PCK & Content Guiding Questions - French Cinema in the Classroom

Below are some possible guiding questions to lead me to my inquiry for my capstone project at Saint Mary's College of California (Masters of Arts in Teaching program). My inquiry question, though not fully developed, will revolve around French cinema and teaching foreign language in the high-school classroom:

1) How is French/francophone cinema different from American/English cinema?

2) Are there resources/locations available for study trips that pertain to French cinema?

3) Would showing French/francophone cinema in high-school level courses help teach students about French/francophone culture?

4) Does foreign language cinema demonstrate cultural nuances better than written text?

5) Can vocabulary and comprehension of slang in a foreign language be improved by viewing foreign language cinema?

6) What pre-film and post-film activities can be developed around a particular film to create an entire unit?

7) What difficulties may come in showing and teaching with French cinema?

8) What opinions exist around the use of English subtitles in showing foreign language films in the secondary classroom?




(Left: Catherine Deneuve in Jacques Demy's Les Parapluies de Cherbourg of 1964)