25 Instructor’s Guide Unit 3

This unit is meant to situate the learner in one or more Francophone contexts. The Atelier RÉEL has moved from self/identity to self and others in dialog and now it works to help the learner better discover the context(s) in which the French language is used to communicate globally. The task is enormous and necessarily decentering. Should instructors focus on France and hexagonal French when the majority of French speakers worldwide are not native or «de suche»? Indeed, what did it ever mean to de «de suche» in France, given the constant migrations over the area(s) that have been call Gaul or France or the Frankish Empire? Over the years, the FLE has become far more inclusive of the many ways that French speaks itself in the world (not that there aren’t exclusionary practices still at work). In a kinder, gentler world where diversity, equity, inclusion and access for all learners is paramount, openness to the richness and beauty of the manifold ways to communicate in French is optimal. For that reason, the region(s) or country(s) that are chosen in this unit are critical.  It is also incumbent on the instructor to choose one or more contexts that suit not only their teacher style and expertise, but also that which will engage their current students. Hence, this third module offers two possible points of entry and engagement: (1) a focus on the Francophone world through the lens of colonization, decolonization, and neo-colonialism or (2) cinematographic representations. It would work equally well to create your own context unit that lets students explore and flesh out their understanding of French in action through environmental, historical, economic, health, religious, artistic, musical, etc. frames.