Abstract

The importance of the teaching of Louisiana Regional French language and culture as an academic subject has been debated by many scholars for decades. While some see it as a necessary dimension of a French course offered in the state of Louisiana, others see the dialect and culture as unreal, non-existent, and less prestigious than Parisian French. This article presents a rationale for offering Louisiana Regional French courses as equivalents to Parisian French in the post-secondary core curriculum in Louisiana colleges and universities.

Highlights

  • Curricula for French as a foreign language in academic spaces (K-12 and post-secondary education) have traditionally been geared toward the teaching of Parisian French with the purpose of traveling to France (Lindner, 2008; 2013)

  • American universities and colleges have produced students at the undergraduate and graduate level will skills in a second languages

  • Their writers, and their publishers are often blamed for what we teach and how we teach it, the truth is that curricula are the result of social reproduction (Auger & Valdman, 1999; Stinchcomb, 2007)

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Summary

INTRODUCTION

Curricula for French as a foreign language in academic spaces (K-12 and post-secondary education) have traditionally been geared toward the teaching of Parisian French with the purpose of traveling to France (Lindner, 2008; 2013). The Parisian dialect of French is seen as a type of de-facto lingua franca for visiting all French-speaking territories, curriculum and place are closely linked (Pinar, 1975;1991; 2004). The question of what dialect of French to teach in Louisiana classrooms has been debated by scholars for decades (Ancelet, 1988; 2007; Lindner, 2008; 2013; Westerman, 2012). This article seeks to contribute to this scholarly discussion by suggesting Louisiana Regional French as the dialect of choice in college and university French departments throughout the state

French in Louisiana
Why curriculum?
Louisiana Regional French and the Curriculum of Identity Formation
Normalizing a Louisiana Regional French Curriculum
Standardizing the curriculum
CONCLUSION

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