French Theater in Production: Lessons from an Intensive Course

While a large body of literature discusses the benefits of using theater in the foreign-language classroom, the opportunities afforded by short-term intensive courses (in summer or January terms) have been relatively understudied. This article outlines the course structure of a three-week intensive course at a small liberal-arts university involving a full-length production of a canonical work of French theater. It discusses the pedagogical benefits of this type of work for helping students develop linguistic skills and critical-thinking skills, while encouraging independent learning and interdisciplinary knowledge transfer.