Using vocal music in the foreign language classroom to teach language and culture can become the foundation of an approach specifically geared to encourage students to take charge of their own language learning, and thereby improve their overall language competencies. Many researchers have already noted that the usual classroom program of instruction does not provide sufficient exposure time for students to achieve a level much above the ACTFL Intermediate level. Most students who enter university language programs with plans to major in a language have certain expectations, usually elevated, and the problem is exacerbated by commercial products which promise that, “You will speak like a native in months!” The problem is compounded by the disappointment experienced when these high expectations are not met, and students cease trying before they approach the levels to which they originally aspired. One way to help students not go through this dismotivation phase of language learning, is to help them improve their language skills beyond that usually attainable through classroom instruction alone. Training in the use of learning strategies, increased time spent listening to authentic vocal music, and the anticipated personal satisfaction gained by attaining successful results can all be positively related to an increase in motivation. By introducing students to the music of Soviet bard/poet/actor Vladimir S. Vysotsky, early in their language-training career, and using his compositions as supplementary material in a syllabus, the Russian language teacher can provide versatile authentic language material. Selections from the prolific output of approximately 700 poems and songs by Vysotsky can be used to introduce: a) language forms, b) pronunciation, c) cultural idioms and contrast, d) historicalpolitical items, e) social customs, and f) literary works and characters. In the case of language learning and metacognitive strategies, ignorance is not bliss: ignorance is the destroyer. Students who become aware of the strategies available (e.g., memory, cognitive, compensation, affective, social, or metacognitive) and pleasurable ways to improve their own language competence are more likely to be encouraged to continue studying the language and more likely to devote the extra time to the endeavor. / text

Vladimir Vyssotskiï, acteur et chanteur sous le régime communiste en Union soviétique, demeure assez peu connu au Québec, malgré l'étendue de son oeuvre chansonnière. Ce fait n'est pas vraiment étonnant, compte tenu de la diffusion limitée de ses pièces. Nous tentons de combler cette lacune avec le présent mémoire. Dans notre analyse, nous étudions la figure du héros et la vie quotidienne en URSS par le biais de la carnavalisation. L'interaction dialogique, le couronnement/découronnement, les inversions et les oppositions sont autant de procédés utilisés par l'auteur pour bouleverser le modèle officiel du héros et pour donner une vision duelle de la vie quotidienne dans son pays.