Investigating the effects of varying Accelerative Integrated Method instruction on spoken recall accuracy: a case study with junior primary learners of French

Abstract

Abstract This study investigated the effect of using the Accelerative Integrated Method (AIM), with or without additional revision and video-guided practice, on junior primary students’ spoken recall accuracy in French. The same beginner AIM French activities were taught by a language specialist to 12 classes in four junior primary levels. Three different conditions of instruction were used each week: (1) one session of AIM instruction, (2) one session of AIM instruction plus one session of revision, and (3) one session of AIM instruction, plus one session of revision, and three sessions of video input. The instruction and revision sessions were facilitated by a language teacher, whereas the video sessions were played by the main class teacher. A two-way ANOVA revealed that Year 1 students benefited from a revision session with the language teacher, but Prep and Year 1 did not benefit from further video exposure. Conversely, the Years 2 and 3 students did not benefit from extra revision with the language teacher, but they did benefit from additional video exposure. Direct observation of the student response to the AIM suggested that the pace of the program needed to be slower for the younger learners.