By Krista Galyon
For the last 30 years, Janelle Wilkinson has been teaching dance and French at Princeton High School. Traditionally, these two disciplines are taught separately. However, this year, Wilkinson took the opportunity to merge the two by teaching her French students West African dance, entirely in French.
A teacher’s love for both dance and French
“Allons-y! Pied droit avec les bras à droite! Pied gauche avec les bras à gauche,” Wilkinson instructs, directing her French students to move right with the arms to the right and then left with the arms to the left. Following her lead, the students add arm circles and turns in each direction. Wilkinson breaks down each movement into a series of small steps, then when the students are ready, puts it all together with the sounds of rhythmic drumming.
Wilkinson’s passion for teaching dance motivates the students to join her on the dance floor. The group, some reluctant at first, begins stepping side to side and forward and backward under Wilkinson’s encouragement. Within minutes, West African music is playing in the background, and the students are stomping to the beat with their arms emphasizing each move.
Wilkinson and her colleague, Gyselle North, teach combined classes of French levels 4, 5 and 6, with a rotating three-year curriculum. This year, the overarching theme is La Francophonie de l’Afrique de l’Ouest, or The French Speaking World of West Africa. Next year, the theme will be La Francophonie de l’Amérique du Nord, The French Speaking World of North America. And during the third year of the rotating curriculum, Wilkinson and North will teach about La Francophonie des Amériques, or The French Speaking World of the Americas, focusing on the Afro-Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe, Martinique and Haiti.
These combined-level classes allow more students to fit French into their schedules all four years, because French 4-5-6 is offered three times a day. When offered separately as French 4, French 5 and French 6, students have a harder time fitting all their required classes and electives into their schedule. That separate format reduces students’ opportunity to continue their study of French after taking French 3 in their freshman year.
“Our French program has grown since we created these combined classes,” says Princeton High School World Language Supervisor Priscilla Russel. “Both our advanced-level students and our regular-level students have the opportunity to continue with French all four years of high school.”
North explained how it’s possible to have such a diverse range of learners in one classroom.
“Our cultural content is the same, but the target levels for spoken and written productions differ,” North says.
“We don’t change the text,” Wilkinson adds. “We change the task for each level.”
A unique curriculum
Ten years ago, Wilkinson and North wrote the three-year rotating curriculum, focusing on the different Francophone regions each year. The basis of this curriculum is to introduce their students to the cultures of various Francophone countries and regions through an exploration of dance, literature, music, art, food, film and current events.
“We cover a whole bunch of interesting topics,” Wilkinson explains. “We learn traditional dance. We learn about, and then share a meal of, traditional dishes like le mafé from Mali and thiboudienne from Senegal. We also explore both traditional and contemporary music, like songs from the famed blind Malian musical duo Amadou et Miriam, as well as pop star Aya Nakamura, who is also from Mali.”
“We always use authentic materials including newspapers, videos and songs to practice reading and listening comprehension,” North adds. “The students also read two volumes from a graphic novel series based in Ivory Coast, titled Aya de Yopougon, by Marguerite Abouet.
“By exposing our students to a three-year curriculum that focuses on the Francophone world, they will graduate with the knowledge that French is not only spoken in France and Europe, but in many regions all over the world,” Wilkinson continues. “Learning another language, in general, helps students understand different cultures and perspectives, and learning about the Francophone world, and specifically Africa, enables students to become informed and involved global citizens who can think critically.”
Russel is proud of the French 4-5-6 curricula written by Wilkinson and North.
“It follows wonderfully the middle school French curriculum, which incorporates culture from many parts of the French-speaking world, such as Québec and Louisiana,” boasts Russel. “This portion of the high school curricula focusing on Africa and the Afro-Caribbean, rounds out nicely the entire seven-year scope and sequence of our French program.”
“Most curricula in French classes focus on France and European Francophone countries, but there is a considerable amount of French spoken worldwide,” Wilkinson explains. “Due to French colonization in the 19th century, many countries in Western Africa use French as the official language.”
More than 60% of those who speak French daily now live in Africa, and by 2060, it is estimated that up to 85% of French speakers will live on the African continent. This is nearly the inverse of the 90% of French speakers in 1960 who lived in European and other Western countries.
Black history and heritage 365 days a year
The West African dance unit coincides with Black History Month, and while the month is very important for the Black community at Princeton High School, Wilkinson and North feel strongly that Black history is celebrated not only during February, but 365 days a year. Hence, ”Black History and Heritage 365 at PHS” is reflected in their yearlong curriculum.
“It’s great to see two teachers celebrate Black history and culture from Africa year-round and not just during the 28 days of February,” said Veronica Foreman, co-chair of Black History and Heritage 365 at Princeton High School. “And even though these teachers are not Black, it demonstrates that Black history and the culture of our ancestors can be taught by anyone.”
Foreman hopes that this encourages other teachers, regardless of their culture or ethnicity, to have these conversations with their students.
Learning West African culture through movement
In the dance unit, the students study different kinds of West African dance, such as the Zaouli dance from Ivory Coast and the Dogon mask dance from Mali.
“There are numerous types of West African dance as West Africa is not a monolith,” explains Wilkinson. “Different ethnic groups have different dances and dance styles, and most are often performed to celebrate rites of passage or for religious ceremonies.”
The students learn about the connection between the dancers and their ancestors, and the dancers and animals, specifically using masks to embody spirits. A summative assessment includes students creating their own masks out of recycled materials based on the history of the dances they have learned and inventing a backstory of their own mask.
On the culminating day of the two-and-a-half-week unit, Wilkinson teaches a short combination of a dance from Guinea called Sinte, originally performed to educate young adults of the trials they might encounter as they mature. All the French 4-5-6 classes arrive at the dance room during their individual class periods, ready for a new experience. Since the class is conducted entirely in French, it enables Wilkinson and North to highlight their cross-curricular, kinesthetic, French-immersion classroom.
As the students learn the Sinte dance, it is evident that they have begun to embrace the significance of the steps they are learning.
“I saw how when we danced, it was in sync and we were united,” describes Andrew Foreman, a Princeton High School junior. “It felt like I was a part of the culture dancing with the people in it. It changed my perspective on the culture overall and how it unites people by dancing.”
“This experience provided a deeper understanding of West African culture by highlighting the interconnectedness of dance, music and storytelling, where movement serves as a powerful form of communication and historical preservation,” shares sophomore Astere Kaganda. “I gained a greater appreciation for dance as not just an art form but also a means of cultural expression and unity. It broadened my perspective on how traditions are passed down and how movement can convey emotions, stories and identity in ways that transcend language barriers.”
Senior Nagappan Muthiah best describes this experience as, “lowkey awesome sauce.”
Janelle Wilkinson is a teacher of French and dance at Princeton High School, where Krista Galyon is the strategic communications specialist for Princeton Public Schools. Wilkinson can be reached at janellewilkinson@princetonk12.org.