Le
Déserteur
Created by Ann LeClair-Ash
Auburn
University
Dr. Edna
Brabham
CTRD
6710/6716
Introduction
Please direct the students to the following site so that they can read and complete all activities in French.
Link to Student Page
http://www.auburn.edu/~leclair/Student.html
Official website for Boris Vian
Audio & Images of Boris Vian, singing Le Déserteur
Serge Reggiani singing Le Déserteur
This audio features
a prelude of "Le Dormeur du Val" as well as images by Gauguin
URL:
official website:
http://www.borisvian.org/
web location with audio and images of Boris Vian:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9004654853796139121
web location
with audio of Serge Regianni:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SJzWhJ2RMI&NR=1
Boris Vian Official Website. Retrieved 11 November 2006 <http:www.borisvian.org>
Le Déserteur. Lyrics in English. Retrieved 25 October 2006 <http://www.swans.com/library/art7/xxx071.html>
Le Déserteur. Audio and Images. Retrieved 25 October 2006 <
French-Algerian War. Information and Photos. Retrieved 25 October <http://jyjaffres.club.fr/JYJ/photos.html>
Lee, James & Bill VanPatten. Making Communicative Language Teaching Happen. New York, NY: McGraw Hill, 2003.
Boris Vian was an
accomplished French musician and songwriter. He wrote
numerous songs and played in the jazz and music halls of Paris.
The source of most of this information is from the official
Boris Vian website. The official website is maintained by the
members of the
Fond'action
Boris Vian. Some of its governing members include his
first and second wife as well as his son, Patrick Vian.
This Reading-Learning plan is designed using Lee & Van Patten's
framework for helping L2 learners comprehend written language.
The steps include: preparation, guided interaction, assimilation
and personalization.
Students will use the lyrics and their concepts to
practice the four skills of reading, writing, listening and
speaking. While there is a variety of grammar, vocabulary
and verb tenses, the lyrics are relatively easy in
comprehensibility. However, if the purpose is to discuss
and express opinions concerning the content, more complex speech
and writing (using structures such as the subjunctive and si-clauses),
are necessary. Therefore, this Reading-Learning plan is
more appropriate for the student in upper-level or AP French in
high school or the third year student in college French.
This plan includes lyrics and links to audio and the song
warrants some discussion of the difference in pronouncing poetry
and lyrics as opposed to normal discourse.
Students will:
1. interpret a French song written and sung by Boris Vian.
2. use critical thinking in order to discuss and express
opinions about the content of the song.
3. apply the subjunctive, the conditional and si-clauses
to express their opinions.
4. enrich their own vocabulary through supplementary
activities
5. enrich their knowledge of history through supplementary
activities
Communication: Communicate in Languages Other than English
Standard
1.1: Students engage in conversations, provide and obtain
information, express feelings and emotions, and exchange
opinions.
Standard
1.2: Students understand and interpret written and spoken
language on a variety of topics.
Standard
1.3: Students present information, concepts, and ideas to
an audience of listeners or readers on a variety of topics.
Cultures:
Gain Knowledge and Understanding of Other Cultures
Standard
2.1: Students demonstrate an understanding of the
relationship between the practices and perspectives of the
culture studied.
Standard 2.2:
Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship
between the products and perspectives of the culture studied.
Connections:
Connect with Other Disciplines and Acquire Information
Standard
3.1: Students reinforce and further their knowledge of
other disciplines through the foreign language.
Standard
3.2: Students acquire information and recognize the
distinctive viewpoints that are only available through the
foreign language and its cultures.
Comparisons:
Develop Insight into the Nature of Language and Culture
Standard 4.1:
Students demonstrate understanding of the nature of language
through comparisons of the language studied and their own.
Standard
4.2: Students demonstrate understanding of the concept of
the culture through comparisons of the cultures studied and
their own.
Standard
5.1: Students use the language both within and beyond the
school setting.
Standard
5.2: Students show evidence of becoming life-long learners
by using language for personal enjoyment and enrichment.
Readability
Using Fry's Readability
Statistics for French artificially increased the grade level of
this song. It was difficult to calculate the sentence
breaks since the song is much like poetry. Furthermore, in
French, more syllables are pronounced in song and poetry than in
normal discourse. When calculating the readability level
of the lyrics as pronounced in normal discourse, the level was
11.05. When calculating the readability level as
pronounced in song or poetry, the level was 12.76. In a
French L2 environment (upper level), this formula and
calculation might seem appropriate. However, if these
statistics are meant for the native French speaker who is
reading French texts, it is an inaccurate measure.
Two passages of 100 words were calculated
(the song is 122 words).
_______________________________________________________________________________
Pronounced in normal discourse
Pronounced as a song or poem
Passage #1 Passage #2
Passage #1 Passage #2
_______________________________________________________________________________
# of Words
- 33 (estimate for French)
94 words 94 words
105 words 145 words
9 sent.
8 sent.
9 sent.
9 sent.
188 words / 17 sentences
217 words / 17 sentences
_______________________________________________________________________________
Readability Level
by Grade
11.05
12.76
_______________________________________________________________________________
Avg. Readability Level for Tex t =
12th grade
_______________________________________________________________________________
There was some variability in the readability statistics for the two passages. Sentence breaks were difficult to discern. In passage 2, there is a sentence with 34 words which contains a semi colon plus four command phrases. This artificially increased the number of words per sentence in this passage. There are some phrases and words that repeat. The vocabulary and sentence structure is fairly simple. However, there are concepts which are addressed in the guided interaction activities which will help in comprehension of the cultural aspects of the song. The factors and features which make the readability level of this text appropriate for upper level French students are the varied tenses, the message and the concepts. It is poetic and set to music in a sad melody. The message and concepts are interesting and pertinent and motivate students to use French at higher levels to express their opinions.
Structure
The structure
of the song helps readers comprehend the lyrics. In the
song, the singer explains all of the circumstances which led to
his decision to desert. Using the verb tenses, the reader
can identify cause and effect relationships that led to his
decision. In three instances, the singer calls out to "Le
Président" to tell him why he will not fight. This brings the
reader back to the original purpose of the song which is
a letter to the Président
explaining why he is deserting.
Coherence & Audience Appropriateness
The words are coherent and logical and main ideas and concepts are explicitly stated. The song is appropriate for an upper-level French student in high school or in college. While the vocabulary of the song could be understood by a second year French student, the concepts are more appropriate for a student in an upper-level class. Furthermore, more control of the language is necessary to address the questions in discussion and in writing. This text activates prior knowledge because students will be able to identify with war in some capacity, since our country has been at war during their lifetime. It will also expand on their knowledge by learning about French history and war.
Steps
in Comprehension and Tasks
1. Preparation
(This step activates
background knowledge which will heighten comprehension.)
Ask students to say what comes to
mind when they think of the words: liberty, war, peace and
pacifism.
2. Guided Interaction
(This step allows readers to explore the content in manageable steps and to verify understanding.)
A.
Students will listen to the song, without looking at the lyrics.
Discuss whether it seems happy or sad and why. *The French
link to audio is at the top of this web page.
B. Then, students will listen to the song while following
along to the lyrics.
Scenes from French-Algerian
War, photos by J-Y Jaffrès
left: French soldiers in Algeria, right: mother and two
children from Grande Kabylie
Le déserteur
Paroles: Boris Vian
Musique:
Harold Berg 1954
Autres
interprètes: Serge
Reggiani, Richard Anthony, Claude
Vinci
note:
voir aussi
la version par Mouloudji
Audio & Images of Boris Vian, singing Le Déserteur
1
Monsieur le Président
2
Je vous fais une lettre
3
Que vous lirez peut-être
4
Si vous avez le temps
5
Je viens de recevoir
6
Mes papiers militaires
7
Pour partir à la guerre
8
Avant mercredi soir
9
Monsieur le Président
10
Je ne veux pas le faire
11
Je ne suis pas sur terre
12
Pour tuer des pauvres gens
13
C'est pas pour vous fâcher
14
Il faut que je vous dise
15
Ma décision est prise
16
Je m'en vais déserter
17
Depuis que je suis né
18
J'ai vu mourir mon père
19
J'ai vu partir mes frères
20
Et pleurer mes enfants
21
Ma mère a tant souffert
22
Elle est dedans sa tombe
23
Et se moque des bombes
24
Et se moque des vers
25
Quand j'étais prisonnier
26
On m'a volé ma femme
27
On m'a volé mon *âme
28
Et tout mon cher passé
29
Demain de bon matin
30
Je fermerai ma porte
31
Au nez des années mortes
32
J'irai sur les chemins
33
Je *mendierai ma vie
34
Sur les routes de France
35
De Bretagne en Provence
36
Et je dirai aux gens:
37
Refusez d'obéir
38
Refusez de la faire
39
N'allez pas à la guerre
40
Refusez de partir
41
S'il faut donner son sang
42
Allez donner la vôtre
43
Vous êtes
bon *apôtre
44
Monsieur Président
45
Si vous
me poursuivez
46
Prévenez vos
*gendarmes
47
Que j'aurai
pas d'armes
48
Et qu'ils
pourront tirer
*âme = l'ésprit profond d'un être vivant
*mendier = vivre dans la rue et demander de l’argent, de la nourriture
*apôtre = assistant, messager de Jésus-Christ.
Note:
La version ititiale des 2
derniers vers
était:
“que je
tiendrai une
arme,
et
que je
Boris Vian a
accepté la modification de son
ami Mouloudji
pour conserver la côté
pacifiste de la chanson!
C.
Finally, students will study the lyrics and answer multiple
choice questions. The multiple choice questions are in
French and in the link for the students. You can give them the
correct answers to the questions when they are finished: lines 1
- 8 (b), lines 9 - 16 (c), lines 17 - 28 (c), lines 29 - 36 (a),
lines 37 - 48 (a).
*Supplementary
guided interaction activity
While vocabulary, grammar and verb tenses are comprehensible to
this level of student, certain cultural concepts may be lacking.
For this reason, students will do a Jigsaw activity to research
the following topics which are important for this song: Boris
Vian, the French-Algerian War, FLN (Front de la Libération
Nationale) and L'Abbé-Pierre. Students can do some
research and preparation as homework or in class, depending on
how much time is allotted for this lesson.
Jigsaw Activity
A) The teacher will place students in groups of 4. If the
last group has 5 - 7 students, these extra group members may be
partnered with student #1, #2 and #3 in that same group.Within
respective groups, each student (or students) will be given a
topic to research. Individually (at home) or in groups (in
class), students will research their topic. There are
not specific questions to be addressed. Rather,
students should be able to explain who, what, why, where,
when, how and any other important information regarding their
topic.
Students #1: Boris Vian
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Vian
http://www.proverbes-citations.com/vian.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfbRzfuoIBs&NR=1
http://www.alliancefrancaise.com.hk/paroles/numeros/187/03.html
http://www.borisvian.org/
Students #2: French-Algerian War (La
Guerre d'Algérie)
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guerre_d'Alg%C3%A9rie
http://jyjaffres.club.fr/JYJ/photos.html
Students #3: (Front de la Libération
Nationale)
http://algerian-history.info/fln.htm
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Front_de_lib%C3%A9ration_nationale_%28Alg%C3%A9rie%29
http://www.hist-geo.com/Glossaire/FLN.php
Students #4: L'Abbé Pierre
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abb%C3%A9_Pierre
http://www.evene.fr/celebre/biographie/abbe-pierre-2543.php
http://www.fraternet.com/magazine/etre1706.htm
*all research
must be done in French. Students will be expected to explain
what they have found and therefore must be familiar with the
French vocabulary of their topic.
B) After researching, they are to form groups with students of
the same number. For example, all students who are #1 will form
a group, students who are #2 will form a group, and so forth.
These are the
expert
groups. Within the expert groups, students will
share what they have learned. When they have become
experts on their topic, they will share this information with
the students in their original group. All discussion
must be in French.
C) Students will return to their original groups. Each student
should now be able to teach their topic to fellow group members.
For example, students #1 will be able to teach their fellow
group members about Boris Vian, students #2 will be able to
teach fellow group members about the French-Algerian War, etc.
3.
Assimilation
(This step allows
readers to learn from what they have read. In order to apply
knowledge of verb tenses in a way to show cause and effect, a
way to organize it is presented here.)
passé composé
passé récent
présent
futur proche
futur
& imparfait
présent du subjonctif
imperatif
_____________________ _____________________
______________________
_____________________ __________________
_____________________ _____________________
______________________
_____________________ __________________
_____________________ _____________________
______________________
_____________________ __________________
_____________________ _____________________
______________________
_____________________ __________________
_____________________ _____________________
______________________
_____________________ __________________
_____________________ _____________________
______________________
_____________________ __________________
_____________________ _____________________ ______________________ _____________________ __________________
B. Within the small groups, each student will refer to the
chart and use it to summarize the main actions and concepts of
the song. When summarizing, they should be able to explain
"What happened in his life?", "Why is he writing a letter?",
"What is he going to do?" "What will he tell other
people"? This is an oral activity and all discussion must
be in French.
C. As a group, discuss "Si vous étiez le chanteur, que
feriez-vous?" (If you were the singer, what would you do?")
4.
Personalization
(This
step provides the readers opportunities to apply the new
information and concepts to their own lives in meaningful ways).
A. Discussion
Within the same small groups, take a few minutes to discuss each
question. Then, as a class, some questions will be
discussed at greater length.
-
Aujourd’hui, la participation à la guerre est volontaire. Est-ce que c'est une solution à la pacifisme?
Today, participation in war is voluntary (meaning Americans
choose to enter the military). Is this a solution to pacifism?
-
Faut-il avoir la guerre pour arriver à la paix ou à la liberté? Pourquoi?
Is it necessary to have war in order to have peace or liberty?
-
Y a-t-il des circonstances quand la guerre est une solution? Pourquoi? Quand? Pourriez-vous donner des exemples...
Are there circumstances when war is a solution? When? Give
some examples...
-
Dans notre histoire, est-ce qu'il y a eu des guerres auquel les gens ne voulaient pas participer? Quand? Pourquoi? Qu'est-ce qu'ils ont fait?
In
our history, were there wars in which people did not want to
participate? When? Why? What did they do?
-
Si c’était aujourd’hui que vous deviez partir à la guerre, que feriez-vous? Pourquoi?
If today you had to go to war, what would you do? Why?
-
Est-ce la liberté est importante? A quel prix?
Is liberty important? At what price?
B.
Writing activity
Choose one of the
following activities. Your grade will be based on the
rubric below.
- Write a letter to our President explaining why you would or would not participate in a war (175 - 200 words).
- Write a poem or song about your feelings concerning participating or not participating in a war (80- 120 words).
|
|
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
|
COMMUNICATION
Writing a letter, song or poem
about why you would or would not
go to war |
|
incomprehensible
inappropriate content
inadequate number of words
|
mostly:
inappropriate content
|
generally: comprehensible
appropriate content
sufficient number of words |
predominantly:
appropriate content
of words |
comprehensible
appropriate content thoroughly answered question and gave supporting arguments |
|
ACCURACY OF THE WRITTEN
LANGUAGE
Demonstrates control of:
Spelling, verb forms
level appropriate grammar |
|
excessive errors in spelling, verbs and grammar |
errors interfere
with
communication
|
predictable usage
errors for level errors may interfere with communication
|
proficient and accurate language
usage
errors do not interfere with
communication
|
highly proficient and accurate
language usage
and is
free of significant errors |
|
COMPLEXITY OF THE WRITTEN
LANGUAGE
Demonstrates attempt to use more
sophisticated grammar, verbs and
vocabulary |
|
uses only simple grammar, verbs
and vocabulary
limited or repetitious |
mostly simple grammar, verbs and
vocabulary
|
Uses a few complex structures
or
Verbs
or
vocabulary
maybe be limited or repetitious in detail |
uses some complex grammatical
structures, verbs and vocabulary
little repetition
detailed
|
highly
proficient in
use of complex
grammatical
structures,
verbs and
vocabulary
no
repetition
varied in detail
|
|
ORGANIZATION |
|
illogical
and
disorganized |
|
generally logical
lacks flow
few or no transitions |
is
logical and well-ordered
flows smoothly most of the time
has some transitions |
logical and well
flows smoothly
throughout
has varied transitions |
Videoclip
URLs
Lyrics:
http://paroles.net/chansons/30113.htm
Videoclip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJY8fhGTMU0
any suggestions for improving this site and lesson!
Merci