Objective

The objective of this program is to create an environment which, through the double process of immersion and interaction, is as close to the natural one as possible: where language takes back its primary function, as a tool for communication, and where the language learning process becomes experiential. The specific goal is to develop the users’ understanding of authentic spoken French by motivating them to understand what they see, hear and read.

Problem

Usually, students have a hard time understanding authentic spoken French as it is fast-paced, difficult to comprehend and the context is often unclear. Plus they lack intrinsic motivation in trying to understand, as there usually is nothing at stake. Here, students are motivated to understand as, in the process of searching for an apartment, they may uncover information that will help them with their task.

Subject

“A la rencontre de Philippe” is an interactive fiction, filmed in Paris, which puts learners in the middle of a story, of which they become the central character. The story branches out in different ways, depending upon what students do, which in turn depends on what they understand. In the process of involving students in a story, “A la rencontre de Philippe” also involves them in the language learning process.

Context

This is the story of a young freelance journalist who has many problems: money problems, job problems and problems with his girlfriend.

Philippe’s girlfriend dumps him

Indeed, when the film begins, we find out that Elisabeth has just thrown him out of the apartment they have been sharing for the last three months.

Philippe quickly needs to find himself another place to stay and enlists the student’s help in locating one. (Click on image to enlarge.)

Thus enters the student. In the process of helping Philippe, students wander through Paris, and with the help of a map,

Philippe shows where he lives.

Philippe shows all of the things the student can use

a newspaper, an answering machine, a telephone and a dossier, will try to find a solution to Philippe’s problems.

A rendezvous with Philippe

Delivery

This program takes a fundamentally different approach from the traditional one: it first immerses the user in a linguistically and culturally authentic world and then provides them with two sets of tools: tools to understand what people are saying, and also (and this is what makes this program unique) tools to function within the story. The tools enabling the user to understand include: the ability to stop the video on demand, to repeat segments, to access key words, a transcription, a glossary, a second audio track, self-test quizzes, etc…

In this environment, students try to understand not for the sake of understanding, but in order to accomplish a task: that of finding an apartment for Philippe. Here, students are constantly and actively engaged and the learning is exploratory. There are no right or wrong answers, only consequences to what they do or do not do. The story and the game quality of the program act as powerful motivators.

Other features

The fiction constitutes the core of the program, but other auxiliary features also exist, that can be used independently. They are:

• the MFI (Multiple Index Functions) which is an instantaneously accessible database of images and video segments arranged according to different categories. This MFI is modifiable by the teacher.
• a video album which allows students to edit the film and create their own collection of images.
• a Visite d’appartements which provides access to eleven different apartment that can be visited and explored.