Friday, December 5, 2014

Vous êtes le prof

UN Audience Profile
Students looking into the field of French teaching will probably be humanities types by nature. They appreciate beauty of presentation and of word (no wonder they chose French... ;) ). They will be taking education classes, of course, along with their regular French curriculum. Depending on which courses they choose to complete, they may or may not learn much about French teaching in the past. Most will do an internship or a study abroad in a francophone country. Any French teaching major will have to complete the PRAXIS exam, and achieve a level of advanced-low at least on an oral proficiency exam. And, of course, they will have to do student teaching or an internship. (In the
internships/study abroads, exams, and final preparations, French teaching students will have the most opportunity to display their communication skills in French and in general.)

DEUX Context
I've gotta lay it down for prospective French teachers: "This is your life. This is your career. This is your chance to do something for others. AND SO, you've gotta do it right. By learning about communication in French teaching, you can help yourself and those you teach succeed. I'm assuming that as a teaching major, you want to make a difference in the world, or at least in the life of one person. By learning more about the history and rhetorical-ness behind your career, you'll be able to do that. And do that better."

TROIS Rhetoric
I feel like most of the "teaching" strategies (involving style, delivery, etc.) will be taught to French teaching students in their education courses and through their internships. That teaching stuff is kinda the same regardless of your subject matter. It's the "French" part that I think I need to concentrate on. Here, topics of invention will come in. In order to persuade students, other teachers, and school boards, students need to understand the main stasis and some of the topics of invention I addressed in that one post. Because most people already understand the words "issue" and "topic," I can probs easily explain what's going on with these rhetorical terms.

QUATRE History
People need to be aware of the major flip-flopping going on in this field. Bringing up the history of French teaching can really help people look at the broader picture of where they will want their students to go, and thus, understand what they should focus on while teaching. I don't think most French students understand what the history of French teaching entails, or how it has changed, or how it could be better.

CINQ Plan
Prospective French teachers need skill in their language, above all else, but they also need rhetorical skill to acquire and keep French students. It sounds contrived (as we know rhetoric sometimes can), but really. French teachers need to know not how to persuade students that French is the best, but to show them why it is worth studying and prepare them to use it in the future. In order to do that, they need to know their history and use some rhetoric.

I could look into some more rhetorical topics that French teachers specifically could use, as well as research more about the success of modern French teaching strategies in the U.S. and around the world. For me, it's more about explaining how historical and rhetorical knowledge can improve the field rather than just explaining what French teaching is or what will be required of them in that career. I think with that approach, I'll be able to provide a new and meaningful view of the French teaching profession.

2 comments:

  1. As someone who once explored the English Teaching profession, I do believe that the concepts required for that field and this French Teaching field are just about identical, save for the difference of language. The teacher needs to know their subject, but they also need to know how to teach it. For example, seeing as you are intending to teach a language, what method for doing so would be best? Would talking only in French be best? French, then explanation in native language? What about splitting the week up between French and explanation days alternating? Would these different approaches yield different effects, or would they be relevant at all to your paper? Whichever way, nice job on your outline!

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  2. Translation has similar skills that a language teacher has, especially the language proficiency required. knowing how to communicate to someone on a level that can both be professional and engaging is a very useful trait, especially if you want to teach middle school! I really liked how you were able to project the individual perspectives from each of your blog posts as you wrote this compilation. I believer the term would be magnifique!

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