Building on Successes with Voces Digital French

Salut! Last summer I posted a Go Fund Me request to implement the Voces Digital French (https://www.vocesdigital.com/index.php) curriculum at New Bern High School. I am happy to report that Voces exceeded my already high expectations for this excellent language learning platform. We began the year with entirely remote teaching and gradually transitioned to hybrid learning, with some students on Zoom in the classroom and some at home. All year attendance throughout the school was low, both for remote and physically present students. Not so for French I & II. Grades also plummeted throughout the school, with some teachers reporting high failure rates (90%+). Not so for French, even though Voces is a rigorous program. Likewise, participation was lively, with students raising their Zoom hands, answering questions in French about the many stories in Voces, recording themselves responding in French to homework assignments and making terrific videos of themselves as they narrated the preparation of French dishes and presentation of their favorite wardrobe items. Remembering how terrified I used to be when asked to speak French in high school, I was amazed by how Voces helped students shed reservations and jump right in. The students’ willingness to speak French quickly brought about a delightful camaraderie amid which students’ best qualities shone forth.

One aspect of Voces that students really liked was the inclusion of stories, articles, and videos about Francophone countries. Who would have guessed that Burkina Faso would inspire such enthusiasm? Approximately half my students are African American, but the interest in former French colonies in Africa was universal. Each unit features three geographical areas – France, other French speaking cultures in Europe and postcolonial cultures (Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, Canada, and Africa). “More Africa,” was a request from French II and Voces is flexible in a way that allowed me to easily accommodate “More Africa.”

My two French classes last year responded so favorably that the school has now doubled my French classes. But I have been informed that there are again no district funds to pay for Voces or any student materials. So, I return to you, dear, reader. As I wrote last year, there are no student French books. I know this must sound incredible. I can hardly believe the predicament I am describing more than double the students, high success rate, but no books, digital or otherwise.

However, all students have fancy new iPads with attached keyboards, loaded with apps. So, Voces Digital, with its rich audio, video and assessment options, is perfect and makes grading quick and easy. Fast feedback is so important to motivate students. With more than twice the students I had last year, the streamlined grading features of Voces will be even more valuable in the upcoming year.

The cost of the basic French I and II digital books is $999 for a year’s subscription.

Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions you may have. Any donations more than the $999 for Voces digital “books” for French I and II, will go to other teaching expenses, like novellas, renting or buying French films and other supplementary course enhancement.