I have been teaching the course “Introduction to French Philosophy” in French to 4th year of Bachelor degree Taiwanese French learners since 2014. I started by using a lecture format with a study of the major philosophical texts in French. However, I tried to find a way to involve my students in the practice of philosophizing while using the French language more. In 2019, I was trained in teaching philosophy to children following the methodologies of Matthew Lipman and Chiara Pastorini. It is a holistic approach where the students are not only listeners, but also actors. Using mind and body, the whole person is engaged in the thought process. I adapted this holistic practice to my class taught in French. For a course on philosophical notions, I introduce the topic with brainstorming, where the students define the notion; then hold two or three workshops on philosophical questions linked to it. For instance, for the course on art, we study the question: “Art: imitation or creation?” I propose to the students first to draw a bouquet of flowers they imagine; then, I ask them to draw the bouquet I displayed in the class. With this activity, they experience the problem and it helps them to better understand lectures and texts. They concretely and actively learn how to conduct reasoning by acquiring the abilities of conceptu- alizing, arguing, and problematizing in French. The format of discussing in a forum helps them to use French (oral and written production and comprehension) when they feel ready, surrounded by benevolence and open-mindedness.
