Іноземні мови (May 2020)
Parisian Genius Loci: one of the ways to attract students
Abstract
The article deals with the analysis of didactic potential of advertising as an authentic material used in the study of foreign languages. The systematic use of this material in particular enables to reconstruct such a complex phenomenon as the Parisian Genius Loci. The idea of N. Antsiferov, a prominent Russian researcher, who was born in Ukraine, is the tool that gives a holistic and multifaceted notion of the city in all aspects of its existence – historical, cultural, artistic, economic, sociological, etc. The concept of Genius Loci can be considered effective in teaching foreign languages as it enables to grasp, distinguish, takes into account, describe and represent numerous elements that shape the Paris phenomenon in the educational context. By analyzing a great number of advertisements in the French press, element categories that make up the Parisian Genius Loci as it is embodied in advertising have been identified. First, they are landmarks which are immediately associated with the city (la Tour Eiffel, la Place de la Concorde, le Palais Royal, le pont Alexandre III, etc.). Other elements also play a great role in the formation of Genius Loci, which, unlike the previous ones, are not “rare specimens”, but they create the city’s unique atmosphere (standards of mass architecture, street equipment, plants, some features of conventional lifestyle, ethnic and sociocultural composition, etc.). Toponyms constitute the last category least-featured by advertising. These categories relate to the tasks and techniques that meet the specifics. When the focus is on the landmarks of Paris, exercises to learn vocabulary and develop all language competences are used. The ‘impregnation & awareness’ effect corresponds with less striking, more hidden elements of Parisian Genius Loci. The ways of teaching how to use toponyms should be inductive, i.e. searchable. Students will not receive information passively. On the contrary, confronted with a certain phenomenon, they are able to grasp it, analyzing the circumstances with the teacher’s help.
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