A Motherscholar Currere au Milieu Francophone

Natalie Keefer University of Louisiana at Lafayette, United States

ABSTRACT

In this currere structured autoethnography, I investigate my experiences as a lifelong French language learner and motherscholar, including how this journey informed my steadfast decision to raise my child bilingual, and to intentionally engage with the Francophone community in Louisiana as a professor of education. This journey led me through self-initiated and insightful study abroad experiences in Paris, Tours, Nice, and Martinique. In addition to my time in academia in Louisiana, these experiences continue to shape my identity and my child's formative years. In this chapter, I will discuss personal implications and challenges for lifelong French language learners, including navigating spatial, temporal, financial, and logistical pitfalls. Lastly, I will make public policy and pedagogical recommendations in support of viewing language-learning curriculum as a verb, an intentional personal pilgrimage through integrated regressive, progressive, analytical, and synthetic stages.