AATF Convention 2021

The presenters will seek to contextualize French Louisiana and share strategies, materials, & sources related to Louisiana’s Francophonie.
Kress (Carnival Characters—Publishing in French Louisiana) will discuss how French programs privilege the great French classics while giving a nod to the Francophone world. The experience often remains foreign to students who may lack the needed cultural or linguistic sophistication. Yet, Louisiana possesses a venerable French literature that is growing, available, and will not be foreign to students. Build enrollment with American literature—in French!
Lindner (Bringing Louisiana French into French Education in Louisiana) will introduce the evolution of French instruction in Louisiana, from second language lessons to French in immersion programs. The final step is introducing Louisiana French within established programs, introducing students to the unique varieties of French in Louisiana alongside academic French.
Smith (Louisiana French in Remote Teaching) will address the integration of Louisiana French in the transition to remote teaching of lower-level university courses. Building upon the intentional inclusion of Louisiana-focused materials, we have developed resources to integrate new, authentic multimedia materials to make the Francophonie of Louisiana more accessible to students.
White will address some common misunderstandings about Louisiana French. Her presentation will focus on a few lexical items that explain what the Louisiana variety of French has in common with other varieties and what is specifically Louisianian.