The use of digital exhibitions in two advanced language and culture courses within a liberal arts curriculum provides an innovative pedagogical approach to promoting language learning and critical analysis. This article proposes a pedagogy to incorporate Maker-Centered Learning (MCL), the framework that emerged from a Harvard Graduate School of…

Debates the suitability of introducing a text containing cliches into a foreign language class. The article emphasizes that before using such a book, it is necessary to decide whether it is possible to teach with such a text and what purpose would be served in doing so. (Author/CK)

Discusses goals of teaching French as a foreign language as set forth in the "Recommended Statement of 16+ National Criteria for French" and compares them to the goals of Ontario's bilingual immersion program. Discusses the feasibility of accomplishing these goals within the framework of the compulsory education system in Great Britain.…

Describes a French introductory course that prepares students to travel in France and relies entirely on materials and themes related to such travel. Use of realia and props helps the instructors to stage real-life situations. Emphasis is placed on comprehension and oral language communication. (MES)

Discusses options for approaching a literary text with A-level students. The author states that the appropriate method exists in the OUDLE syllabus, which grants the teacher freedom to decide what to emphasize, permitting students to participate actively in the class, expressing themselves in the target language on such issues as drugs,…

Describes an initiative to incorporate folktales and legends from francophone West Africa into a college-level advanced French literary and cultural studies course. Students recorded their reactions to various texts taken from France and West Africa in reading journals. Analysis of the journals shows that critical competencies in Western culture…

Argues that coordinated language-learning sequences provide continuity for learners and clearer understandings about the interrelationships of curriculum, instruction, outcomes, and evaluation for teachers. The article discusses articulation in French, German, and Spanish programs; vertical models of articulation; horizontal articulation; program…

Describes a certificate program in German popular universities, designed for adult students of French and based on communication needs and linguistic objectives. (AM)

Discusses the need to use the "communicative approach" to teach French grammar in French immersion classes in Canada. Emphasis is placed on the value of using a "needs-based syllabus" that considers the immediate and long-term employment needs of each individual, as well as the psychological and developmental needs. (18…

Outlines sample exercises developed in a program designed to teach minimal (threshold level) competencies based on students' communication needs and the concept of a notional syllabus. (AM)

Presents various activities designed to foster the learning of a language. These include the use of everyday "street words" taught to advanced level students, the use of political speeches of French presidential candidates in order to familiarize advanced adolescents with political discourse, and the playing of cassette tapes and videos…

Presents some classroom exercises based on the communication needs of adult students of French. (AM)

Examines alternative A-level syllabuses of second-language courses with a view to establishing what implicit definitions and interpretations of cultural learning they embody. The article focuses on that part of course content that fosters understanding of a foreign culture as an integral part of communicative competence. Assessment objectives are…

Describes the various steps taken to organize and implement a five-week French summer institute for secondary teachers of French, involving a three-week stay in France. The article details program objectives, course content, administration of the Institute, budget considerations, participants' progress, the evaluation process, and the…

Examines the problems associated with interlanguage in French immersion and how teachers can use the writing process to help students develop the target language. It is suggested that language can be mediated through conferencing sessions, and in so doing, propel students into their zone of proximal development. (15 references) (Author/CK)