By using a content-based approach, I work from the pretext of the "content" that I want my students to learn, for example: social issues such as unemployment or the change in how much bread French people buy; cultural issues such as the integration of francophone peoples into the "Hexagone"; literary issues such as the role of female francophone African writers; or linguistic issues such as the use of regional languages and the changes being effected in the French language. From there, having chosen the content of the curriculum, I plan what language skills the students will need to practice their listening skills, discuss, read, write and present about the topics. The content motivates the curriculum, and the grammar is a tool for the students to discuss the content while practicing their language skills.
To supplement their second or third year courses, instructors need materials to help students apply previously learned linguistic knowledge to their further exploration of French and francophone cultures. Many textbooks have been written, but they are either meant to be used as primary course textbooks or to teach grammar, and are not intended to introduce content while reviewing (or teaching) grammar. Moreover, traditional grammar workbooks can be tedious and are sometimes not user-friendly, from both the teachers' and the students' points of view. In addition, the topics around which they are written are mostly hackneyed themes or repeated from first year textbooks, not interesting to our more sophisticated second- and third-year students. So while current textbooks teach around themes and provide grammar practice, they do not present information within a systematically contextualized or content-based framework.
You'll notice that the chapters provide only excerpts of the literary works cited. Giving second- and third-year students only small excerpts (perhaps 400-500 words) is criticized because some instructors believe that students at these levels need to learn to read longer, more complicated works, in order to develop their reading skills. I agree fully with this notion. The problem with suggesting a longer text for this type of grammar work, however, is not logical. Students who use the type of materials presented here are not learning to read; they are learning vocabulary, culture, and reviewing (or learning) grammar. While a longer text might improve their reading skills, the text here serves only as the context by which the vocabulary, culture, and grammar are introduced and/or taught. There is nothing to prevent any instructor from assigning a longer work or text to the students, or indeed, introducing the full text upon which the chapter is based, after the students have been exposed to the chapter's exercises.
These sample chapters (in pdf format, you'll need Adobe Acrobat to open them) are my personal work and invention, done with feedback from several sources over the past four years. If anyone wishes to use these sample materials, they are free to do so. However, since the chapters are based on published, copyrighted materials, purchase of the literary work is required per copyright laws. Additionally, there are some "Rappels" which have not been completed. If you wish to share, please do so and I shall give credit accordingly. Most especially, I welcome corrections to the written French.
Finally, I have begun research in the fields of content-based teaching, looking at what studies have shown regarding "efficient" ways of teaching, for example, vocabulary, and I invite you to look at the content-based presentation from ACTFL 2001. You will perhaps notice that despite the research, some of the chaper materials presented here appear to go against the suggestions listed in the presentation and in the research. Think about how you might change the grammar text materials shown here, in order to improve their presentation to the students. As always, send me your suggestions, and I'll share them with interested teachers.
If you wish to be kept current on the distribution list regarding the materials here, to share your materials that I can add to this site (for these or different texts), or to send me comments and suggestions, please send email to byoungs@andrew.cmu.edu
Chapitre 2: Awa la petite marchande par Nafissatou Niang Diallo
Communiquer - La Vie de tous les jours; Parler de soi-même
Chapitre 3: "L'Orchestre de Lille", article du Journal France-Amérique
Décrire - Les Loisirs; Parler de soi-même
Chapitre 5: "Prière d'un petit enfant nègre" par Guy Tirolien
S'Interroger - L'Ecole et le Travail; Parler des changements dans sa vie, à l'école, au travail
Chapitre 7: La Statue de sel par Albert Memmi
Narrer - La Jeunesse; Raconter une histoire
Chapitre 8: Les Récrés du petit Nicolas par Jean-Jacques Sempé et René Goscinny
Narrer - La Jeunesse; Raconter une histoire