There’s something a little mad and a little musical going on at Martha Brown Middle School. We’re talking brackets, face-offs, and upsets…but it’s not the “March Madness” you may expect! Students in the French program at Martha Brown are participating in an international activity, “Manie Musicale,” which pits popular French-language songs against each other in a single-elimination bracket, in which students vote for their favorites. Over 3,000 schools in 16 countries are participating in this year’s “Manie Musicale”. 

Loni Mallaber, a world languages teacher at Marth Brown, said this is her first year using “Manie Musicale” as a teaching tool in her classes, and says her students love it.

“Sometimes I tie the song to vocabulary and grammar, but other times we dive into the lyrics,” said Mallaber. “There are of course your love songs, but some other topics this year are mental health, climate change, struggles during the pandemic, and then some are just fun and make you want to dance.”

The competition was created by two world language teachers in Maine, and French teachers from all over the world collaborate during the year to create lesson materials to go along with the songs. Mallaber says that some of the French-speaking artists make social media videos to thank students for advancing their songs in the competition.