InTASC STANDARD Two: Learning Differences: The teacher uses understanding of

individual differences and diverse cultures and communities to ensure inclusive learning

environments that enable each learner to meet high standards.

Name of Artifact: FRE 545 Comparaison

Course: FRE 545 Topics in French Literature Adolescent and Children's Francophone Literature

Date: 13 December 2016

ACTFL Standards Addressed: Lifelong Learning: Learners set goals and reflect on their

progress in using languages for enjoyment, enrichment, and advancement.

Rationale:

Successful teachers must be able to differentiate content for the vast differences in the

classroom. In the comparison of Flicie and Aya, I analyzed how they were culturally different.

Flicies family supports her educational aspirations while Ayas family discourages her

educational objectives. Ayas culture as well as Ayas family dissuade her from pursuing her

scholarly path. Her friends do not understand her ambitions. They are searching for husbands to

take care of them while Aya wants more. Flicies family rewards her for her hard work. Her

mom does not understand why her teacher wants to send Flicie to another school. Her mom

expresses happiness that Flicie is top of her class, but she sees no reason to change schools. As

a teacher I must recognize that my students will have diverse cultures and experiences. As I

develop a good rapport with my students, I can learn about their cultures and experiences. As I

learn about their cultures, I can compare their cultures and experiences with those of the French.

This may make the content more accessible to them as well as allow the students who do not

share that particular culture to expand their cultural knowledge which may in turn afford them

the opportunity to develop a more tolerant and accepting perspective as they learn that their
perspective is not the only perspective. This may allow them to accept that their perspective may

not be the correct perspective or at least not the only correct perspectives. This may change

perceptions that the students hold about different cultures as they see that not everyone in a

cultural group is the same (Jackson, 2014). As my students acquire French, they often question

why French vocabulary does not match up with English vocabulary. We explore how concepts

are expressed in French. Since language expresses how one perceives the world, learning about

how the French perceive the world through their language may expose my students to new

perceptions (Chaika, 2008). As we work with input, my students acquire more language and

learn about the French world view (Brown, 2014). This makes them better equipped to examine

their own world view since they can think critically about language using their previous

experiences. As I guide my students through this journey toward tolerance and acceptance of

cultures and practices that are different from their own, it is important to be careful to ensure that

I do not cultivate divisiveness as we compare and contrast cultures and practices.

References

Brown, H. D. (2014). Principles of language learning and teaching A course in second language

acquisition (6th ed.). White Plains, NY: Pearson.

Chaika, E. (2008). Language the social mirror (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Heinle Cengage Learning.

Jackson, J. (2014). Introducing language and intercultural communication (1st ed.). New York,

NY: Routledge.