About the program
Papiers-Mâchés is designed for college students and individual language learners who want to improve their writing skills in French. The tutorial is also a rich external resource for blended instruction, allowing teachers to extend their support outside of the classroom while focusing on discussions, analysis and collaborative activities in class.
The program offers two workshops: Artisan (intermediate advanced level) and Pénélope (advanced level). Examples of student work are posted on the third module, Mille pattes.
My goal was to develop a comprehensive program encouraging self-learning and discovery. Much like a coach, Papiers-Mâchés explains the rules and provides a strong model students can observe and imitate. It gives a series of constraints targeting grammar, syntax, critical analysis and style. From an educational perspective, it offers individualized instruction facilitating learner’s autonomy. Students progress at their own pace and select activities according to their specific needs and interests.
The tutorial is based on a great selection of texts representing a variety of genres, topics and francophone cultures. These texts have been chosen not only from an academic perspective, but also to broaden students’ interests and to attract independent learners of various ages and cultures. The advanced section of the program, Pénélope, could also be helpful to francophone users.
Pénélope (Advanced French) offers 5 MODULES. Each module first displays several “textes d’observation” accompanied by annotations. These annotations will help you 1. to observe and recognize grammatical structures; 2. to improve your vocabulary, syntax and style; 3. to discern correct answers and interpretations. Each module then offers a serie of exercises where you can test what you have just learned. Finally each module accompanies you through five or more specific writing activities (creative writing, argumentative essays, and critical analysis) by providing step by step instructions, models and suggestions.
Artisan (Intermediate advanced French) shares the same structure of 5 MODULES, with different titles and categories of contents. Like Pénélope, it is based on a series of observations, and you can complete exercises prior to each writing activity. In addition, Artisan offers a module focusing on listening comprehension and oral production (Soufflet), and a cultural section (Pause-café) where you are invited to explore the francophone world online.
Some of the best works of my students – generated in the experimental phase of Pénélope - have been used as models to accompany certain activities.
Please also visit Mille Pattes to read other students’ work created with the program. Both ateliers offer a large selection of external pedagogical websites to review grammatical structures corresponding to the level of each workshop (Boîte à outils & Navette).
Thank you for visiting us, and enjoy the program!
Aline Baehler, 2012/2018
Contact: papiersmaches@nyu.edu
