Teaching Afro‐French Literature in the American Secondary School: A New Dimension*

ABSTRACT  Today, French teachers are eager to include in the curriculum of the secondary school learning experiences in African literature and culture of French expression. Literary works by francophone African and Caribbean authors are progressively becoming more accessible to the classroom teacher. Written in standard French by authors of no meager literary talent, Afro‐French literature can add a new dimension to the study of French in the secondary school. Integration of Afro‐French literature and culture into the French curriculum demands that the teacher give careful thought to the following: course aims and objectives, level of language mastery, preparation of the teacher, availability of adequate teaching materials, effective teaching techniques and strategies. Unfamiliarity with precolonial Black Africa—its history, institutions, customs, and beliefs—makes an article on the teaching of Afro‐French literature and culture necessary and timely. Inasmuch as most black writers turn to precolonial Africa for their sources and inspiration, the classroom teacher has no alternative but to become knowledgeable about Africa past and present. This article on the teaching of Afro‐French literature in the secondary school is an effort to provide the classroom teacher with important background information, suggested classroom materials, and teaching techniques for enriching the teaching‐learning experience in French.