Teaching professor Hedwige Meyer and associate teaching professor Lorenzo Giachetti adapted an introductory textbook from Éditions Maison des Langues.
Défi Francophone 1 (2021) a French-language textbook from Éditions Maison des Langues is currently being taught in UW’s first year French language courses. The pedagogy is deeply rooted in task-based language learning. And, francophone culture(s) are at the core of every lesson and activity. The goal was to provide as authentic and inclusive a learning experience as possible, with diverse representations of cultural realities embracing all the identities and communities in the Francophone world—and in the students’ world as well.
The “Dossier Canada” is especially worth noting, as it expands and dives deeper into the rich linguistic, artistic, francophone and Indigenous cultures of our neighbors to the north. Students engage with a wide variety of content, from cultural fairs and festivals in Québec, to the production of maple syrup, to tourism and whale watching along the St. Lawrence river. The second volume of Défi Francophone (scheduled for publication later this spring) will continue to feature not only francophone Canada, but also educate students on its critically endangered Indigenous languages and the importance of the survival of those languages. The challenge is to expose students from the start to topics that are both relevant and engaging, but also complex. The authors hope that this will make their students’ linguistic journey all the more meaningful.