How a More Representative Francophone Curriculum Can Help Students Imagine a Future in the Language

Read: 7 minutes-Author: By Ashli Sambaluk

French Programs Are Disappearing

You’re not losing your mind. It isn’t just your school, your neighborhood, or your state. French classes are shrinking and, in some cases, disappearing. What often feels like a series of isolated cases; one more small program cut, one more upper-level class that didn’t make it, one more combined-level classroom is actually part of a larger national trend. The 2023 Modern Language Association report uses the word “staggering” to describe the enrollment decline.

Enrollment Is a Choice

As the only French teacher on every campus I have ever taught, I have always had to fight for my classes. I used to fight with indignation and the passionate belief that offering courses to students, even if they were small, was just “the right thing to do,” and I expected my principal to listen and act accordingly.

Now, working in administration, I understand that students and families vote, and they vote by the courses they register for; they vote with their enrollment. Regardless of whether I agree with the factors influencing those choices, it is my duty as a public servant to understand them and respond. I realized, better late than never, that if I want to preserve the teaching of French in my school, I have to help students see themselves as users of French; I have to help them find themselves and their futures in the curriculum.

Picturing Yourself as a Future French Speaker

According to Dörnyei’s [L2 Motivational Self System], students are more likely to persist in language learning when they can envision themselves as future users of the language. Many French learners encounter a curriculum centered primarily on Metropolitan France with limited exposure to the multiple narratives of the Francophone world. Without opportunities to see themselves communicating with a variety of people from Côte d’Ivoire, Martinique, Senegal, Québec, or other Francophone communities, it becomes more difficult to develop that motivating vision of themselves as French speakers, because there is less for them to connect with.

This is where representation matters most: students need to see a range of Francophone identities reflected in what they study, not just one. I am by no means advocating for replacing Metropolitan France in the curriculum; rather, I am advocating that we expand the number of doors through which students can enter the language by intentionally introducing them to the voices, histories, and lived experiences of La Francophonie.

Paris Is Not Everyone’s Entry Point

Lucky for me, I was the teenage girl completely seduced by the twinkle of the Eiffel Tower over the Seine and the charm of Disney’s The Aristocats. I could see my future self debating over a cup of coffee in a beret, and that was enough. And lucky for me, I grew up on the Louisiana border with Texas, where everyday words like beaucoup and cher piqued my curiosity. In the Gulf South, the ubiquitous fleur-de-lys carries familiar associations with gumbo, beignets, Mardi Gras, and the celebratory spirit of laissez les bons temps rouler.

Not until my recent trip to Martinique did I learn that the fleur-de-lys does not carry the same festive meaning everywhere; far from it, in fact. Under Article 38 of the Code Noir, the fleur-de-lys was branded on the shoulders of enslaved people who attempted to escape as part of a progression of increasingly cruel forms of mutilation and punishment, representing a painful history of oppression. A further reminder that context matters.

For more recent students, Miraculous Ladybug was captivating and added a temporary enrollment boost to my courses, but the Eiffel Tower and Paris are not hooks that work for every student. And certainly not every student finds themselves living in a context where evidence of Francophone culture is present. My classroom always had a healthy dose of drill team dancers and future fashion designers, and girls outnumbered guys about five to one in a typical year.

In fact, looking at all the world language classrooms I passed from college to career, each language had a pretty distinct style and personality. Many of our classrooms had developed a predictable identity: students who already saw themselves reflected in a particular language. I accepted this paradigm as something that was logical and set in stone, but as I learned more and more about Dörnyei’s work and the power of vision, I came to appreciate that we are working with La Francophonie, and our classrooms could and should look as diverse as the world we are preparing students to engage with!

Small Steps, Big Doors

Of course, the next inevitable task was to make sure that classrooms had a chance to reflect the many stories, faces, and perspectives out there. Working in curriculum, I dedicated myself to finding high-quality, connection-rich resources that would allow all of our students to see themselves as users of French. I planned to start small, because to accomplish this goal, a complete redesign is not necessary. There are plenty of small steps we can take to bring these opportunities into the classroom without any major changes. Consider:

• replacing one Metropolitan France-centered resource with a resource from another Francophone community;
  
• introducing students to Francophone speakers working in different professions and living in different parts of the world;
  
• presenting different Francophone perspectives on a topic that is already part of the curriculum;
  
• using short, accessible authentic content with novice learners rather than waiting until advanced levels to introduce La Francophonie;
  
• moving beyond cultural “fun facts” by giving students historical and social context. Oh, hey there, Products, Practices, and Perspectives!

I Went Looking for Resources and Came Up Empty

But finding free, authentic Francophone resources to meet this simple goal was not easy, especially for novices, where we absolutely must capture the attention and motivation of our learners from the start. In fact, I found that I utterly failed. The vast majority of the free, authentic resources I could find, despite my focused efforts, were still from Metropolitan France. The access simply was not there for me.

Like any determined educator, I decided I had to get involved and take matters into my own hands!

Finding La Francophonie Firsthand

I began to research any way I could be part of finding or creating resources for the novice classroom, helping students encounter more of the Francophone world from our classrooms in Texas. First, the American Association of Teachers of French and a Fulbright-Hays GPA grant took me to Côte d’Ivoire, and it did not take long to find Jessica and Nadège and the work they are doing in Martinique and the islands of Guadeloupe. I had to go experience it firsthand, and their creation of a summer Teachers’ Retreat was just the ticket. I am a huge fan of maximizing my limited educator time and money, and whenever I can joindre l’utile à l’agréable, you’ll find me enthusiastically going for it!

What I Brought Back

Visiting Martinique with Jessica was an opportunity to learn and grow personally as well as professionally. I now have firsthand experiences and learning to bring back to my district. I am a changed person for the better, having more history and perspectives to make me reflect on my own world, and of course, I came back refreshed and relaxed.

Most practical of all, I now have resources for the classroom that will give our students more opportunities to connect with French language and culture and to see themselves as proficient French users. Firsthand experiences, voices, and thoughts were all around me, begging to make their way seamlessly into the curriculum that I already have. I am excited that JD Agency Experience is sharing them with their audience! I sincerely hope they will positively impact your classroom, both giving you back some of your valuable time typically spent lesson planning and engaging your students.

French Belongs to Them

We never know what will become the spark that ignites a lifelong relationship with a language. For me, it was a simple coffee pot in my high school French teacher’s classroom, a small invitation that made French feel like a place where I belonged. I am forever grateful for that spark, and my hope is that by expanding the stories, voices, and experiences we bring into our classrooms, we can create that moment of connection for the next generation of French learners.

The future of French education does not depend on convincing students that French matters, but rather on helping them see that French belongs to them. To do this, we do not need to start from scratch. Start small, with one new voice, one new territory, or one different perspective. Each additional point of entry may help another student see that French can be part of their story, too.

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SEE LA FRANCOPHONIE FOR YOURSELF

Authentic Francophone resources often begin with firsthand experience. Through the French Caribbean Teacher Retreat, educators experience Martinique’s history, languages, and people, then return with new perspectives and concrete ideas for their classrooms

Interested in bringing your students to the French Caribbean instead?

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About the guest author

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