Français interactif by Karen Kelton, Nancy Guilloteau and Carl Blyth

Abstract

Reviewed by: Français interactif by Karen Kelton, Nancy Guilloteau and Carl Blyth Julian Ledford Kelton, Karen, Nancy Guilloteau, and Carl Blyth. Français interactif. 4th ed. COERLL, 2019. ISBN 978-1-937963-20-0. Pp. 345. As research on language learner identity reveals more about the plural identities of Generation Z students and the connection between learner visibility and engagement, the use of pedagogical materials that allow for sustained and substantial inclusive language instruction is essential. Similarly, pedagogical materials that support the inclusion of diverse cultural contexts are needed to honor the identities of the instructors who make up the language learning commu nity. Far from being a static first-year French textbook, Français interactif presents the open-access curriculum from Tex’s French Grammar <https://www.laits.utexas.edu/tex> and Français interactif <https://laits.utexas.edu/fi> via a highly customizable and robust online platform. While the grammar references, exercises, and verb conjugation tables that both Tex’s French Grammar and Français interactif provide are beneficial for the practice phase of language instruction, the customization that Lingco <https://lingco.io> offers is essential for the overview and communication phases. Additionally, the Lingco platform allows instructors to enhance obsolete templates within those texts and remove cultural references that are no longer relevant or present problematic ontologies. Beyond this, the platform has several additional benefits. First, the Lingco personnel are very responsive and eager to help. They are also eager to learn how they might enhance their product from language instructors and language students alike. Second, the Lingco platform is compatible with other learning management systems such as Brightspace, Canvas, or Moodle. Third, with specific regard to language instruction, the platform allows for multimodal and interactive student engagement. For example, instructors can upload various forms of audiovisual media on which to base units, assignments, and assessments. The feedback that learners receive can also be of various forms. The Lingco platform also offers the ability to create vocabulary sets that are ostensibly more pertinent to learners than those found in traditional textbooks. Seeing that the platform is equipped with voice-to-text capabilities, learners can listen to the vocabulary sets that the instructor creates. Instructors may also include visual cues for each word. Thanks to this customization, traditional topics encountered in the French curriculum can be presented more inclusively. Perhaps most importantly, Lingco provides a platform for exploring language learning pedagogies that affirm disability, gender, sexual, and trans identities. What is more, these inclusive approaches to language learning can also be shared, as instructors have access to the global community of French teachers who have opted to share their materials in the Lingco content library. To be clear, Français interactif works best for instructors who have grown weary of not finding inclusive material among the thick volumes of language-learning textbooks and have resorted to finding various ways of including supplemental pedagogical material. Though the successful [End Page 240] execution of the Lingco program will require the instructor to do more preparation up front, the platform provides the tools that such instructors need to create, store, and promote the language-learning experiences they have always envisioned for their students. Julian Ledford University of the South (TN) Copyright © 2022 American Association of Teachers of French