Culture Corner: How to Weave Geography into Your World Language Class

“Where is France?”

My seventh-grade students stared blankly at me.

Finally, one student raised his hand and answered “Arkansas.” I had just mentioned where I was originally from, so he mistakenly thought that must be the same location as France. Boy, did I feel naive for thinking they’d all quickly shout out “Europe.”

I taught French for 14 years in Arkansas and Texas, and believe me—this kind of exchange was not a rare occurrence. In working with teachers across the country, I’ve found this to be an all too familiar occurrence.

Since 2001, U.S. student performance on national geography assessments has decreased, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress. As of 2018, only 25% of students scored proficient or higher in geography. This is a worrying statistic for our world language classrooms, where we strive to help students explore and experience target language cultures and countries. 

What if we took a unique approach to help students learn the location of target language countries rather than just give isolated facts? Here’s an idea to try in your classroom.

1. Assign students to groups of 3-4.  
2. Each group is given a different target language country as a name.
3. Have each group sit in a geographically correct position indicating one country’s location in relation to another country.
4. Throughout the month, have students make comparisons and connections between the target country where they “reside” for the month and their own location. As you teach different themes and topics, allow each group of students to explore that theme in their target countries.
5. Every month, rearrange the groups and/or assign new countries and move students accordingly based on their new country location. Give students a chance to explore the vastness of the target language countries!
    

By incorporating a more hands-on and contextualized approach to geography, we open the doors for students to also improve proficiency. With a little creativity, we can use geography to springboard into all three modes of communication: interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational. The possibilities are endless.

When we expose our students to geography, we’re opening doors to a world they may have never experienced. We’re giving students the opportunity to deepen their understanding of cultures while building their geographical skills. And ultimately, we’re helping our students fall in love with the vastness of the target language world.