Fluency MC, alias Jason R. Levine
La vedette américaine
de la journée du lundi du collège Lacordaire a été Jason R. Levine dont le nom de scène est Fluency MC (MC pour Master of ceremony, (un terme courant en Hip Hop et Rap). Ce rappeur new-yorkais est passé auparavant, outre-atlantique, par la case professeur d’anglais. C’est probablement ce qui lui a donné l’idée d’utiliser le rap comme outil d’enseignement des langues. Son clip « Stick, Stuck, Stuck » (le rap des verbes irréguliers) a dépassé les 4 millions de vues sur Youtube(voir le lien en bas de page). Il a été révélé en France par l’émission de M6, « Un Incroyable Talent ». Jason est célèbre pour sa méthode d’apprentissage de l’anglais par le rap. Son concept repose sur « les trois 3 R » : Relax, Repeat, Remember (détendez-vous, répétez et mémorisez). Il a fait ses preuves. La musique est un outil pédagogique intéressant qui permet de fixer des structures lexicales, grammaticales ainsi que le rythme de la langue. Jason propose actuellement des ateliers en France pour contribuer à l’aisance des élèves (souvent timides à l’oral) par une pratique ludique et stimulante, en plaçant toujours le plaisir au cœur des apprentissages. Mais il intervient aussi un peu partout en Europe en Afrique et au Moyen-Orient en direct-live ou bien par liaison internet, type téléconférence. Il est très apprécié des élèves et leur permet de progresser en s’amusant.
Supplément :
Interwiew with FLUENCY MC
Personal life
Hello, what’s your name? Hello, My name is Jason R. Levine but please, just call me Jason or Fluency.
Why did you choose this stage name? I chose the name Fluency MC because MC means rapper and I make rap songs for students to practice English, and Fluency, because fluency in a language is when you speak the language not perfectly but you’re comfortable, people understand you, you understand them, you feel good with the language, so for my job, I think it’s a good name “Fluency MC”.
(…)
Carreer
How long have you been rapping? I have been rapping for my students and videos for about 10 years. Before that I was DJing for other people to rap.
Why did you become a rapper? I always loved hip hop music and I DJed for a long time and the reason I decided to not only DJ but to rap was 100% because of my students, because of English. It was difficult for them to remember a lot of grammar and vocabulary for our class. If we have an activity in class but students have to always check the book and translate, it’s not fun, it’s not possible to have fluency. So I decided if I make songs and I put the grammar and vocabulary in the songs and at home students listen to the songs many times if they remember the English, come to class, then we can have a good activity because they have the English. This is why I decided to rap and thanks to Youtube and Facebook I can reach more people, and this is why I’m here.
How did you decide to do lessons in English? For a long time, I’ve always loved music and I’ve always loved language. I became a teacher because I really wanted to teach and I love how people learn English. I started as an English teacher 20 years ago.
Do you have another job? I teach English to university students in Paris a few days a week. I really enjoy this because I have some days with students who are 20-21 years old, then I go to « college » then to « lycée » so it’s a very good mix. But to me, it’s the same job, it’s helping students feel more comfortable with English, enjoy it more, but in the classroom, it’s not so much music and songs, we do things like English teachers do, try to communicate, do projects and things together.
Do the students like your shows? I hope so. I try to make the show good for students different ages, English levels, and not everybody likes rap music, but I think the music that I’m doing, you don’t have to love rap music because I try to make the music that most people enjoy, but it depends. Some schools, students really go crazy and love it, and some schools, not so much. For me, I enjoy every show, I enjoy every group of students, I like that it’s different every place I go, it’s always interesting for me.
What is your most famous song? I have one song that is very well-known and many many more songs, so one song is the most popular to practice irregular verbs, one reason it’s the most popular is it’s my first song, so I’ve had it on Youtube a long time, but I think it’s the most known because people always need to practice irregular verbs and it’s something that’s difficult to remember if you just try to look at a list of verbs, and have to remember these verbs, so that’s the most known, Stick Stuck Stuck the irregular verbs song.
How many times did you come to our country? Well, I live here now. I moved here five years ago from the US and before we moved, I’ve actually been here many times because my wife is originally from Paris so we lived in New York but we visited her family sometimes here.
How many countries have you visited to do your shows? I visited 21 countries to do this show.
That’s all folks !
