Overcoming language issues in a flipped French civilization course

Dr. Mary Ann Lyman-Hager Dr. François Vanleene








Content








with the
content?























What about the

pedagogy?

LECTURE-BASED course outcomes









• Important body of information & tight schedule  fast learning pace / no reflection




• Lecture-based instruction in French & students with various language proficiency

levels  students' struggle in comprehending / prioritizing the information




• Course content and authentic documents  no use through critical thinking skills and


no reinvestment in academic exercises











REMEDIATION PLAN





1. Creating a new set of material for self-learning (digital/online)




2. Foster collaborative learning (writing a Teacher’s workbook)

Learning material










• Giving undergraduate students an overview of the process of civilization in France


• Giving our students the means to understand French people or to approach them in a way that it was

culturally relevant


• Helping our students to fill knowledge gaps they may experience in some areas of French cultural

studies


• Help students to overcome language issues

Textbook, print and ebook







CONTENT


• Highlight the major civilizational facts that could explain France

current state of affairs;


• Comprehensive overview of the French culture for non-native

French speakers;


FORMAT


• Organization by paragraphs


• 1000+ links (newspapers, journal articles, online books, websites,

online videos, radio shows…)


• 500+ illustrations of famous artworks and photographs


UTILIZATION


• For instructional purpose or research assignments

Textbook, print and ebook

Interactive learning modules

Movies and movie samples










Supporting students' comprehension



• One or several movies or

documentaries or movie samples per


chapter



• Give more consistency to some


historical periods or social context

that may be difficult to picture




• Hierarchize the information



• Reinforce reading comprehension by

refering to the same aspects from a


different perspective

Teachers’ workbook - overview










Course of actions targeting the development of cultural


and communicative (academic) skills



• Narrow down the course objectives;



• Offer course activities and home assignments;



• Create the conditions of communication in class

(collaboration compensate for language issues);




• Provide an integrated performance assessment tool;

Teacher’s workbook - objectives

Workbook - Activities








A. Multiple choice questionnaires



B. Sharing of learning resources / completed assignments



C. Collective reviews of tasks



D. Discussions / brainstormings



E. Teacher's lectures




F. Oral presentations



G. Written assignments



H. Forum discussions



I. Performing a role play



J. Competing game

Surveys










Relevance of the content • Did the learning content allow students to reach a better understanding of the French



people and of their culture?



• What topics did the students feel that they had understood the best?


• Were students’ expectations regarding the course fulfilled?



Language problems • Was the language a problem to convey the course content?



• Have the material and the course format help to address some of the language issues?


• Was the collaborative work a significant help in this respect?




Course format • What was our students’ perception of the flipped classroom format?


• How did this format support students to reach the learning objectives?


• How useful did the students find the activities of the new format?

Relevance of content










Can you describe in few words what the study of French Civilization is for you?

Relevance of content









Tasks for which students feel they have performed the best



Listing breakthrough and inventions of the prehistorical times Narrating the events occuring during the Commune de Paris’ period

Naming Gaul and Roman inventions Defining la Belle Epoque


Analyzing Medieval artworks representing famous characters Depicting the RoaringTwenties in France


Explaining the symbolism of Joan of Arc in the collective memory Narrating events during WW2 that impacted French collective memory

Writing about the emergence of the Renaissance style in France Writing about socio-cultural mutations in France after WW2


Giving a definition of humanism and describing its impact; Explaining how the spirit of May 68 questioned French conservatist values


Explaining Richelieu’s contributions to the reinforcement of monarchy Narrating the events of May 68

th
Describing main artistic and philosophic movements of the XVII century

Explaining how classicism was used as a mean of political propaganda


Explaining the main ideas of the Enlightment philosophy

Depicting difference of lifestyle between social classes in 1789


Narration King Louis the XVI fall and main revolutionary events
th

Relevance of content









Does the course help do understand the process of French civilization ?

Language problems







Students’ perception of the language difficulty level for each type of material
7 7

Very difficult Difficult Neutral Easy Very easy

6




5 5





4




3 3




2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2





1 1 1








Printed version of the textbook Digital version of the textbook Interactive online modules Movie samples

Language problems









Help provided by the material to solve language issue







Respondents R01 R02 R03 R04 R05 R06 R07 R08 R09 R10 R11 R12 R13 R14 R15







Online modules







Textbook (print)







Textbook (eBook)






Didn’t answer Not helpful at all Slightly helpful Moderately helpful Very helpful Extremely helpful

Language problems









Help provided by the material to solve language issue





Rating TEXTBOOK (PRINTED AND DIGITAL VERSIONS) MODULES







1 st Illustrations Timelines







2 nd Organization of the paragraphs Illustrations and their captions






3 rd Highliting and annotation tools Visual effects and design






4 th Embedded dictionary External links

Course format









Which activities did the students think that they were the most useful to reach the course objectives?

Course format









Did the students get more involved in collaborative learning throughout the semester?

Conclusion











• Students expect more to learn about the culture with a big « C » and common


places about French culture. This can be used as a basis to explore less trivial

topics;




• Digital version of the textbook provides support for language issues as well as

a consistent organization of the content;



• Provide students with a comprehensive guide for the Modules;



• Collaborative aspects of the course very important, but teacher’s lecture time


need to be increased and writing activities emphasized.







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