A story crafted by a cultural insider holds a unique power, offering an authentic glimpse into the way people from that culture think and live. Consider the rich narrative of Ma famille du Cameroun: de Paris à Yaoundé. Co-authored by Jessica Reuss-Nliba and Didier Reuss, this book is a fascinating exploration of cultural contrasts. Jessica,…

When students are at the novice level of language learning and are pre-literate in the language, authentic documents can be out of reach. How to still bring in culture? First, I am careful in selecting the resource. I rely heavily on pictures, songs and videos as well as articles written for French children or for…

To advocate for all students, include perspectives that go beyond the Eurocentric ones. In addition, content is most relevant when we “find content that is created by individuals who represent the community they’re writing from”, (Eakins, 2022). Furthermore, always reflect on who is represented, centralized and celebrated. This might seem like a daunting task for…

As we return to school in January, African teams will be competing in the Coupe d’Afrique des Nations. I wrote a series of lessons to review high frequency vocabulary while getting to know the participating countries better and diving deeper into understanding the Ivory Coast, the host country for the competition. Join me in using…

Authentic resources can be the foundation to build a unit on. I started planning for this unit by looking at web pages, music, videos, stories and film clips all from Senegal. As I read the different authentic documents what started to emerge for me was the attachment to their homeland the Senegalese people have, whether…

For me this summer was a time to travel, reflect and attend some excellent PD. The two pieces I have been thinking about are how to work movement more into my teaching and how to address topics that honor the different parts of the world where French is spoken. I would love to share with…

When teaching culture, World Language teachers avoid making generalizations or rules. Instead, we show students examples from the culture by sharing authentic documents in order for students to make their own observations and draw their own conclusions. We do our best work when we share multiple authentic documents in an attempt to avoid representing a…