French Foreign Language Research Articles

Global simulation: fostering students pro-activism in the learning of Frech in Anglophone countries

Learning and teaching activities evolve together with the didactics research progress. In foreign language teaching, the communicative approach, developed in the 1970s, positioned learners at the epicentre of the learning-teaching process, exposing them to realistic and authentic communicative situations. New teaching activities and practices developed in order to answer the learner-centred approach needs, and simulation techniques found interest among many French foreign language experts. In the early 1980s, role-play activities were implemented in French foreign language classrooms and they became unavoidable activities in textbooks. They were eventually introduced as testing instruments in official certifications such as the French International Language Certificates DELF and DALF. The global simulation teaching technique, which appeared together with role-play, was more ambitious as it required learners to create and interact in a collective world of reference, in which they had to simulate fictional characters communicating with each other in a specific realist environment, and according to the on-going events and incidents occurring in this environment. In a global simulation, learners embark on a “realistic illusion” where they are actors as well as decision makers of the storyline. Unlike role-play, the global simulation teaching technique constitutes the core of the teaching content. This paper aims to define the Global Simulation process and its technicalities, and to analyse its potential pedagogical advantages and limitations. The paper will attempt to present origins and concepts of the Global Simulation in FFL to value its pedagogical advantages from teachers’ and learners’ points of view, and to underline the possible obstacles and/or limitations of this communicative tool.

Communication in French Foreign Language Learning by Implementing the Aspects of Interculturality

This research paper examines the case study and the weak sides of the implementation of intercultural education in a FLT class, and then examines how such teaching could be effective. The didactic intervention through which the native teacher was reflexive was done in two stages in order to recover all the didactic aspects necessary for a successful implementation in the future.

Pour un enseignement systématique des marqueurs discursifs à l’aide de corpus en classe de FLE : l’exemple des marqueurs de reformulation

This article focuses on the role of corpus in language classroom, a tool that allows to identify syntactic and semantic properties of discourse markers that are not discussed in traditional grammar books. The use of the corpus could assist French Foreign Language learners to be familiar with a new kind of academic writing. This raises questions about the methodology of teaching/learning of discourse markers that we try to address in this paper.

The repositioning of literature in French foreign language teaching in South Africa: Performing dialogue, diversity and difference

The aim of this article is to address the repositioning of the literary text within the field of French Studies at tertiary level in South African universities. While language acquisition constitutes a major thrust of French at tertiary level, literature plays an important symbolic role, representing a disciplinary tradition evident in both corpus and teaching methods. Social transformation and the emergence of new teaching/learning models have seen academics inscribing new kinds of symbolic and cultural value to the literary text. The data set draws on a series of interviews conducted with academics working in the field of French Studies at university level in South Africa in 2011 and 2012. A qualitative method of analysis is used. The disciplinary “performance” described in both discourse and practice reveals that academics are distancing themselves from traditional approaches in their shift from text-centredness to learner-centredness and are carving out a new place for francophone literature in the South African context by “performing” its teaching as part of the democratic project. The emerging disciplinary ethos coincides significantly with reader reception theory and French foreign language pedagogy and further sheds light on the cultural and pedagogical roles literature can play in foreign language teaching and learning contexts. Key words : French Studies; South Africa; university; literature; teaching; repositioning

Un mot peut en cacher au autre. Cas du mot grammatical de

La présente contribution Un mot peut en cacher un autre traite du mot grammatical de et de ses différentes occurrences en français, reflétant les diverses réalités ou valeurs exprimées par le biais d'une même forme. Vu les emplois multiples et complexes de ce mot, nous avons mené une étude faite à partir d'un corpus de copies d'examen d'étudiants en FLE (à différents niveaux de leur parcours universitaire) pour déterminer le degré de maîtrise des différents cas de figure pouvant être exprimés par la forme de. Outre les résultats dégagés lors de l'analyse de cette étude, cette contribution présente également quelques cas complexes résultant surtout de la combinaison de la préposition de et de l'article des.

Case Study of a Global Simulation in French as a Foreign Language with Beginner Level Learners at the University Of Namibia: A Search for an Authentic Language and Culture Exposure in an African Anglophone Country

In a communicative based approach, the French Foreign Language learning teaching activities offered in classrooms favour exposing learners to authentic communicative situations that are relevant in a French or Francophone “genuine” context. This quest for “reality” or “authenticity” might be challenging in some linguistic environments such as African Anglophone countries where learners do not benefit from many opportunities to practice the foreign language and/or to get accustomed to its culture beyond the classroom. From this perspective, roleplays proved to positively provide learners with efficient communication skills that closely resembled “real” communication contexts. This paper aims at defining the Global Simulation (GS) process and its technicalities. The paper also aims at describing the adaptation from Debyser’s Global Simulation guide, L’Immeuble, to the context of the study: second year level students at the University of Namibia. The impact of applying GS on learners’ needs and expectations will be analysed.Keywords: Global Simulation, French Foreign Language Didactic, Communicative Approach, African Anglophone Context

Le défi de la diversité culturelle et l’enseignement du FLE en Algérie

The challenge of cultural diversity and the teaching of French as a foreign language in Algeria
 The intercultural approach is imperative in the teaching French foreign language because no human, in archaic or modern society is without culture, but every culture is singular and Algeria does not make the exception and the Algerian learner is multicultural and multilingual. Then how can we make sensitive our learners in the cultural skill and which are the didactic proposals to approach the intercultural in class of French as a foreign language?

Gender Errors in French Interlanguage

Many studies on gender assignment in French have focused on the effect of the final morpheme of the noun on the identification of the gender of the noun and the subsequent agreement with any determiners. The present study considers the effect of a noun’s initial vowel on gender accuracy in conversations with 36 Dutch-speaking French foreign language learners. The analysis of 1540 indefinite article + noun sequences revealed that gender accuracy was significantly lower when the noun started with a vowel. This effect was significant for French L3 learners but weaker among more advanced French L2 learners. It thus seems that an initial vowel, and the resulting gender syncretism, delays the correct identification of a noun’s gender among French L2 learners.

Heterogeneous Class and Teaching Practices within the French Course

This study deals with the heterogeneity of classes of French foreign language, the strategies and devices that are suitable to the learning profiles of the public. Learners are different regarding: the learning skills, the way of thinking, their motivation to learn, modes of communication and expression, the socio-cultural environment, culture, beliefs, family history, values, psychological characteristics personality, attention, will, curiosity, energy, rhythm, etc. Individual disparities that show the heterogeneous classes rather appear as a challenge for a traditional FLE1 teaching. Facing heterogeneous learners, it is essential to implement varied, diversified, cooperative, and comprehensive pedagogy. Differentiated pedagogy, tutoring activities and interaction between students are the methods we have experimented in order to improve the written expression of the students which led us to getting positive results in function of teacher-student interaction. The central idea is that interaction enables students to benefit from the differences by considering them as a source of learning and not as an obstacle. DOI: 10.5901/jesr.2015.v5n2p53

Economics crisis lexicon: for a didactic and lexical approach in French foreign language

This study presents a brief description of the French linguistic lexicon of the economic and financial crisis. It offers two levels of analysis: the first character in teaching French as a foreign language (FFL) and the second proposes a lexical analysis.

The role of localized materials in learning of FFL students

Investigating the role of localized materials in foreign language learning contexts is far from comprehension. This research was an attempt to investigate the effects of localized materials on students’ comprehension in a French foreign language context. 30 male and female Iranian learners of French were asked to read stories written by a native French author, Anna Gavalda and an originally Iranian story by Zoyâ Pirzâd translated into French. Upon reading, they were asked to answer three different types of reading comprehension questions (replication, synthesis, and inference). Results revealed that learners performed better when reading localized materials. Based on the results, incorporating localized materials in classroom syllabus is strongly recommended. Key words: French foreign language (FFL) context, localized material.

Napouléon’s sequential heritage. Using a student error as a resource for learning and teaching pronunciation in the French foreign language classroom

In this paper, we consider a student error produced in a French foreign language small-group seminar, involving four Swedish L1 first-term university students of French and a native French teacher. The error in question consists of a mispronunciation of the second vowel of the name Napoléon in the midst of a student presentation on the history of Corsica. Taking a conversation analytic approach to situated language use, the study considers the ways in which the erroneous pronunciation is turned into a resource whereby both teaching and learning opportunities are accomplished in teacher–student interaction. By tracking subsequent references to the initial error in a corpus of video-recorded small-group seminars, we explore some of the things that can be achieved by such referencing in later local contexts. The study demonstrates how not only students, but also the teacher, may learn in pedagogical interaction.

Argumentaire pour le français au Portugal et orbi. Arguments, apories et représentations1

L’auteur propose une réflexion élargie sur l’élaboration d’un dépliant argumentaire en faveur de l’apprentissage du français langue étrangère et sur le rôle symbolique joué par cette langue au Portugal et ailleurs en contexte mondialisé.

En Français s’il vous plaît

This longitudinal study investigated teachers’ use of the first language (L1) in two French foreign language (FL) intermediate level classes at two Australian universities. A native French-speaking teacher (NS) and a non-native French-speaking teacher (NNS) were observed and audio-recorded approximately every two weeks over a 12- week semester. The study investigated the quantity of L1 used, the purposes it served, and whether these changed over time. It also investigated possible factors that explain teachers’ L1 use, including teachers’ attitudes towards the L1 use. The study found consistently more L1 use by the NNS than the NS, but that over time the use of L1 by the NS teacher increased. The L1 served a variety of purposes, most notably explanations of vocabulary and of tasks. However, towards the end of the semester, there was a marked increase in the use of L1 by both teachers for the purpose of general administration. The interview data show that use of L1 was related to the teachers’ pedagogical beliefs and goals and these together with context-specific factors determined L1 use. The findings are discussed in terms of how to establish guidelines concerning appropriate levels of L1 use in FL classes.

DA NECESSIDADE DE UMA "LITERATURA-MUNDO" NO ENSINO DO FRANCÊS NO BRASIL

In the search for the French language of unification, writers from different continents recognize that the literature written in French can operate as a telescope that approximates what seems infinitely distant. In this paper, we discuss some reasons that highlight the importance of studying the “world-literature”, intending thereby to show how this literature can encourage and motivate the learning of French as a foreign language in the Brazilian reality. The results of this reflection confirm the urgency to include this subject in the curricula of training in French foreign language (FLE) as an important venue for discussing political issues in the processes of language (de) colonization.

Foreign Language Teacher Trainees' Reading Attitudes

English, French, and German foreign language teacher trainees’ reading attitudes in both their native language and a foreign language were investigated in terms of their feelings of anxiety within the subdimensions of comfort, self-perception, self-concept, and value. The grade point average scores of the teacher trainees were also considered in order to investigate whether or not these had an influential role on foreign language reading attitude. Foreign language teacher trainees enrolled at a university in Turkey completed 230 valid questionnaires. Results indicated that the teacher trainees were more anxious while reading in a foreign language compared to their native language.

Investigating lexical proficiency development over time – the case of Dutch-speaking learners of French in Brussels

ABSTRACTThis article aims (a) to explore the operationalisation and definition of lexical L2 proficiency and related constructs with a view to identifying a set of measures that can adequately capture the dynamics of lexical L2 proficiency development over time, and (b) to shed more light on the development of lexical proficiency in French Foreign Language classes. After a discussion of theoretical, terminological and methodological issues in L2 vocabulary research, we present a longitudinal quantitative study of the lexical development of Dutch-speaking adolescents learning FFL in Dutch-medium schools in Brussels over a three-year period and compare these learners' lexical proficiency in French to native speaker benchmarks.

Co-construction dans l'interaction en classe de FLE: de la dialogicité du langage vers la dialogicité de l'apprentissage

Exploring the bakhtinian notion of the dialogic nature of language for the process of second language learning, the aim of this paper is to illustrate the social and situated dimension of the learning process, as interactional, dialogical achievement, on the basis of a case study in the French foreign language classroom. The theoretical stance developed here places itself within the larger framework of interactionally and socioculturally informed research concerned with the embeddedness of (inter)action, language and cognition, that emphasizes the socially situated and contingent dimension of cognition and competence, proposing a re-conceptualisation in the perspective of action (Pekarek Doehler, 2006) and social practices. A micro-analytic approach allows to follow the stepwise and collaborative construction of linguistic resources across participants in a peer-group interaction, and the subsequent mobilization of a resource across time (after a one month interval).

Breaking the code of silence: a study of teachers' nonverbal decoding accuracy of foreign language anxiety

This study examined teachers' accuracy in decoding nonverbal behaviour indicative of foreign language anxiety. Teachers and teacher trainees twice observed a videotape without sound of seven beginning French foreign language students as they participated in an oral exam; four of these students were defined as anxious language learners by the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale. First, observers were asked to use their own criteria to assess the anxiety status of the examinees by watching their posture, gestures and body positions. The second time, observers were given a list of criteria that defined specific anxious behaviours. The results demonstrated that, although there was variability in the ability of observers to decode the nonverbal cues evidential of anxiety, the teachers and trainees were more accurate in assessing the nonverbal behaviour of learners who were on the high and low ends of the anxiety scale than those whose scores fell in the middle. Because observers were more accurate once they were introduced to explicit anxiety-indicating cues, the pedagogical implications of this study call for the inclusion of nonverbal awareness training as a means of identifying those learners who struggle with foreign language anxiety.

Foreign Language Reading and Study Abroad: Cross-Cultural and Cross-Linguistic Questions

Little cross-cultural empirical research has been devoted to expectations for academic performance of study abroad (SA) students, particularly in their foreign language (FL) reading. This study explored premobility English and French FL reading comprehension and strategy use in 177 European SA students of law and economics. Our concern was whether students of particular academic literacy and sociolinguistic backgrounds (English and Irish, French, Spanish, German, Dutch, and Flemish Belgian), at given levels of FL competency, would differ significantly in their reading skill and strategy use, and whether causal inference might be drawn regarding grades during their SA experience. Test results revealed equivalent FL competency but a clear hierarchy in both FL reading comprehension and strategy use: English-language (British and Irish) and French students ranking highest, followed by Spanish, German, and Dutch-speaking students. Causal effects of reading on academic results varied across groups. The findings are interpreted in terms of the interaction of different cross-cultural academic literacy and FL traditions and of FL competency. Pedagogical recommendations are made, along with suggestions for further study.