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Call Me “Madame” : Re‐Presenting Culture in the French Language Classroom
Author(s) -
Siskin H. Jay
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
foreign language annals
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.258
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1944-9720
pISSN - 0015-718X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1944-9720.2007.tb02852.x
Subject(s) - insider , identity (music) , mythology , power (physics) , sociology , class (philosophy) , french , linguistics , psychology , epistemology , history , law , aesthetics , political science , philosophy , physics , quantum mechanics , classics
This study examines autobiographies of American teachers of French in order to make explicit their beliefs regarding French language and culture. The themes of class and power are prominent in these teachers' belief systems, as is the desire for self‐transformation through mastery of French and miming a subset of French behaviors. These notions can be transformed into student expectations and outcomes. Such beliefs originate in mythologies surrounding the French language, in particular, the existence of le français correct 2 and its symbolic role as a signifier of national identity and community affiliation. In light of these beliefs and practices, instructors are urged to examine their assumptions about language and culture and reflect on the importance of developing critical distance‐a privileged space between outsider and insider.