Showing papers in "Canadian Modern Language Review-revue Canadienne Des Langues Vivantes in 1999"

Assessing the Roles of Depth and Breadth of Vocabulary Knowledge in Reading Comprehension

Abstract: This empirical study explored the relationships between depth and breadth of vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension in English as a second language (ESL). Using multivariate analyses, the study examined the roles of depth and breadth of vocabulary knowledge in assessing the performance of a group of young adult ESL learners with a minimum vocabulary size of 3,000 word families in carrying out general academic reading comprehension tasks. The results support the hypotheses that (1) scores on vocabulary size, depth of vocabulary knowledge, and reading comprehension are highly, and positively, correlated; and (2) scores on depth of vocabulary knowledge can make a unique contribution to the prediction of reading comprehension levels, in addition to the prediction afforded by vocabulary size scores. The findings from this study call for a recognition of the importance of improving depth of vocabulary knowledge in learners' ESL learning processes.

Language Learning Strategies and Language Proficiency: Investigating the Relationship in Hong Kong

Abstract: This article reports on a survey of the language learning strategies used by a group of Hong Kong learners. The aims of the study were to investigate levels of strategy use among the group, and to examine levels of association between strategy use and language proficiency. The SILL questionnaire (Strategies Inventory of Language Learning) by Oxford (1990, pp. 293-300) was used. SILL consists of six categories of strategies: memory, cognitive, compensation, metacognitive, affective, and social. The results showed that compensation and metacognitive strategies were the most used, while affective and memory strategies were the least used. Previous examinations of the nature of the relationship between strategy use and proficiency, and ways of measuring this are discussed. In this study, it was found that there was significant variation in proficiency in relation to eleven out of a possible fifty strategies. Of these, nine were in the cognitive category, one in the compensation category, and one in the social...

What's Wrong with Oral Grammar Correction

Abstract: The practice of oral grammar correction continues to receive wide acceptance in language classrooms. In this paper I argue that this acceptance is not justified. Teachers and students who take correction seriously face overwhelming problems, both in making the corrections effective and in dealing with the harmful side effects of the practice. Research evidence points to the conclusion that oral correction does not improve learners' ability to speak grammatically. No good reasons have been advanced for maintaining the practice. For these reasons, language teachers should seriously consider the option of abandoning oral grammar correction altogether.

Multisensory language teaching in a multidimensional curriculum : The use of authentic bimodal video in core French

Abstract: In this article, it is argued that 'bimodal video' is an effective way of enhancing second language (L2) learners' understanding of authentic texts and their learning of content and vocabulary in the L2. Bimodal video is subtitled in the L2 and provides simultaneous exposure to spoken language, printed text, and visual information, all conveying the same message. A positive effect is deemed possible even in the case of relatively inexperienced students of the language. Supporting empirical evidence, including a recent study conducted by the author with Grade 11 core French students, is reported and discussed in light of instructional objectives and recommendations of the multidimensional curriculum designed to enrich core French programs in Canada. Relevant pedagogical implications and future research directions are also proposed.

Some factors that affect the success of ESL High School Students

Abstract: This study examines the academic achievement of ESL high school students in one urban school board. In addition to accessing computer records for the years 1991-1996, we conducted in-depth, semistructured interviews with 15 former ESL students. We also interviewed five ESL teachers and six mainstream classroom teachers to discover their views of the integration of ESL students in the school system. At least 10% of the ESL students were pushed out of school by the provincially mandated age cap. Another 36% appeared to have dropped out of school. Thus nearly 46% of high school ESL students did not complete their studies within the K-12 system, compared to a 70% completion rate for all students in Alberta. The implications for high school teachers and administrators include eliminating the age cap; improving integration of ESL students in mainstream content classrooms; and implementing better orientation for the students to ESL classrooms and procedures.

Towards Integrating Form-Focused Instruction and Communicative Interaction in the Second Language Classroom: Some Pedagogical Possibilities

Abstract: Much has been written, on both theoretical and empirical levels, about the idea of ‘focus on form’ and the suggestion that some kind of form-focused activity needs to be incorporated into L2 communicative contexts. However, much less work has been published on how this aim can be pedagogically fostered. This article will first elaborate on the need to incorporate form-focused activities within an integrative approach to L2 teaching. Pedagogical possibilities and strategies will then be suggested, and examples provided of tasks that may help to realize this goal in classroom contexts. Relevant empirical evidence on the effectiveness of such tasks will be presented and discussed.

Test of a Model for Predicting Second Language Lexical Growth through Reading.

Abstract: This case study tests a mathematical model for its ability to predict second language vocabulary gains achieved through reading. To overcome the problem of small word gains noted in ear-lier studies of incidental acquisition, the participant (an adult learner of Dutch) read a lengthy text and was tested on hundreds of words. To maximize opportunities for learning from context, an illustrated text (a ‘Lucky Luke’ comic book) was chosen for the reading treatment. Before reading the text and again after each of eight readings, the participant used a rating scale to assess his knowledge of words that occurred only once in the text. Growth rates established in one round of learning (a matrix) were used to predict growth in subsequent rounds. The participant's gains were found to match closely figures generated by the predictive matrix. As in previous studies, nouns proved to be the easiest to learn. Results also detail the need for multiple encounters in order for a word to be retained.

A Response to Truscott's `What's Wrong with Oral Grammar Correction'

Abstract: Teachers and researchers alike are aware of the challenges and complexities involved in providing effective feedback on error to second language (L2) learners in classroom settings Any account of these challenges and complexities should ai m to pr ovide hel pful and reliable i nformation supported by research relevant to classroom practice John Truscott fails to do this in his paper, presenting instead a critique that is, for the most part, impressionistic and unsubstantiated by research If Truscott had argued that it is difficult to k now when, how, and what to correct in classroom L2 teaching, then we would have little to disagree with However, he argues instead that because it is difficult, and because its effectiveness cannot always be demonstrated, `error correction' s hould be abandoned W e will d isagree with Truscott's recommendations and argue that a growing body of classroom research provides evidence that corrective f eedback is pragmatically f easible, potentially ef fective, an d, in som e cases , necessary This research includes descriptive and experimental studies of form-focused instruction and feedback on error – studies which Truscott has either failed to include in his review or misrepresented and dismissed in his discussion

Variation in the Spoken French of Immersion Students: To ne or not to ne, That Is the Sociolinguistic Question

Abstract: This paper investigates a case of linguistic variation observable in the spoken French of students from French immersion programs in Ontario, namely alternation between negative constructions with and without the negative particle ne (e.g., II ne comprend pas vs. II (θ) comprend pas, 'he does not understand.') Our students' use of ne is markedly more frequent than that documented in previous studies of both Canadian francophones and Irish FSL speakers. Our students clearly favour the standard variant (ne usage). We also found that our students vary their frequency of ne usage/non-usage to reflect their own socioeconomic background and gender, but that they do not shift their level of ne non-usage in accordance with topic formality. Our findings suggest that the learning of even a mildly marked non-standard variant, like ne non-usage, requires a minimum of interactions with francophones, especially if such a variant is not explicitly taught by immersion educators.

Home Language Practices of Trilingual Children in French Immersion.

Abstract: This article draws on sociocultural theories of language and learning as well as research on bilingual families to examine the home language practices of three trilingual French immersion students. This research expands on an earlier study of their language practices at school. An ethnographic stance was adopted to explore the daily context of language use at home, the children's representations of their identity as trilinguals, their family values concerning language maintenance and additional language learning, and the reasons their parents opted to enrol them in French immersion. A rich array of language practices was documented in these bilingual homes. The families highly valued the maintenance of the home language and actively promoted the development of trilingualism through French immersion education as a means to access cultural capital for their children. The children expressed their identity as trilinguals in terms of having greater linguistic resources than unilinguals.

Multidimensional project-based second language teaching : Observations of four grade 9 core French teachers

Abstract: This article reports the results of detailed observations conducted in four Grade 9 core French classes during one school semester in one school district in Eastern Canada. These observations were part of a fieldbased process-product study conducted to examine reform in core French teaching. Results from classroom observations suggest that the four teacher participants were implementing multidimensional project-based (MPB) teaching in different ways in their core French classes. Two of the teachers organized their teaching around a final project that created an authentic context for the student activities. The other two teachers did not choose to teach towards a project, but did many of the prescribed activities. The teachers' uses of French and English and the amount of student input in activity choice are also discussed.

Language Socialization Research and French Language Education in Africa: A Cameroonian Case Study

Abstract: This article reports on exploratory ethnographic research on language acquisition and use in a village located in the Mandara Mountains, Cameroon. The study indicates that members of this community share several beliefs and practices related to multilingual communicative competence and its development. In the school attended by children of this village, classroom practices of communication and language socialization differ significantly from those of the community. Discontinuities between community and classroom practices and their implications for French acquisition by children of this community are discussed. The article concludes with a discussion of how language socialization research can contribute to our understanding of community/classroom discontinuities and their consequences for classroom French acquisition, and thus to efforts to improve French language pedagogical practice in Africa.

Fear of teaching French : Challenges faced by generalist teachers

Abstract: Most elementary Core French instruction in British Columbia is conducted by generalist teachers. French in Grades 5 to 7 has only very recently become a provincially mandated course rather than a local option. The University of British Columbia offers off-campus second language methodology courses to address the needs of generalist teachers at a local level. A study was conducted concurrent with one such course in 1997 in Surrey, BC's second largest school district. Teachers from Surrey and Delta districts attended. The purpose of the study was to discover some of the challenges faced by generalists who teach core French and the ways in which they improved their practice throughout the course. The biggest challenges these teachers faced were a lack of specialized training, inadequate time to assimilate many curricular changes, and the need to integrate students with English as a second language or with special needs. Teachers reported on the changes in their teaching and the results of classroom research....

Intensity of L2 Instruction and Biliterate Proficiency in the Intermediate Years of a French Immersion Program

Abstract: A three-year study examined increased use of French as a medium of instruction in an early French immersion (EFI) program in the intermediate school years. Standardized tests of reading comprehension in French and English were administered, and samples of descriptive and narrative writing in French and English were assessed for overall quality. Slightly stronger performance in French descriptive writing and weaker English reading comprehension were associated with the intensified French approach. These interim results reveal limited evidence for the benefits of intensified French for French literacy, very constrained evidence of the risks associated with French intensification in the domain of English reading, and no evidence of a differential plateau effect in development of literate skills in French. Results are interpreted in the light of the quantity and quality of the program's intensification of French language experience.

Videoconferencing as Access to Spoken French

Abstract: This article analyzes a classroom interaction taking place between language learners in the U.S. and France via international videoconferencing. The videoconferencing event is described in its technical and discursive dimensions; its pedagogical value is evaluated in terms of the American learners' putative Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). Much of the language use that took place during the conference was beyond these learners' capability, due in part to heightened language classroom anxiety, and in part to differences between the variety of French learned in American schools and the French spoken by educated native speakers (NSs). A return to the learners' ZPD was achieved by using the videotaped record of the conference to provide access to a corpus of the spoken language as it is used in contemporary France. The aim of this exercise was observation and awareness of the morphosyntactic and discourse difficulties experienced by American second language learners interacting with NSs of French.

La négociation de la forme: la suite … mais pas la fin

Abstract: Cet article a pour but d'approfondir la caracterisation de la negociation de la forme. Il est question d'un projet de recherche a caractere descriptif entrepris dans quatre classes d'immersion au niveau primaire. La negociation de la forme s'est averee consister en au moins quatre types de retroaction qui servent a attirer l'attention des eleves sur leurs productions fautives et a encourager l'auto-correction et la correction par les pairs. A l'oppose, la reformulation — le type de retroaction le plus utilise — n'aboutit ni a l'auto-correction ni a la correction par les pairs. De plus, elle risque d'etre difficilement ou non percue par les eleves parce que ses fonctions discursives ressemblent a celles de la repetition non corrective et parce qu'elle s'accompagne frequemment de signes d'approbation. Elle mene toutefois a la reparation immediate de la plupart des erreurs phonologiques, alors que la negociation de la forme favorise la reparation immediate des erreurs grammaticales et lexicales.

Accountability in Language Assessment of Adult Immigrants in Canada

Abstract: This article addresses the challenges the authors faced in developing a task-based language assessment instrument for adult immigrants in Canada that is accountable to the needs of diverse groups of stakeholders, including learners, teachers, and administrators. The test, the Canadian Language Benchmarks Assessment (CLBA), is designed to place adult newcomers in language programs appropriate for their level of proficiency in English and to assess progress in these programs. The authors note that while stakeholders wanted the assessment tasks to be authentic and realistic, many were concerned that authentic tasks are culturally biased. These concerns were associated with stakeholders' theories of language, their conceptions of test bias, and their understanding of the purpose and use of the test. The authors suggest that when the low-stakes CLBA is used for its intended purpose, its results can satisfy the imperative for accountability in the context of large-scale, system-wide assessment.

Computer Pen Pals: Writing Activities for Students of Foreign Languages

Abstract: La correspondance electronique par e-mail entre etudiants apprenant diverses langues etrangeres et ayant differents niveaux d'instruction leur offre l'opportunite de participer a des activites impliquant des situations ancrees dans la vie reelle. Concues pour developper leurs aptitudes d'ecriture, ces activites aident les etudiants a reviser leur vocabulaire et a appliquer les formes verbales et les structures grammaticales problematiques. L'A. presente ici plusieurs exemples d'exercices pouvant etre effectues dans ce type de coorespondance et souligne l'efficacite de ces exercices pour les etudiants dans leur acquisition d'une langue etrangere et dans le developpement de leurs connaissances sur d'autres cultures

L'évaluation du français des jeunes Anglo-montréalais par leurs pairs francophones

Abstract: La recherche dont les resultats sont discutes ici porte sur l'analyse des reactions de 116 etudiants2 montrealais francophones a des voix enregistrees d'anglophones s'exprimant en francais. L'approche adoptee est celle de la technique du » matched guise « ou des jugements sont portes sur des voix transformees en divers accents. Dans notre cas, il s'agit plutot de variation stylistique entre la lecture et la conversation spontanee. Nous voulions principalement savoir quelles caracteristiques linguistiques inter-venaient dans les jugements de competence et de conformite aux attentes des francophones par rapport, entre autres, au marche du travail.Il apparait que pratiquement toutes les variables linguistiques considerees (14) sont fortement correlees avec les jugements de competence. Par ailleurs, les segments lus et parles d'un meme locuteur sont juges similairement, ce qui suggere a la fois la grande importance des caracteristiques articulatoires et prosodiques et le caractere non discriminant des fautes ...

L'impact de la rétroaction verbale des pairs sur l'amélioration des compositions des élèves de 5e année en immersion française

Abstract: Afin d'examiner l'impact de la ratroaction verbale des pairs sur la qualita de l'acriture, nous avons avalua la qualita de l'acriture des premiers brouillons et des copies finales de trois compositions acrites en francais L2 par 32 aleves de 5 annae en immersion francaise. Selon les tests-t, la qualita de l'acriture mesurae par la moyenne du nombre de mots, du score holistique et du score analytique cumulatif damontre une augmentation significative. Nous avons agalement varifia si les interactions se retrouvent ganaralement sous forme de ravisions dans les versions subsaquentes en enregistrant les rencontres de huit de ces sujets. Nous avons constata que 55% des suggestions des pairs se retrouvent sous forme de ravisions dans les brouillons subsaquents. Dix-sept pour-cent des suggestions n'ont mena a aucun changement puisqu'il s'agissait d'avaluations positives. Seulement 28% des commentaires ont ata ignoras par les scripteurs.

Creative Skit Activity in the Japanese Language Classroom

Abstract: L'A. montre l'utilite du jeu de role et du theâtre dans le processus d'apprentissage des langues. Ces pratiques developpent la competence de communication en fournissant aux etudiants des situations realistes permettant d'apprendre a fonctionner dans une culture differente

Making Sense of the French in French Immersion: Concept Development in Early FI

Abstract: This article investigates children's concept development and use of exploratory talk in the primary years of early French immersion (K-3). The authors relate data from a case study of a primary program to personal teaching experience and research in language and learning and developmental psychology. They then suggest some possible approaches to enhancing concept development and exploratory talk in that particular learning setting.

Creating a TA handbook on logistics and administrative duties : Advantages for TAs and language program coordinators

Abstract: L'A. se propose de guider les Coordinateurs du Programme Linguistique dans la creation d'un manuel destine a familiariser les professeurs assistants a la logistique et a leurs responsabilites administratives dans les programmes de langue etrangere et de langue seconde a l'universite. Il presente ici les fonctions specifiques que peut remplir ce type de manuel, notamment au niveau de la gestion, de la logistique, du gain de temps, de la reduction du stress, ainsi que les nombreux avantages qu'il offre aussi bien aux assistants qu'aux coordinateurs

Dramatisation et gestuelle : découvrir la culture-cible

Abstract: De nombreux chercheurs ont montre les aspects positifs de l'integration du jeu dramatique dans un contexte pedagogique. Ce qui est plus nouveau, c'est de combiner les effets positifs de la dramatisation et de la gestuelle afin de faire decouvrir la culture de la langue-cible. La gestuelle, en effet, est non seulement une reference socio-culturelle, mais c'est aussi un moyen de traduire des emotions et des attitudes propres a la culture-cible. Si l'on enseigne les gestes et les postures ainsi que leurs charges emotives dans le contexte d'une piece dans la langue-cible, l'apprenant est place dans une situation reelle de communication et il augmente ses chances de comprendre et de s'approprier cette gestuelle propre a la culture de la langue qu'il etudie. Dans cet article, l'A. decrit un cours d'expression orale qui fait l'objet d'une pratique pedagogique particuliere consistant a realiser des objectifs culturels en utilisant les techniques de jeu de l'art dramatique telles que la comprehension de texte (au niveau lexical et syntaxique), la memorisation, la prosodie, la diction et l'etude du comportement non verbal specifique a la culture-cible

Multimédia interactif et formation des maîtres en français langue seconde: évaluation formative

Abstract: Dans le but d'encourager l'enseignement reflexif chez les etudiants-maitres en formation initiale qui se specialisent dans l'enseignement du francais langue seconde (FLS), notre groupe de recherche a concu un programme multimedia interactif. Ce programme comprend des scenarios filmes dans un contexte d'enseignement et d'apprentissage du francais langue seconde et transposes sur CD-ROM. Chaque scenario montre un probleme a resoudre et encourage l'utilisateur a y reflechir. Cet article presente les resultats d'une evaluation formative de la conception et de l'utilisation du multimedia interactif. L'evaluation formative a permis de formuler des questions de recherche sur la conception et l'utilisation de la technologie multimedia dans la formation des maitres en francais langue seconde.

L'intégration de la grammaire dans une approche interactive/expérientielle en français de base

Abstract: Cet article porte sur l'integration de la grammaire dans les classes de langues secondes et plus particulierement dans les classes de francais de base au Canada. Il fera d'abord un survol rapide des etudes qui ont ete effectuees sur le sujet dans differents contextes et qui sont susceptibles de fournir des idees ou des moyens de reussir une bonne integration de la grammaire. Ensuite, il essaiera de demontrer comment les maigres resultats d'etudes que nous avons jusqu'a maintenant peuvent offrir des debuts de solutions au probleme de l'integration de la grammaire dans les programmes de francais de base.