Learning theory and technology in university foreign language education The case of French universities

Abstract

Second language study in French universities includes both modern language (literary) and foreign language (communicative) approaches, although teaching is dominated by the literary strand. Traditional educational models based on the transmission of knowledge are unable to accommodate recent progress in our understanding of learning theory, which offers cognitivist and constructivist approaches to learning and teaching. Similar advances specific to second language learning and teaching cannot be reconciled with the standard grammar-translation method, but instead call for communicative, task-oriented classrooms. This article traces the development of learning theory and second language teaching with respect to the roles of teacher and learner, conceptions of language as process or product, and individual versus group learning. It recommends an activity-oriented, project-based approach to second language teaching, learning and evaluation as an appropriate foundation for foreign (non-literary) language learners, including future school teachers, and calls for greater academic recognition of second language research.