Le Dernier Cours de Madame Nkomo
Madame Nkomo's Last Class
On her last day at a Yaoundé lycée, a veteran teacher announces an early retirement, and her students piece together a reason she never says out loud.
- school
- mentorship
- change
Tap an underlined word to see its meaning.
What you'll encounter
- Grammar
- imparfait for background/habitual past
- passé composé for discrete events
- subjunctive-lite (il faut que + être)
- plus-que-parfait, light use
- Vocabulary
- school and classroom vocabulary
- abstract nouns (le départ, la raison, le silence)
- Skills
- inferring a hidden personal reason behind a stated one
- comparing several characters' differing reactions to the same event
Madame Nkomo enseignait la littérature et l’histoire au Lycée des Palmiers, à Yaoundé, depuis vingt-trois ans, et pour beaucoup d’élèves, elle était devenue presque une institution avant même d’avoir prononcé un seul mot en cours.
Show English
Madame Nkomo had been teaching literature and history at the Lycée des Palmiers, in Yaoundé, for twenty-three years, and for many students, she had become almost an institution before she'd even said a single word in class.
Sa salle de classe, couverte d’affiches sur les grands écrivains camerounais et de cartes du monde légèrement jaunies, n’avait presque pas changé depuis que les premiers élèves de Madame Nkomo y étaient entrés, vingt-trois ans plus tôt.
Show English
Her classroom, covered in posters of great Cameroonian writers and slightly yellowed world maps, had barely changed since Madame Nkomo's very first students had walked into it, twenty-three years earlier.
Ce matin-là, alors que la classe de terminale attendait encore les résultats de son dernier contrôle, elle a annoncé, d’une voix plus calme que d’habitude, que ce trimestre serait son dernier : elle prenait sa retraite plus tôt que prévu.
Show English
That morning, while the senior class was still waiting for its last test results, she announced, in a calmer voice than usual, that this term would be her last: she was retiring earlier than planned.
La nouvelle a surpris tout le monde, puisque Madame Nkomo répétait souvent, en riant, qu’elle enseignerait « jusqu’à ce que les murs de l’école tombent », et personne ne s’attendait à un départ si soudain.
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The news surprised everyone, since Madame Nkomo often joked that she would teach "until the walls of the school fell down," and no one expected such a sudden departure.
Blaise, le plus sérieux de la classe, celui qui notait chaque qu’elle écrivait au tableau, a été le premier à poser des questions : pourquoi maintenant, en plein milieu de l’année scolaire, alors que rien ne semblait avoir changé ?
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Blaise, the most serious student in the class, the one who wrote down every quotation she put on the board, was the first to ask questions: why now, right in the middle of the school year, when nothing seemed to have changed?
Madame Nkomo a répondu simplement qu’il était temps, que vingt-trois ans, c’était déjà beaucoup, et qu’elle avait envie de se reposer, mais Blaise a remarqué qu’elle évitait son regard en disant cela.
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Madame Nkomo simply answered that it was time, that twenty-three years was already a lot, and that she felt like resting, but Blaise noticed that she avoided his eyes as she said it.
Pélagie, déléguée de la classe depuis deux ans, a proposé d’organiser une petite fête surprise pour le dernier jour, avec des cadeaux et des mots écrits par chaque élève, et presque tout le monde a accepté avec enthousiasme.
Show English
Pélagie, class representative for two years, suggested organizing a small surprise party for the last day, with gifts and notes written by every student, and almost everyone agreed enthusiastically.
Serge, qui plaisantait presque toujours pendant les cours d’histoire, a dit que c’était une bonne nouvelle, que la nouvelle professeure serait peut-être moins stricte sur les retards, mais sa voix, pour une fois, manquait de conviction.
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Serge, who joked almost constantly during history lessons, said it was good news, that the new teacher might be less strict about lateness, but for once, his voice lacked conviction.
Odette, la plus timide de la classe, n’a presque rien dit pendant la discussion, mais elle a commencé, ce soir-là même, à écrire une longue lettre à Madame Nkomo, qu’elle comptait lui remettre seulement le dernier jour, incapable de trouver les mots à voix haute.
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Odette, the shyest student in the class, said almost nothing during the discussion, but that same evening she started writing a long letter to Madame Nkomo, which she planned to hand her only on the last day, unable to find the words out loud.
Pendant la semaine qui a suivi l’annonce, le téléphone de Madame Nkomo a sonné plusieurs fois en plein cours, un numéro qu’elle ne semblait pas reconnaître avec plaisir, et chaque fois, elle l’a éteint sans répondre, avant de reprendre sa leçon comme si rien ne s’était passé.
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During the week after the announcement, Madame Nkomo's phone rang several times in the middle of class, a number she didn't seem glad to recognize, and each time, she turned it off without answering, then went on with the lesson as if nothing had happened.
Certains collègues du lycée, eux aussi surpris par la nouvelle, murmuraient dans la salle des professeurs que Madame Nkomo semblait fatiguée depuis la rentrée, sans toutefois savoir si cette fatigue avait une cause précise ou si elle n’était que le résultat normal de tant d’années d’enseignement.
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Some of the lycée's other teachers, also surprised by the news, murmured in the staff room that Madame Nkomo had seemed tired since the start of the year, without knowing whether that tiredness had a specific cause or was simply the normal result of so many years of teaching.
Ce même jour, en cours de littérature, elle a choisi d’étudier un poème sur le temps qui passe, et elle le commentait avec une émotion inhabituelle, comme si le texte parlait directement d’elle-même plutôt que de son auteur.
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That same day, in literature class, she chose to study a poem about time passing, and she discussed it with unusual emotion, as if the text were speaking directly about herself rather than about its author.
Un après-midi, en l’aidant à porter une pile de copies jusqu’à sa voiture, Blaise a aperçu, dépassant de son sac, une enveloppe portant le nom d’un hôpital de Yaoundé, et il n’a rien dit, même s’il y a pensé pendant le reste de la journée.
Show English
One afternoon, while helping her carry a stack of papers to her car, Blaise glimpsed an envelope sticking out of her bag, bearing the name of a hospital in Yaoundé, and he said nothing, even though he thought about it for the rest of the day.
Le soir même, Blaise en a parlé à Pélagie, qui a réfléchi un moment avant de répondre que ce n’était peut-être rien, ou peut-être quelque chose de personnel qui ne les concernait pas, et que le plus important restait de bien organiser la fête.
Show English
That same evening, Blaise told Pélagie about it, and she thought for a moment before answering that it might be nothing, or maybe something personal that wasn't their business, and that the most important thing was still to organize the party properly.
Le jour du dernier cours, Madame Nkomo est entrée dans la salle et a trouvé le tableau décoré de dessins, une pile de petits cadeaux sur son bureau, et toute la classe debout pour l’applaudir, Serge en tête, la gorge étrangement serrée.
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On the day of the last class, Madame Nkomo walked into the room and found the board decorated with drawings, a pile of small gifts on her desk, and the whole class standing to applaud her, Serge in front, an odd lump in his throat.
Elle les a remerciés d’une voix tremblante, et a ajouté, presque pour elle-même, qu’il fallait qu’elle soit plus présente à la maison cette année, pour des raisons qu’elle préférait garder pour elle, avant de retrouver un sourire plus léger.
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She thanked them in a trembling voice, and added, almost to herself, that she needed to be more present at home this year, for reasons she preferred to keep to herself, before putting on a lighter smile again.
Pélagie, de son côté, a profité du silence qui a suivi pour distribuer les cartes écrites par chaque élève, y compris celle, plus longue que les autres, qu’Odette avait fini par glisser discrètement dans la pile sans la signer complètement.
Show English
Pélagie, for her part, used the silence that followed to hand out the cards written by each student, including the longer one Odette had quietly slipped into the pile without fully signing it.
Blaise, qui pensait toujours à l’enveloppe, n’a pas posé de questions ; à la fin du cours, il s’est simplement avancé pour lui serrer la main un peu plus longtemps que les autres, et elle l’a regardé d’une façon qui semblait dire qu’elle savait qu’il savait, et aucun des deux n’a eu besoin d’ajouter un mot.
Show English
Blaise, who kept thinking about the envelope, didn't ask any questions; at the end of class, he simply stepped forward to shake her hand a little longer than the others, and she looked at him in a way that seemed to say she knew that he knew, and neither of them needed to add a word.
Pélagie, en rangeant les derniers cadeaux, a dit à Serge qu’elle trouvait dommage de ne jamais connaître la vraie raison du départ de Madame Nkomo ; Serge, pour une fois sérieux, a répondu que certaines raisons n’appartenaient qu’aux gens qui les vivaient, et que ce n’était peut-être pas plus mal ainsi.
Show English
Pélagie, putting away the last gifts, told Serge she found it a shame never to know the real reason behind Madame Nkomo's departure; Serge, serious for once, answered that some reasons belonged only to the people who lived them, and that it was maybe just as well that way.
Show full English translation
Madame Nkomo had been teaching literature and history at the Lycée des Palmiers, in Yaoundé, for twenty-three years, and for many students, she had become almost an institution before she'd even said a single word in class.
Her classroom, covered in posters of great Cameroonian writers and slightly yellowed world maps, had barely changed since Madame Nkomo's very first students had walked into it, twenty-three years earlier.
That morning, while the senior class was still waiting for its last test results, she announced, in a calmer voice than usual, that this term would be her last: she was retiring earlier than planned.
The news surprised everyone, since Madame Nkomo often joked that she would teach "until the walls of the school fell down," and no one expected such a sudden departure.
Blaise, the most serious student in the class, the one who wrote down every quotation she put on the board, was the first to ask questions: why now, right in the middle of the school year, when nothing seemed to have changed?
Madame Nkomo simply answered that it was time, that twenty-three years was already a lot, and that she felt like resting, but Blaise noticed that she avoided his eyes as she said it.
Pélagie, class representative for two years, suggested organizing a small surprise party for the last day, with gifts and notes written by every student, and almost everyone agreed enthusiastically.
Serge, who joked almost constantly during history lessons, said it was good news, that the new teacher might be less strict about lateness, but for once, his voice lacked conviction.
Odette, the shyest student in the class, said almost nothing during the discussion, but that same evening she started writing a long letter to Madame Nkomo, which she planned to hand her only on the last day, unable to find the words out loud.
During the week after the announcement, Madame Nkomo's phone rang several times in the middle of class, a number she didn't seem glad to recognize, and each time, she turned it off without answering, then went on with the lesson as if nothing had happened.
Some of the lycée's other teachers, also surprised by the news, murmured in the staff room that Madame Nkomo had seemed tired since the start of the year, without knowing whether that tiredness had a specific cause or was simply the normal result of so many years of teaching.
That same day, in literature class, she chose to study a poem about time passing, and she discussed it with unusual emotion, as if the text were speaking directly about herself rather than about its author.
One afternoon, while helping her carry a stack of papers to her car, Blaise glimpsed an envelope sticking out of her bag, bearing the name of a hospital in Yaoundé, and he said nothing, even though he thought about it for the rest of the day.
That same evening, Blaise told Pélagie about it, and she thought for a moment before answering that it might be nothing, or maybe something personal that wasn't their business, and that the most important thing was still to organize the party properly.
On the day of the last class, Madame Nkomo walked into the room and found the board decorated with drawings, a pile of small gifts on her desk, and the whole class standing to applaud her, Serge in front, an odd lump in his throat.
She thanked them in a trembling voice, and added, almost to herself, that she needed to be more present at home this year, for reasons she preferred to keep to herself, before putting on a lighter smile again.
Pélagie, for her part, used the silence that followed to hand out the cards written by each student, including the longer one Odette had quietly slipped into the pile without fully signing it.
Blaise, who kept thinking about the envelope, didn't ask any questions; at the end of class, he simply stepped forward to shake her hand a little longer than the others, and she looked at him in a way that seemed to say she knew that he knew, and neither of them needed to add a word.
Pélagie, putting away the last gifts, told Serge she found it a shame never to know the real reason behind Madame Nkomo's departure; Serge, serious for once, answered that some reasons belonged only to the people who lived them, and that it was maybe just as well that way.
Words to know
- citation
- — quotation