorraine during the Franco-Prussian War, after an order from Berlin decreed that only German would be taught in the schools there. The narrator, a young boy named Franz, dreads going to school because he has not learnt his lesson on participles. On the way he notices an unusual stillness and a crowd before the town-hall bulletin-board, where all the bad news has been posted. In class he finds the village elders seated quietly on the back benches and his teacher, M. Hamel, dressed in his fine Sunday clothes. M. Hamel announces that this is their last French lesson, as a new master will teach German from the next day. Franz is filled with sudden regret for having neglected his lessons and his language. M. Hamel gently blames everyone — parents, himself, and the people of Alsace — for putting off learning, and praises French as the most beautiful, clearest and most logical language, saying that a people who hold fast to their language hold the key to their prison. When the church clock strikes twelve and the Prussian trumpets sound, the overcome teacher writes 'Vive La France!' on the board and dismisses the class with a gesture. The story explores patriotism and the value of one's mother tongue.

Value of the mother tonguePatriotism and identityProcrastination in learningCharacter of M. HamelEffect of conquest on a people

Key terms

Franz
The young narrator who learns to value his language only when it is taken away.
M. Hamel
The devoted French teacher of forty years' service giving his last lesson.
Alsace and Lorraine
French districts that passed into Prussian hands during the war.
Order from Berlin
The decree that only German be taught in the schools of the region.
Mother tongue
The native language whose worth the story celebrates.
Linguistic chauvinism
Excessive pride in one's language that the unit asks students to weigh.

Important questions

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Practice quiz · The Last Lesson

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The Last Lesson

English 10 Qs · ~10 min