Talk
Inclusive Pedagogies & Methodologies for the Language Classroom
Dr. Maya Angela Smith
Professor in French and Italian Studies, University of Washington
Even though French classrooms in the United States are becoming more and more diverse, the French foreign-language curriculum typically continues to present a very narrow and specific model of a French speaker—the white, monolingual native speaker with a Parisian accent. The disconnect between our students’ identities and the ideal they hope to achieve often leads to deeply rooted linguistic insecurity and rampant classroom anxiety. As teachers, how can we create a more equitable and inclusive classroom experience? In this talk, I will discuss my teaching practice where I employ (auto)biographical texts, multilingual discourse, ethnographic sociolinguistic methodologies, and multimodal cultural production to help students center their own experiences as multilingual speakers and creative language users. The talk will include interactive activities so that we can learn from each other and all the wisdom that we bring.
Bio:
Maya Angela Smith is a Professor in French and Italian Studies and Associate Dean for Equity, Justice, and Inclusion in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington. She earned her doctorate in Romance Languages and Linguistics from the University of California, Berkeley. Her scholarship broadly focuses on the intersection of racial and linguistic identity formations among marginalized groups in the African diaspora, particularly in the postcolonial Francophone world. Her most recent book, Ne me quitte pas: A Song by Jacques Brel and Interpreted by Nina Simone and Others, was published with Duke UP in 2025.
Friday, March 13, 2026
B-4 Dwinelle & Zoom, 3-5 pm
This lecture is sponsored by the College of Letters and Science.
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