Preliminary activity for workshop, 'Lacunae of enchantments: unfolding spaces ‘in which it is once more possible to think’…and act', presented at 'Re-enchanting the Academy' conference, Canterbury, 25-27 September 2015. Poésie, who spoke in many tongues and was the most charming fairy of all, offered a linguistic charm, ‘Whosoever reads these words shall feel be at ease with the whole world, and will never feel doubt or shame even though their tongue may stumble over unfamiliar sounds and concepts. I give you the gift of confidence.’

1. Background
The rapid internationalisation of higher education that has taken place in the
UK has often focussed on student recruitment rather than the implications for
learning and teaching (Carroll, 2015; Ryan, 2013). As a result, many higher
education providers are grappling with the changing landscapes of their
lecture theatres and seminar and approaching international students within a
deficit model (Killick, 2015). The Higher Education Academy (HEA) has – with
the sector – co-created a framework that seeks to redress this deficit model,
arguing that internationalisation is a process in which we are all international,
regardless of our linguistic, cultural or national identities. This is an
opportunity to create resources that benefit all students and use their diverse,
pluricultural backgrounds to give them the confidence to learn.
An example
Déjeuner Du Matin
Jacques Prévert
(Paroles, 1946)
Il a mis le café
Dans la tasse
Il a mis le lait
Dans la tasse de café
Il a mis le sucre
Dans le café au lait
Avec la petite cuiller
Il a tourné
Il a bu le café au lait
Et il a reposé la tasse
Sans me parler
Il a allumé
Une cigarette
Il a fait des ronds
Avec la fumée
Il a mis les cendres
Dans le cendrier
Sans me parler
Sans me regarder
Il s'est levé
Il a mis
Son chapeau sur sa tête
Il a mis

2. Son manteau de pluie
Parce qu'il pleuvait
Et il est parti
Sous la pluie
Sans une parole
Sans me regarder
Et moi j'ai pris
Ma tête dans ma main
Et j'ai pleuré.
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/d-jeuner-du-matin/
Listen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9ZfhONl68s
With French subtitles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MalR-e4IgAs
Musical adaptation by Marlene Dietrich:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hm1jdP-I4y4
Short, silent film:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4YoBuJCbfo
Use of poem
Aims
 To open up the space of the workshop as a mine of rich linguistic and
cultural diversity
 To think about the sound and meaning of language, and its impact on you
and others
 To confront feelings of linguistic and cultural alienation in a safe environment
 To overcome linguistic and cultural barriers through the interdisciplinary
medium of poetry
 To become more confident in an internationalised setting
An activity with students
 Find a partner in the room, someone you don’t know
 Read the poem – what does it look like on the page – is there anything
unexpected?
 Listen to the clip – describe the sounds – do they create a particular mood
or feel? What is the effect and why?
 Look at the words and see if there is anything familiar in your native
language?
 Perhaps there are some words or expressions that you recognise from
learning French?
 What can you work out from the poem in your groups?

3. By getting students to listen to the poem first with an unfamiliar partner, they
are encouraged to approach a (fairly alienating) task together, looking for
common ground, very possibly across different linguistic and cultural borders.
United by the unknow-able, the dominant language of the UK HE class –
English – does not necessarily help them. It levels the linguistic playing field
from that perspective. Even if a student speaks French, they will help their
partner with translation, working across at least two and possibly three
languages. Also, the questions focus on the poem itself, not the language, so
the skills they rely on are intercultural, communicative and creative – key
competencies for graduates of today.
This activity aims to provide a learning tool above and beyond the
content/language of the poem as the task concentrates on students working
together, gaining confidence in approaching the unfamiliar across languages,
disciplines etc. Those staff and students from a non-Humanities background
can identify with the shared problems of how to teach/approach difficult
language/jargon/concepts with students from a diverse background. The
actual translation of the language is much less interesting – pedagogically
speaking – than the process of encouraging students to work together, learn
from their different background and languages and learn to face the unfamiliar
with confidence and not fear.
In a longer time, comparing and contrasting the effect of the silent film, and
the Marlene Dietrich would lead to some fascinating discussion about
different learning styles, about the importance and effects of language etc.
By sending out the clips in advance of the class, it could also be flipped.
The actual poem can be used as a resource in a number of Humanities
 French – this poem is used to introduce and practice perfect tense
 Literary studies – shape of poem; lack of punctuation; part of Parisian
post-war art movement
 History/Cultural studies – Prévert’s political motivations and use of
poetry as a historical tool to explore France at that time
 Film – exploring musical and film adaptations