Students learn best when they relate to the information. In my AP French course, these seniors need to be able to relate to the material and fully enjoy what they are doing to appreciate the large amount of time and effort that they dedicate to their success in French. Our school is very economically diverse and facing falling enrollment, and a large special education population, to which much money is dedicated. Unfortunately, our foreign language programs are being cut little by little, and our department often gets put on the back burner when it comes to the things we need in our classrooms.
Oftentimes, foreign language is not a top priority because of the obstacles aforementioned. Foreign languages are not required for a graduating senior at our school, so those that take the Advanced Placement language courses are often showing the most initiative and love for the language and culture, and deserve to be rewarded with the best language education possible. They also need to be interested in the topic, which is where "Le Petit Nicolas" comes into play.
Our class needs a class set of the "Petit Nicolas" series of short stories. These are short stories written in the 60's to help to teach a specific grammatical point to French youth, as well as to entertain them. My students are extremely entertained by these stories and enjoy reading them. Since they enjoy them so, they often do not mind the learning and work that comes along with the story itself. They get so engulfed in the story that they actually enjoy learning the point of the day, the vocabulary, and the cultural lessons attached to the stories.
You will make it possible for my students to fully embrace French and their love for the language and ability to learn and communicate in a foreign language. You will build their self-esteem since these stories are very easy reads, and will help them to improve their reading comprehension skills, their ability to discuss French literature, their internal lexicon and grammar, as well as their ability to understand and use important cultural idioms often used in written and spoken speech. Most importantly, you will help them to be successful in the French-speaking world.
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