"Mangez en francais": a model for teaching culture in senior high core French programs
Abstract
One of the on-going struggles in the field of second- and foreign-language education is the effort to make culture a more stimulating and valuable component of the language curriculum. In an attempt to encourage renewed efforts in this direction and to provide some ideas and inspiration for the integration of culture into the language curriculum, this thesis: - reviews culture's role in the second- and foreign-language classroom. - reformulates goals of cultural instruction to allow them to be readily applied in the classroom. - proposes a list of requirements of cultural materials and of approaches to cultural instruction. - introduces, in Chapter 4, a model for cultural instruction in the French classroom, entitled "Mangez en francais! • This 178 page unit was designed for use in advanced Alberta Grade 11 Core French programs. By drawing on the students' experiences and their knowledge about their own culture, "Mangez en francais ! teaches new cultural knowledge about France and Quebec, focusing on four topics: a) "La nourriture de taus les jours" b) "Allons faire les courses!" c) "Mangez bien ! " d) "Au restaurant" "Mangez en francais ! 11 was originally supplemented by slides, overhead transparencies and plates which provide visual stimulation and, when accompanied by the exercises and activities provided in the unit, allow the student to "visit" the target cultures. This unit puts particular emphasis on increasing students' ability to function in the target culture and on contributing to the development of their communicative competence. In order to determine its quaIity and effectiveness both as a unit in its own right and as a model for similar units for use at other levels, 11 Mangez en francais ! 11 was tested and evaluated by teachers at local high schools. The evaluation , of which an analysis forms Chapter 5 of this thesis, showed that the unit is an appropriate and effective one when used with its intended audience and that it will prove to be valuable as a model for similar culture units for various levels of instruction. The creation of materials for cultural instruction which integrate language and culture in their design will allow culture to play a significant role in the language curriculum and will be of immesurable benefit to students' second- or foreign-language education.
Description
Bibliography: p. 303-313.
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Citation
Mueller, K. E. (1985). "Mangez en francais": a model for teaching culture in senior high core French programs (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/23882