hello,
do you mean that, for example "doh" could be G in a scale of G major, B in a scale of B, etc ? Well, I have learnt the English system with the following correspondance :
A B C D E F G
la si do ré mi fa sol and I tried to memeorize with tricks A in la, F = fa.
I don't quite see what the problem is with students. Perhaps they might stick to the English system to talk about degrees and use the French one, talking about notes (i don't know if Imake it clear ,)