If you are looking for Educational resources on the French Antilles for French class, this blog post is for you!
Picture this – it was the first day of my Bachelors of Education. After 10 years of French and a Bachelors in French, I discovered the existence of the French Antilles by accident.
Yes. This is a true story.
I discovered the French Antilles because my professor was married to a man originally from the French Antilles.
As a matter of fact, at no point in my French education did we learn about francophone places, other than France.
Please note that I fully recognize that the “francophonie” is a colonial construct.
My family’s homeland was also colonized and my grandparents lived through a traumatic period in their lives as a direct result of colonization and independence.
So, what do we do here? How do we teach the French Antilles?
Skip the glorification
Often the French Overseas Territories are glorified or romanticized because they are ✨ French ✨.
The worth of the French Antilles should NEVER be tied to France as that perspective is colonial in nature. The French Antilles is way more than “francophone”.
The linguistic and cultural diversity of these places should be celebrated independantly.
I hope that the educational resources on the French Antilles in this article help you do just that!
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Johnny Harris – France’s Empire
To begin, I am sharing Johnny Harris’ video on the French Empire.
In my opinion, Harris describes each of these territories very well, including some tragic and unacceptable facts.
For example, Harris mentions how France carried out nuclear testing in French colonies in the 20th century.
Finally, it is so important to critically discuss the former colonies and the current ones. As a matter of fact, these are not just tropical destinations. They are also people who live there with the colonial legacy of the empire.
Les dissidents antillais
Next, let’s talk Remembrance Day and the fact the contributions of the non-Western world have been left out of World War narratives.
For instance, did you know that the French Caribbean was heavily involved in aiding France during WWII?
This reading comprehension article teaches about les dissidents antillais and their contributions to the war effort. This is a part of World War II history that has largely been forgotten due to a variety of reasons discussed in this article.
Consequently, your students will learn all about the young women and men from Guadeloupe and Martinique who risked their lives to liberate France from Nazis. They will also learn about how the Vichy regime impacted life in the Antilles.
Là où je dors – Carla
Next up, in this episode of Là où je dors, we meet Carla from the French Antilles. Carla is 13 years old and lives in Guadeloupe. In this episode, you will get a glimpse into the world of a teenager from a small, tropical island in the Caribbean.
La compréhension écrite sur la francophonie
I had such a difficult time finding engaging articles on the French Antilles that didn’t glorify the islands. As a result, I decided to write my own!
Each article includes pre-reading activities, reading, comprehension questions and an extension activity.
Les Antilles françaises – vidéo pour les débutants
This is an EXCELLENT video for beginner learners because the speaker speaks slowly and enunciates very clearly.
Additionally, the animations also really help beginners with the comprehension.
10 différences entre la France et les Antilles
This next video is a traditional sit-down style YouTube video. In this video, you hear from someone from the Antilles discuss cultural differences between the islands and hexagonal France.
Also, this video is ideal for immersion students or advanced FSL students.
L’histoire de l’esclavage aux Antilles
Next, this is a tool that contains many different resources to teach about slavery in the French Caribbean. Colonialism isn’t just a topic for Social Studies.
Before you deep dive into understanding French Caribbean cultures and the demographics, you must understand the legacies of slavery and colonialism.
Les Antilles françaises empoisonnées
Finally, let’s talk about the glorification of la francophonie, especially the French Overseas Territories.
When teaching about the francophone world, I think it’s really important to not paint these places as idyllic places.
The people who live in these territories are real people who continue to deal with the ramifications and legacies of an empire rooted in exploitation.
One particular example is the Chlordecone poisoning in Martinique and Guadeloupe.
So, what is Chlordecone?
“Chlordecone is a toxic pesticide that was used to treat bananas. It was classified as carcinogenic by the World Health Organisation in 1979. The US imposed a ban two years earlier, but it took until 1990 for France to impose a ban on chlordecone. Planters in the French Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique were allowed to continue using chlordecone until 1993″ (Radio France International).
So how does this affect the people of Martinique and Guadeloupe?
- Martinque and Guadeloupe have the highest rates of prostate cancer in the world
- Additionally, Premature births are 4x more likely to occur than the hexagonal French average
The video below is a good introduction to the topic. Furthermore, the podcast episode below is excellent for Secondary Immersion classes.
Cartes des Caraïbes
Finally, this last resource is actually a website with 4 printable PDFs of the French Caribbean. I love doing map activities with my high school students and these PDFs can serve so many purposes!
I hope that these educational resources on the French Antilles were helpful for you and your students!
If you know resources not already included in this article, please feel free to leave them in the comments below! Let’s keep the conversation going!
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