L’album bilingue et l’enseignement de la lecture

Abstract

In this contribution, we present a training device which is based on an integrated didactic approach for teaching and learning languages. One of the major advantages of this device is the development of plurilingual and intercultural resources for improving the teaching of literacy. In this way, we intend to provide teachers in training a broadened vision, respect and awareness, that can help them teach reading skills in the Geneva’s classrooms of 2008. The preliminary analysis of this training device anticipates, and contributes to the activities that would take place in the classroom. The preliminary analysis emphasizes four considerations: the bilingual book as a cultural and a material object; the bilingual book as part of a genre (big pictures book, comics, fairy tale, etc.); the bilingual book as a way to teach scriptural code; and the bilingual book as a way to establish relations between languages. This preliminary step is followed by the development of activities for the bilingual book that will be tested in a classroom by the beginning teacher. At that instant, all the languages and cultures available in the classroom must become new resources in order to teach and learn reading skills.