Reformulation and the Learning of French Pronominal Verbs in a Canadian French Immersion Context

Abstract

In this article, we examine a subset of collaborative dialogues that occurred in a multistage task where 8 Canadian grade 7 French immersion students worked together in pairs. Each pair wrote a story, noticed differences between their text and a reformulator's revision of that text, and reflected on their noticing. We analyze the transcripts of their talk in these 3 task sessions, identifying and describing the language‐related episodes. We trace the development of the target language (French), with specific reference to pronominal verbs, from the learners' first collaborative draft to their posttests. The study explores task differences and differences between lower‐ and higher‐proficiency dyads. The language‐related episodes selected for close analysis, along with the posttest data, provide evidence that in most cases, learners have progressed in their correct use of pronominal verbs in French.