Students conceptions about the impact of monolingualism on learning with heterogeneous classes in an PE session: Case of the French primary school Robert Desnos in Tunisia

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Inscribed in field of language didactics, Physical and Sports activities didactics, this study is based on a survey of students' conceptions about impact of monolinguals' on learning with heterogeneous classes during a PE session at French primary school Robert Desnos in Tunisia. In this research, we underway from a concretely observed phenomenon in French schools abroad and from a central question posed by this manifestation. We took example of one of these schools located in Tunisia. By observable phenomenon we indicate progressive emergence of heterogeneity's concept in teachers' current language which returns mainly to different mutations of French educational system. The purpose of This paper was to study students' conceptions about impact of language interactions during PE session at French school in Tunisia and to examine their impact on learning of students issued from diverse nationalities, and speaking different native languages. The used method consists on an interrogatory with one of two actors of teaching-learning situation: the teachers (N = 171). Data were collected through a questionnaire that we elaborated based on age (9 to 11 years), language commonly mastered by students (language school) and their assimilation degree determined by their ethnicity (nationality) and school (some of them were registered in third year of primary school CE2, others come from mutations, while those of third category were not registered in French schools). The empirical results of study show that linguistic interactions of didactic situation in PE in French school in Tunisia are mainly monolingual in French despite ethnic diversity and linguistic heterogeneity of school audience. This French discourse appears relatively effective such as it does not allow transmission of instructions to all students either because they are not basically francophone and they do not practise French language in their familial environments, or because they have not joined French school since nursery school which plays, in French schools abroad, role of a mediator between school learning environment and familial learning environment. The presence of students not mastering sufficiently French language in a PE classroom requires, in our opinion, other things instead of technical adjustments (schematization, demonstration, groups levels ... etc). It requires a reflection and an adaptation, especially linguistics, while programming specific teaching contents of French schools abroad. This adjustment is indispensable as long as the Official programs are established for all primary schools in France. They are intended for all, but in reality, they do not seem appropriate to any of them in particular. Want to apply them uniformly everywhere is an unrealizable (Charrier, 1918). We assist therefore on a certain inadequacy between French monolingual educational approach and specificities of linguistically heterogeneous school public in Tunisian context. This lack of correspondence (mismatch) may therefore increase more phenomenon of unequal opportunities between students already francophone and those who do not master French language sufficiently.