Promoting Transcultural Reflection in the French Class through an emblematic Painting by a contemporary Acadian Artist

Abstract

By means of the contemporary remake of a very meaningful work of art for the Acadians (the first French-speaking settlers in the Americas), this paper presents a pedagogical approach for French learners by exposing them to the history of the Acadian people through reflection of a transcultural nature. In an initial stage, the reader will be familiarized with the notion of transculturality as a key element to grasp the contemporary global culture. In a second stage, the French teacher will find a concrete didactic proposal which will promote among students the discovery of a historical milestone in Acadian history: the Great Expulsion –also called the Great Upheaval–, by means of Acadian artist Mario Doucette’s contemporary work of art. The suggested tasks will allow the teacher to involve his students in a discussion inherently transcultural, without passing over the practice of concrete linguistic aspects in the target language. In a final stage, the concept of transculturality will be reviewed in order to highlight its importance within the framework of the didactics of foreign languages-cultures and to emphasize its hopeful potential.