In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Reviews 283 and includes a transcription, comprehension questions, vocabulary, and a culture section (Documents) covering a wide range of contemporary and historical topics presented through literary excerpts, mini-portraits of famous Francophones, comics, newspaper and magazine excerpts, jokes, and short readings. New to this edition is the expansion of Documents to include songs and new information about Francophone cultures, the use of color illustrations throughout, and new segments (Le journal de Marie-Laure) in which Mireille’s younger sister (a prominent character in the video) discusses her life, society, and culture through journal entries dating from the 1980s as well as via Twitter postings. These segments give learners a personalized, more profound view of many aspects of French culture in an engaging format that seeks to go beyond mere facts and promote genuine cultural understanding. The workbook provides additional support for the video, extensive training in pronunciation (rare in contemporary textbooks) and a thorough treatment of grammar. Ancillaries include a test bank, an instructor’s manual (with instructions for presenting the videos), an audio series, an optional study guide (suitable for distance learning or self-study), and the online video series: . Instructors accustomed to contemporary textbooks may criticize the FIA approach on several accounts: the extensive written scripts, the focus on comprehension questions and controlled activities, and the comparatively small number of open-ended communicative activities. Similarly, course delivery is traditional: while an e-textbook is available, the workbook remains paper-and-pencil only, and some instructors may prefer a centralized course management platform. Finally, the original 1987 videos may appear dated at times, and their depictions of some aspects of French culture, which have since changed, have been the subject of criticism over the years, including sexism. The authors address these issues at various points throughout the textbook; however, FIA may need to make additional changes in order to compete with other offerings in the future. In addition to course delivery options, dated or potentially problematic aspects of the video segments may need to be removed, edited, or supplemented, and more opportunities for independent creative output would be welcome. Still, the third edition of French in Action remains an attractive option, providing an exceptionally rich source of authentic language input,an appealing video component,and a thorough treatment of culture, contextualized in an immersion-like format that promises to capture student interest and encourage the development of solid proficiency skills. Texas Tech University Joseph Edward Price Houdart-Merot,Violaine, et Christine Mongenot, éd.Pratiques d’écriture littéraire à l’université. Paris: Champion, 2013. ISBN 978-2-7453-2620-1. Pp. 430. 65 a. Judging from this book’s title and its appearance in the Methods and Materials rubric, I was initially surprised upon reading the table of contents. I had been expecting to find instructional material similar to Tâches d’encre (Cengage, 2011) or Apprivoiser l’écrit (Canadian Scholars, 2003). I found instead an edited volume of theoretical essays treating the history, practice, and study of creative writing—“ateliers d’écriture”—in various French universities. After shifting my expectations, I was not entirely disappointed. Houdart-Merot and Mongenot have organized twenty-two essays across four sections. Contributors are all faculty of various backgrounds and experiences throughout France (with one at Université de Genève). Part anecdotal and case study-like but mostly theoretical and descriptive, this book takes the reader through various perspectives and research concerns addressing the role and place of writing (more specifically creative writing) in the teaching of literature in secondary and higher education. One may sum up the work as an in-depth academic discussion of the traditional French model of teaching literature “comme modèles d’écriture” and its more recent undertaking of “la culture du commentaire” (7)—in which “la dissertation,”“l’explication,”or“le commentaire de textes”reign—in contrast to other academic systems in the world and their divergent approaches to the teaching of literature in tandem (or at least with a nod to) the field of creative writing. To provide a sense of the scope of this volume, its section titles are: “Les universités françaises: contexte historique, théorique et institutionnel”; “Regarder ailleurs: des pratiques d’écriture...

pdf

Share