AbstractThis study expands on existing notions of foreign language literacy and critical
literacies by positing students’ voices as central to the development of critical literacies
in a foreign language. From this expanded definition, a pedagogical approach
using the slam poetry art form was designed and integrated into a standard
intermediate curriculum (French 201) to foster critical literacies. Students were
asked to analyze and (re)produce slam poems, and qualitative data were collected
to investigate how the pedagogical approach influenced student learning. Findings
indicated that most students valued the opportunity to practice linguistic features
(i.e., grammar points) by producing work that was of personal importance to them.
While students were not always aware of their own linguistic progress and critical
literacies development, their final slam poems revealed important efforts to convey
their sense of self as well as their “cross-cultural awareness” in a way that was
often linguistically appropriate and stylistically sophisticated. Student development
of critical literacies in a foreign language is ongoing and extends well beyond
one semester of instructed learning, but this study illustrates potential learning
outcomes, should such a pedagogy be implemented. Finally, practical implications
for LPDs’ supervisory work and suggestions for future research are discussed.
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