Perspectives Francophone:

How Language Varies

Level: Intermediate/ Intermediate high, FRENCH 4 & 5

Stage 1 – Desired Results
Content Standard(s):
·  Standard 2.2/ Products of Culture: Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the products and perspective of the cultures of the francophone world.
·  Standard 3.2/ Acquiring information: Students acquire information and recognize the distinctive viewpoints that are only available through francophone cultures.
·  Standard 4.2/ Cultural Comparisons: Students demonstrate understanding of the concept of culture through comparisons of francophone cultures and their own.
Understanding (s)/goals
Students will understand that:
·  A francophone perspective is different than standard French
·  The French language communicates and is written differently depending on historical experiences and cultural perspectives (in thinking about our own L1, may the same thing be said?)
·  Language varies according to perspective and experience
·  Some factors influencing linguistic adaptations and importance / Essential Question(s):
·  How does their language use and musical expression either add or retract from their message?
·  How does language vary according to our environment?
·  What conditions influence variations in language?
·  How does the poetry of Damas interpret the effects of colonization? [3.1 Historical Perspectives]
·  How does the francophone perspective contribute to our understanding of La Condition Humaine?
Student objectives (outcomes):
All students will be able to:
·  Choose their favorite line from the poem and say why
·  Explain that the language in the poem by Damas is different from standard French
·  Explain that the language in the song in both French and creole
Most students will be able to:
·  Identify why Damas describes life as “plus lourde et lasse”
·  Hypothesize and articulate why Creoles may have been used
·  Parallel francophone expression (as poetry) to a dialect of their L1 and name one example
Some students will be able to:
·  Paraphrase the meaning of the poem and express it orally
·  Orally express and support Damas’ claim using lines from the poem
·  Justify the cultural importance of what Damas has said and why he has used French and not his L1 to express the message
Stage 2 – Assessment Evidence
Performance Task(s):
·  Begin the K & W of a KWL Chart / Other Evidence:
·  Anticipation Guide before reading
·  Group discussions
·  Guess & Say Why
Stage 3 – Learning Plan
Learning Activities
Greeting and Warm-up in L2 (3 minutes)
Anticipation (Question) Guide in L2 (10 minutes)
How do you communicate with your friends in ways that someone from outside may not be able to understand? Why might you communicate in this way? Can you think of some other ways people communicate in our society that not everyone understands in the same way? Why do you think people have different dialects? What factors influence this?
Discuss student responses as a class (10 minutes)
Teacher will then parallel students’ responses with francophone realia, and use their examples to define “dialect” and “Creole”
Teacher will then introduce song and ask students to GUESS & SAY WHY while listening
Listen to song (5 minutes)
Students guess where this song may be from, say what they think it sounds like and why they think it is from a certain place, and see if they can hear more than one language in the song.
Listen to song again (5 minutes) Fill in any additional responses
Discuss student speculations (10 minutes)
Teacher will then reveal where the song is from, and introduce the poem by Damas by distributing a photocopy, and reading the poem out loud.
Students work with their table mate on parts K & W of the KWL Chart (15 minutes)
Students will question the song and poem and identify what they already know about the langue of the poem, who wrote it, and why it is writing in French. Students must justify why they know they know what they know by using lines from the text (when possible) and other references from the same unit studied earlier in class. Students will help each other to define new words, and teacher will move about the room helping students will difficult words. Any unknown words should be placed in the W part of the KWL Chart. Students will work to develop under the K column “What we know”, and will work to develop questions about “What we want to know”, in relation to the meaning of the poem.
Collaboration & Conclusion (2 minutes)
Teacher will take questions and conclude with farewell in L2.