Lessons > Culture Play

Examples: practices, values, schemas of products, code-switching, multilingualism

Märchenhafter Poetry Slam

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Lesson Title:	Märchenhafter Poetry Slam
Lesson Author:	Sina Colditz
Instructional Language:	German
Level of Activities:	College / 2. year, 3. year / Intermediate, Advanced
Text Title:	“Der Froschkönig oder auch: Lügen haben dicke Schenkel“
Text Language:	German
FLLITE Form:	Culture Play, Genre Play, Sound Play, Word Play

„Begrenzte Unmöglichkeiten“ – Was kann man, wenn man nur will?

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Lesson Title:	„Begrenzte Unmöglichkeiten“ – Was kann man, wenn man nur will? [ Limited Impossibilities – Can you have it all if you really want to? ]
Lesson Author:	Patrick Ploschnitzki and Chelsea Timlin
Instructional Language:	German
Level of Activities:	College / 1. year / Novice
Text Title:	Müssen nur wollen
Text Language:	German
FLLITE Form:	Culture Play, Grammar Play

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Text
Text Title:	Müssen nur wollen
Text Language:	German
Text Author:	Wir sind Helden
Genre:	Music and Music Videos
Topic:	Wants, Needs, and Obligations / Jobs and Professions / Literature, Music, Art
Lesson
Lesson Title:	„Begrenzte Unmöglichkeiten“ – Was kann man, wenn man nur will? [ Limited Impossibilities – Can you have it all if you really want to? ]
Instructional Language:	German
Lesson Author:	Patrick Ploschnitzki and Chelsea Timlin
Level of Activities:	College / 1. year / Novice
Pedagogical Practices:	Reading / Writing / Speaking / Listening / Viewing / Cultural Understanding
Grammar Focus:	Modal verbs
Main Objectives:
Students will be able to reflect on and express their own associations with the concepts of possibility, impossibility, and motivation and how these are shaped by the cultures within which we live; compare and contrast these ideas to the perspectives expressed in a popular song; understand and interpret the use of modal verbs and other markers of modality as a means of expressing possibility (especially in the form of wishes, needs, and obligations); and express personal and professional motivation(s) in the form of other popular media, e.g. a motivational poster, a meme, or an email signature. Texts, Genres & Practices Listening to and viewing the music video for “Müssen nur wollen” by Wir sind Helden, a song which plays with modal verbs in order to express a critical view on expectations and obligations placed on individuals in society; Analyzing and interpreting key phrases in the lyrics through the use of translation; Designing a motivational poster, meme, and / or an email signature, which expresses a belief or value about possibilities and opportunities. Cultural Knowledge & Perspectives Comparing and contrasting beliefs and values surrounding possibilities, opportunities, and motivation as expressed in German and American popular media, including a pop song, motivational posters, memes, etc. Play with cultural expectations, beliefs and values about personal and professional motivations and the limits of opportunity. Language Use & Language Play Grammar play with modal verbs and other expressions of modality as they are used to express wants, desires, abilities, and opportunities, and with intended meanings. Culture play with intended meaning in varying phrases and cultural values associated with desires and opportunities.
FLLITE Form:	Culture Play, Grammar Play

Rat de ville ou rat des champs ?

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Lesson Title:	Rat de ville ou rat des champs ? [ Town Mouse or Country Mouse? ]
Lesson Author:	David Barny
Instructional Language:	French / English
Level of Activities:	College / 2. year / Intermediate
Text Title:	Nouillorc
Text Language:	French
FLLITE Form:	Culture Play, Genre Play, Perspective Play, Sound Play, Visual Play, Word Play

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Text
Text Title:	Nouillorc
Text Language:	French
Text Author:	Olivier Amsellem, Sébastien Pierre, Sylvain Thirache, Alexander Kalchev
Genre:	Advertisements and Personal ads / Image
Topic:	Travel and Vacation
Lesson
Lesson Title:	Rat de ville ou rat des champs ? [ Town Mouse or Country Mouse? ]
Instructional Language:	French / English
Lesson Author:	David Barny
Level of Activities:	College / 2. year / Intermediate
Pedagogical Practices:	Reading / Writing / Speaking / Listening
Grammar Focus:	Negation
Main Objectives:
This lesson is designed around one of the posters for an ad campaign by the French National Railway Company SNCF (Société nationale des chemins de fer français). This ad plays on the sounds of the French language and the imagery of the French countryside by comparing it humorously to the sounds of English and the expected imagery of global metropolises. Through humor, this artifact leads the learners to wonder about the relationship between urban and rural cultures/perspectives in France? Does this type of power relationship exist between their native urban and rural cultures? Does it surface in specific cultural practices? Additionally, students will reflect on advertising strategies in the target culture, while considering the different types of negation in French and their uses. The final task is designed as a team effort. Student will script and design their own parody of a commercial promoting their college town by reinvesting the semiotic codes they noticed in the various documents under study. This lesson can easily be implemented in most textbook-based curricula, as these typically include a thematic unit of tourism and traveling, although they rarely, if ever, discuss the issue of centralization and rural desertification. Texts, Genres & Practices Reading, watching, listening and interpreting the languaculture behind satirical texts (billboards, commercials, comedy sketches) Reading and analyzing a short touristic text on Auvergne (blog) Writing/Designing a script for a satirical commercial promoting a college town Presenting (through promoting) a tourist destination Cultural Knowledge & Perspectives Analyze French examples of satirical discourse. Conceive advertising as a satirical tool Reflect on the on the part of humor that is culture specific. Compare French advertising with equivalents in the learners’ native culture Discover historical and cultural aspects of French demographics and geography Language Use & Language Play Word play / Sound play: Subversion of the French phonetic inventory to create rural metropolises. Visual play: subversion of rural semiotics (reinterpreting the visual identity of the French countryside). Culture play: subversion of the theme of rural exodus. Genre play / Perspective play: subversion of the advertising genre by adopting a negative perspective. Language Skills: viewing, reading, listening, writing, speaking, cultural understanding
FLLITE Form:	Culture Play, Genre Play, Perspective Play, Sound Play, Visual Play, Word Play

Chante l’amour, chante !

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Lesson Title:	Chante l’amour, chante ! [ Sing love, sing! ]
Lesson Author:	Marylise Rilliard
Instructional Language:	French / English
Level of Activities:	High school, College / 1. year / Novice
Text Title:	Carmen
Text Language:	French
FLLITE Form:	Culture Play, Genre Play, Grammar Play, Perspective Play, Sound Play

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Text
Text Title:	Carmen
Text Language:	French
Text Author:	Stromae
Genre:	Music and Music Videos
Topic:	Family, Friendships, and Relationships / Media and Technology
Lesson
Lesson Title:	Chante l’amour, chante ! [ Sing love, sing! ]
Instructional Language:	French / English
Lesson Author:	Marylise Rilliard
Level of Activities:	High school, College / 1. year / Novice
Pedagogical Practices:	Reading / Writing / Listening / Viewing / Cultural Understanding
Grammar Focus:	Imperative
Main Objectives:
Students will listen to, and read the lyrics of, the song L’amour est un oiseau rebelle by Georges Bizet as an introduction to the theme “love/relationships”. Then, they will watch the video clip and analyze the lyrics of the song Carmen by Stromae, which is directly inspired by the previous song. Students will be able to analyze the effects of the use of lexical fields, borrowings, poetic devices, grammatical tools, music and visuals on a written text. They will make inferences about the intertextuality between the two texts. Students will be able to apply what they learned in their own tweets in the target language to defend a cause or denounce an issue they care about. Texts, Genres & Practices Reading songs as poetry and recognizing stylistic devices typical of the genre. Analyzing how different elements of a song (sounds, visual, etc.) add meaning to/reinforce the meaning of the written text. Reflecting on intertextuality and what it brings to a text. Writing tweets to support a cause/denounce an issue. Being impactful in few words. Cultural Knowledge & Perspectives Connecting texts to social practices and question one’s own social (media) practices. Reflecting on the cultural and social values behind the use of foreign words. Reflecting on appropriate and relevant usage of borrowings. Capitalizing on the affordances of social media practices. Language Use & Language Play Identifying lexical fields and poetic devices and reflecting on their effect. Analyzing the use of tense and pronouns in a warning message. Examining and reflecting on the use of borrowings in a text. Exploring how grammar, lexicon, and sound can be combined to convey meaning effectively.
FLLITE Form:	Culture Play, Genre Play, Grammar Play, Perspective Play, Sound Play