Std 9 English chapters › Unit 4 · Question Answers ↓ · Take the lesson test ↓
In short: On the day Prussia orders that only German be taught in Alsace and Lorraine, M. Hamel gives his last French lesson, and little Franz realises too late how much his language means to him.
(अल्सास आणि लॉरेनमध्ये फक्त जर्मन शिकवण्याचा प्रशियाचा हुकूम येतो, त्या दिवशी एम. हॅमेल शेवटचा फ्रेंच धडा देतात आणि आपली भाषा आपल्यासाठी किती मोलाची आहे, हे लहान फ्रान्झला उशिरा समजते.)
- Type: Story
- Writer: Alphonse Daudet
- Narrator: Little Franz, a schoolboy in Alsace; teacher: M. Hamel
- Unit: 4
Summary in English
Franz is late for school and afraid, because he has not learnt his participles. He notices a crowd at the bulletin board but hurries on. The school is strangely quiet. M. Hamel, wearing his fine Sunday clothes, gently tells him to sit down, and the village elders sit sadly on the back benches.
M. Hamel announces that an order has come from Berlin: from tomorrow only German will be taught in Alsace and Lorraine. This is their last French lesson. Franz is shocked and sorry that he wasted time. When he cannot answer, M. Hamel does not scold him but says that everyone, parents and teachers too, kept putting off learning.
M. Hamel says French is the most beautiful language and that a people who hold on to their language hold the key to their prison. Franz understands every lesson that day. At noon, as the Prussian trumpets sound, M. Hamel cannot speak. He writes 'VIVE LA FRANCE!' (Long live France!) on the board and dismisses the class.
मराठीत सारांश (Summary in Marathi)
फ्रान्झ शाळेत उशिरा पोहोचतो आणि घाबरलेला असतो, कारण त्याने 'पार्टिसिपल्स' पाठ केलेले नसतात. सूचनाफलकाजवळची गर्दी पाहूनही तो घाईने पुढे जातो. शाळेत विचित्र शांतता असते. रविवारचे चांगले कपडे घातलेले एम. हॅमेल त्याला प्रेमाने बसायला सांगतात आणि गावातील ज्येष्ठ मंडळी मागच्या बाकांवर उदास बसलेली असतात.
एम. हॅमेल जाहीर करतात की बर्लिनहून हुकूम आला आहे: उद्यापासून अल्सास आणि लॉरेनमध्ये फक्त जर्मन शिकवले जाईल. हा त्यांचा शेवटचा फ्रेंच धडा आहे. फ्रान्झला धक्का बसतो आणि वेळ वाया घालवल्याचे वाईट वाटते. त्याला उत्तर देता येत नाही, तेव्हा एम. हॅमेल रागावत नाहीत; ते म्हणतात की पालक आणि शिक्षकांसह सर्वांनीच शिकणे पुढे ढकलले.
एम. हॅमेल सांगतात की फ्रेंच ही सर्वात सुंदर भाषा आहे आणि गुलाम झालेले लोक जोपर्यंत आपली भाषा धरून ठेवतात, तोपर्यंत त्यांच्या हातात तुरुंगाची किल्ली असते. त्या दिवशी फ्रान्झला सगळे धडे समजतात. दुपारी बारा वाजता प्रशियन तुताऱ्या वाजतात, तेव्हा एम. हॅमेलना बोलवत नाही. ते फळ्यावर 'VIVE LA FRANCE!' (फ्रान्स चिरायू होवो!) असे लिहितात आणि वर्ग सोडून देतात.
Theme and Message (मध्यवर्ती कल्पना)
Our mother tongue is part of our identity and freedom; we should value learning and not put it off till tomorrow.
मातृभाषा आपल्या ओळखीचा आणि स्वातंत्र्याचा भाग आहे; आपण शिक्षणाची किंमत ओळखावी आणि ते उद्यावर ढकलू नये.
Useful Words (शब्दार्थ)
| Word | मराठी अर्थ | Use it in a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| dread | भीती | She was in dread of the exam result. |
| solemn | गंभीर | The hall was silent and solemn. |
| nuisance | त्रासदायक गोष्ट | The noise was a nuisance. |
| reproach | दोष देणे | Don't reproach yourself for the loss. |
| apprentice | शिकाऊ उमेदवार | The blacksmith taught his apprentice. |
| cranky | चिडखोर | The cranky old man shouted at the children. |
For the Exam (परीक्षेसाठी)
- Be ready to explain: ‘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.’
- Language study: past participles (said, learnt, written) and words ending in ‘-ing’ and ‘-ed’.
4.5 The Last Lesson: English Workshop Question Answers
Every English Workshop activity for this story, as games. Score points, earn stars and challenge a friend on WhatsApp! (खेळा, गुण मिळवा आणि मित्रांना आव्हान द्या!)
🎬 Warm-up: Put Franz’s day in order
The day of the last lesson
- Franz starts late for school, afraid of a scolding.
- He sees a crowd at the bulletin board.
- M. Hamel kindly asks him to take his seat.
- M. Hamel announces that this is the last French lesson.
- Franz cannot recite the participles.
- The class has grammar, writing and history lessons.
- The church clock strikes twelve and the Prussian trumpets sound.
- M. Hamel writes 'Vive la France!' and dismisses the school.
🤔 Think as you read
Who is narrating the story?
Answer: The story is told in the first person by Franz.
Why is it the last French lesson?
Answer: The Prussians had taken over the region.
Why were the old men of the village in the classroom?
Answer: They also regretted not going to school more.
Why did M. Hamel not scold Franz?
Answer: Parents, M. Hamel himself and the whole of Alsace had put off learning till tomorrow.
Why does Franz say ‘I never saw him look so tall’?
Answer: His love for his country and language made him look noble at that moment.
Q1. Word meanings game
🎯 Tap a word and its meaning.
Dictionary meanings
Q2. People and their occupations
🧩 Match each person to his or her work.
Person → occupation
Q3 and Q4. -ing words, -ed words and past participles
🗂️ Sort the words from the story.
Which group?
More examples
-ing: morning, chirping, drilling, reading, opening, closing, rapping, walking, seeking, sliding, thinking, packing.
-ed: started, passed, hurried, called, reached, repeated, blushed, frightened, embroidered, surprised, mounted, dismissed.
Past participles: said, learnt, had, come, put, seen, done, worn, broken, known.
Q5. Choose the correct meaning
👉 Tap the meaning used in the story.
(a) was in great dread of
Answer: Franz feared a scolding.
(b) did not know the first word about them
Answer: He knew nothing at all about participles.
(c) terrible iron ruler
Answer: Here ‘ruler’ is a measuring stick used for punishment, not a king.
(d) got a little over my fright
Answer: His fear reduced a little.
(e) What a thunderclap these words were to me!
Answer: Like sudden thunder, the news shocked Franz.
Discuss and write
✍️ With the Prussians coming, will language be the only change? Try, then compare
No. Along with the language, the people of Alsace may lose their laws, customs, festivals and freedom. Schools will teach a new history. People like M. Hamel may have to leave. The flag, the government and even the way of life may change. That is why holding on to one’s language is like holding ‘the key to the prison’.
✍️ What lesson do you take from ‘The Last Lesson’?
We should never put off learning till tomorrow. We must value our mother tongue, our teachers and our freedom while we have them, because we may realise their worth only when they are taken away.
Think and Write (विचार करा, लिहा)
- Why did the village elders come to the school that day?
- What does your mother tongue mean to you? Write a short paragraph.
- Have you ever put off learning something? What happened?
Online test · 15 questions
4.5 The Last Lesson: Lesson Test
Multiple choice · instant score with answers · certificate for 80% and above · free, no login
शिक्षकांसाठी: धडा शिकवून झाल्यावर ही test वर्गाला पाठवा. प्रत्येक विद्यार्थ्याचे गुण तुम्हाला आपोआप मिळतील.
These are original study notes by englishresources.in to help you revise. Read the lesson in your Balbharati textbook first: these notes do not replace it and do not reproduce its text.