La Francophonie et la Géographie
When contemplating the French culture and language, the average high school student is quick to visualize the stereotypical Frenchman: Long, protruding nose pretentiously sitting atop a black, handlebar-shaped, brilliantine-laden moustache. This bonhomme appears to say "Hon, hon, hon, hon," in response to any given stimulus. He perpetually sports a blue and white (or red and white), nautical, Breton striped shirt, a black beret tilting precariously on his head as he rides a bicycle down a winding road lined with symmetrically-trimmed trees, all the while carrying a crispy, long baguette underarm, without any regard for safe food handling practices - that is, sans bag of any kind. The Eiffel Tower is unvaryingly visible in the distance of this imagined vignette of all things "Français." Many students are completely unaware that French is spoken anywhere outside of France, not to mention the fact that both the French language and culture stretch far past the borders of the hexagon, across the world's continents, influencing the language and customs of a people as racially diverse as they are geographically separated. Imparting this information to students during their first year of French studies is the best way to draw them into the subject. Once they are aware of how far-reaching the French influence actually is, they realize that it does not only have a presence somewhere in a land far, far away, and they are much more likely to become engaged learners. My students have always been quite delighted to discover that most of the French speaking world resides in Africa – a far cry from their romanticized conception of le Parisien, "Hon, hon, hon, hon!"
…the so-called Francophone world is a far-flung composite of many
cultures/nations whose common attachment to the use of the French
language belies amazingly different histories and cultural trajectories.
Many but not all are former colonies, with or without French settler
communities. Some Francophone locations-such as Martinique, Tahiti,
or Réunion- are still technically part of France,… as overseas departments.
For some, French is the official language of the nation; for others, French
is one of several languages used; and in still other cases, French remains
important in a more localized sphere such as commerce, civil administration,
or education. 9
In order to help them expand the restricted borders of what they initially believe to be the Francophone world, beyond what Joseph Roach would call the infamous nodal point that is Paris; I encourage students to refocus their cultural lens to a setting that will allow them to take in the view of a more realistic, global perspective. See Appendix 2 at http://mademoiselle-mauti.wikispaces.com/Maps for a Map of the French speaking world – a visual to be used as a good starting to point for this unit. As we engage in the area study of continents, oceans, regions, states and cities in French, students are afforded the opportunity to make interdisciplinary connections between French and geography. This is a good example of what I believe to be the ultimate accomplishment for secondary school teachers and students of French; to be able to teach and learn another subject using the target language. In fact, geography and map skills are among the suggested topics for level IV Modern Languages. Although it may be difficult for some to fathom, an inordinate number of adolescents struggle with more than just the French pronunciation of geographical lexicon. Many are unable to identify places on a map as close to the United States as Canada – even in English. An exploration of la Francophonie has the dual benefit of improving students' map labeling skills as well as introducing them to geographical vocabulary in French, all while using technology in the target language.
What is la Francophonie? La Francophonie is a global movement that can be understood as a group of countries or areas united under the linguistic, historical, and/or didactic umbrella of a pluralistic community of Francophiles. These individuals inhabit regions in which French is either one of the official languages, a language widely used, where a significant proportion of people are French speakers, or where there is a notable past or present affiliation with the French language or culture. Only upon mastering the physical location of these important beacons of French influence on a two-dimensional world map can students even begin the more in depth journey of discovering the three-dimensional desire maps of these places. In centering upon la Louisiane, the Francophone area closest to home in the United States, I hope to become the vehicle through which Joseph Roach will impart to my students not only his knowledge about the history of this city, but more importantly his contagious passion, as I share with them what I've learned in our seminar about the intangible heritage, and the mystique that surround la Nouvelle Orléans.
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