The project began with Zoom conversations designed to foster social connections while inviting students to reflect on what it means to study French at the postsecondary level in 2026. It then continued through collaborative teamwork focused on identifying an issue shared by both countries.
To support this process, students used Perplexity, NotebookLM, and Copilot in a reflective and intentional way, with each artificial intelligence (AI) tool serving a specific purpose. Perplexity was used to identify a common issue and locate initial sources. NotebookLM helped deepen the research in French, organize information, and identify measures already in place. Copilot then supported teams in generating, comparing, and refining possible solutions for their final presentation. The task was designed so that AI would support learning without replacing students’ own thinking: at each stage, they were expected to verify the relevance of the responses, compare the information they found, identify possible limitations or biases, and justify their choices in French.
The teams prepared an infographic, a short video, and a final presentation outlining a possible solution, the reasoning behind it, and ways it could be implemented. As a final step, students also recorded a brief debriefing video in which they reflected on what they had learned, mistakes to avoid, strategies they would keep, pitfalls to watch for, one thing they would do differently next time, and their overall level of satisfaction with the experience. Throughout the project, the use of AI was framed by critical thinking, collaboration, and digital sobriety.
We warmly thank Professor Evelyne Charland, Maestra de francés and French Coordinator at PrepaTec, for her valuable collaboration. We also extend our sincere gratitude to the International Federation of French Teachers (FIPF) and to its President, Ms. Cynthia Eid, for helping facilitate this connection between the two countries.
Students described the experience as deeply enriching on linguistic, cultural, intellectual, and human levels.