3. French cinema today
• Last year, 210 million tickets were sold to movie
goers in France
• Gross box office in France was over 1.3 billion euros
• 256 films were made in France last year
• The Cannes Film Festival is the world’s biggest and
most significant
• Paris has the distinction of having the most movie
theaters per person than any other city on earth
5. Learning Language via
Authentic Stories
Advantages
• Students experience language in context
• Stories are told by people from the country of origin
so students hear various dialects and accents
• Stories reveal cultural features of the country of origin
• Students have a better understanding of the scope of
the francophone world
6. Les Contes (stories)
• There is a rich heritage in the francophone world of
“les contes”, tales that reflect the traditions, history
and values of a certain people.
• The richest French language site is “Conte-moi”
which contains dozens of tales from all over the
French speaking world with fantastic teacher support.
7. Cultural advantages of
these tales
• They encourage the study of many countries/regions
• They display the cultural diversity in our world
• They engage curiosity and interest in others
• They offer lessons in avoiding stereotyping
and prejudice
• They create a link between story and language
learning
8. Reasons for using “les contes”
• They promote comprehension of authentic material
• They provide the opportunity for oral comprehension
and subsequent retelling
• They allow students to broaden their world view as
well as their vocabulary and language
• They encourage students to learn more about the
country of origin of the tale
• The oral story telling introduces many students to
lesser heard versions of the language
9. La Princesse Orgueilleuse
The Proud Princesse
• This is a tale from the country of Mali
• Mali is the largest of the western African nations
• Mali has a population of 15 million people
• French and Bambara are the official languages of Mali
• French is the official government language while more people
actually speak Bambara
• Mali has been independent since 1960
• A video of the tale narrated by a Malian
11. Lessons learned
• In Malian culture, even if you are a member of
royalty, humility and acceptance of others are traits
that are cherished.
• Listening to the Malian narrator, we hear a French
that is less typical
• The tradition of story telling is rich, dating back
centuries
12. Follow up activities
Students can retell the story
• Students can draw a picture version of this tale
and narrate it or write the key messages taken
from the story
• Students could write out their own version of the tale
• Students can compare the values of the story with
those of their own country
15. L’identité québecoise
• Le hockey – le sport canadien
• Maurice Richard
• icon sportif et culturel
• La lutte québecoise
• linguistique et politique
18. Background on poem
and the man
• The amazing legacy of Léopold Senghor
• His many passions
• The voice of négritude
• His legacy
• Origin of the poem
21. American advertising is designed to inform
and persuade. French advertising is
designed to seduce and entertain. To
appreciate French advertising, you must
understand the cultural perspective that
they present.
27. Scaffolding ads
• Novice
• uncomplicated tasks/short utterances/brief
descriptions
• Intermediate
• predictable, concrete topics/evidence of different
time frames, basic Q & A on familiar topics
• Advanced
• sustained narration & description, ease of
expression including opinions and observations
28. More about French ads
• Televised political ads are banned — only a small
number of “statements” by each candidate, following
strict rules on time and editing, can be broadcast on
television and only during the five-week period of the
“official” campaign as defined by law.
• Movies cannot be advertised on French TV
• Alcohol cannot be advertised on French TV
• Prices are generally never given in French TV ads
29. Culture revealed via Ads
• French language commercials speak to their cultures
no less than literature or music does. Long on
sensuality, style and poetry, they are notably lean on
facts and nearly allergic to the rough-and-tumble of
commerce.
• “American commercials go from the head to the
wallet – French ads, from the heart to the head.”
32. French Perspective Ads
• The four charactertistics are : la séduction, le
spectacle, l'amour, and l'humour.
• La séduction: The French verb "seduire" does not
always carry the same connotation as the English
word "seduce." One meaning of "seduire" is to "lure
another person," but more commonly it means to
tempt, to fascinate, to attract, to charm, or to entice.
A good French advertisement is one that tempts the
consumer with its offering.
34. La Spectacle
Le spectacle: "Spectacle" incorporates the meanings
of sight, an attraction, a show, a play, a story, a lavish
production, high production values. A good French ad
is one that has the drama, the entertainment value,
the production values, and the excitement of the
theatre.
35. L’Amour
L'amour: Romance and innuendo are integral parts of
French culture and as such form an integral part of
French advertising. A slogan such as "the coffee of
desire" (un café nommé désir) brings together two
cultural expectations for advertising: (1) romantic
notions should be expressed or alluded to whenever
possible and (2) advertising should not focus on
product functions.
36. L’Humour
L'humour: Humor is central to French advertising. It
may take the form of ribald approaches that may be
shocking to Americans or the humor expressed in the
playful use of words and amusing association.
39. Activities based on study
of French Ads
• A list of the features of French ads vs. a similar list
for American ads
• A group discussion on the perceived effectiveness of
French ads vs. American ads
• Students create a French language ad based on a
relatively well-known American ad to show a different
cultural approach
40. Printed Ads
Themes – Connection to what you are teaching
Comprehension, Connections, Comparisons,
Interpretive
Cultural Differences and Similarities
Activities – connect the ad with language structures
48. The Message
• Culture can and should be integrated into our curriculum via
a variety of activities using products such as:
• Food
• Stories
• Films
• Ads
• Products lead us to understanding and appreciation of
practices and perspectives.
• Language teaching needs context – culture provides it!
49. Interculturality – Keep in mind…
• Enriching our curriculum with culture gives our instruction a
rich context
• Products, practices and perspectives give our students a
depth of knowledge about the world and a framework for
language learning
• There is no shortage of cultural material that can easily be
integrated into your current curriculum
