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 Ratings
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| Reviewed: |
Jan 25, 2009 by World Languages Editorial Board |
| Overview: |
Chansons Françaises et Francophones en cours de FLE or French through songs and singing is a collection of streaming mp3s, lyrics, articles, links, handouts centered on music as a pedagogical tool.
It provides students and teachers resources for teaching and learning French using authentic materials, both traditional and contemporary.
It has been created under the FLE label (Français Langue Etrangère) and was partly financed by the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF).
The siteoffers an easy interface to play a selection of songs from French-speaking countries from different continents. Lyrics and chords can be downloaded. Annotations and vocabulary support are available to aid listening comprehension.
There is a growing collection of external links of a musical nature as well as a comprehensive collection of reference materials on using music as an instructional strategy. |
| Learning Goals: |
The author states these goals:
1. To promote French and Francophone cultures
2. To encourage the use of songs in the classroom
3. To provide a resource bank that can grow over time |
| Target Student Population: |
The collection covers a wide target audience from children to graduate students and adult learners.
Faculty members can also benefit from the pedagogical materials on teaching with music. |
| Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills: |
There is something for every level on this site. |
| Type of Material: |
- Collection of streaming MP3, annotated lyrics, chords, articles and links related to songs.
- Collection of French music in the public domain and with permission of other authors who allow free and open access for educational uses.
- Teacher resources. Many links to educative websites.
- Grad students resources for research. Many links to encyclopedic/journalistic information. |
| Recommended Uses: |
This site may be used to:
1. To introduce students to a wide variety of French and Francophone musical genres including comptines,traditional songs, classics and contemporary favorites.
2. To improve listening comprehension in French.
3. To improve cultural sensitivity and awareness.
4. To enhance French language program with engaging activities.
The materials can be used in class or for independent use. |
| Technical Requirements: |
Best viewed with Safari or Firefox |
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| Strengths: |
There is a wide variety of musical genres represented on this site in addition with performances mostly by the author and some other artists whose works were used by their permission.
Supporting materials are numerous and impressive.Downloadable lyrics, vocabulary and chords are available. The vocabulary is explained in French. Some articles are in French. there are many external links to educational sites about how-to use songs in class (with specific examples). There are multiple handouts with a pedagogical purpose. Articles and links give a good cultural picture of Belgium, certain African countries, Canada and France. The article entitled "Pedagogical Approaches" gives instructors a complete set of instructions on how to integrate authentic musical materials in the curriculum in a sound manner. It has pre-class, pre-listening and post listening exercises.
Students will find the variety of musical selections engaging. There are contemporary songs with links to sites aboutthe singer/band, including their own articles and materials. There are many links to related audio/video sites as well. This site is a great resource for student presentations. At the time of the review, the site was clearly up to date.
There is a complete glossary of musical genres for teacher use. The article entitled "Pedagogical Approaches" gives instructors a complete set of instructions on how to integrate authentic musical materials in the curriculum in a sound manner. It has pre-class, pre-listening and post listening exercises.
Students will find the variety of musical selections engaging. |
| Concerns: |
- Most of the articles and explanations are in English. It would be profitable to include more French. Including more French would make it more appealing to an international audience, particularly for Francophone users. |
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Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool |
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| Strengths: |
This site can be useful as a teacher resource as much as for independent study. It can inspire a good assignment and be easily integrated into a curriculum. Teachers can find many useful ideas to incorporate music into lessons or build a lesson around music.
Instructors who find singing themselves uncomfortable can play the songs and display the lyrics on a screen for their students. Sing-alongs give the opportunity to fine-tune pronunciation and articulation and to review vocabulary. Students can also continue to practice songs outside of class from anywhere they have Internet access. Auditory learners will certainly enjoy this site. Music offers the means to combine, culture, listening, vocabulary and even grammar study in one lesson. |
| Concerns: |
The goals on the home page describe the purpose of the site well, however it would be an enhancement to also clearly identify learning objectives and prerequisite knowledge.
The author has taken on an enormous task in performing so many of the traditional songs and songs in the public domain. It would be interesting to include more voices, male and female, young and older, and with different Francophone accents in future recordings. This would add variety and interest to the collection. |
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Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty |
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| Strengths: |
This site is extremely easy to use. The streaming mp3s makes it immediately usable in classroom.
The lack of graphics/pictures avoids slowing down the process. Going from one page to another is very fast. Plus it is commercial free! |
| Concerns: |
The organization of the pages seems sometimes a little bit too linear. The list mode can become frustrating when one is searching for something precise or when one is faced with unknown titles. A little search engine on groups of words from lyrics would be an enhancement.
At the time of the review,there were a few dead links, which is very reasonable considering the number of links provided. |
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