Abstract
In Canada, during the last eight years we have conceptualized a new approach to FSL implemented in the Elementary school, Intensive French. Since 1998, over 6000 students have participated in this program; by September 2006, virtually all provinces and territories will be implementing the program. Experiments on this model are underway in Wales. Evaluation results show that this program is highly effective in enabling students to reach a basic level of spontaneous communication, after five months.
Our theoretical foundations challenge many widely accepted assumptions about SLA. Based primarily on research on the neurolinguistic foundations of bilingualism (Paradis, 2004), we propose a realignment of the role of the explicit teaching of grammar and the relationships between explicit knowledge and implicit competence. We also reaffirm the importance of the development of an internalized grammar through focus on use rather than focus on form.
We propose teaching strategies for the acquisition of language that are different from those for the acquisition of accuracy and of fluency. It is our hope that this reexamination of current conceptions will lead to more fruitful research in the area of SLA and more effective development of the communicative abilities of students in the school system. |
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Biography
Claude Germain received a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Ottawa (1989) and a Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Aix-Marseille (1970). He is currently Full professor in the Department of Linguistics and Second Language Teaching at UQAM ( University of Quebec at Montreal ), and is an internationally acknowledged authority on the teaching and learning of second languages. He is well-known for his research and numerous publications in second language teaching, such as Évolution de l'enseignement des langues: 5000 ans d'histoire (1993, Paris : CLE International), Le point sur l'approche communicative (1993, Montréal: Centre Éducatif et Culturel) and Le point sur la grammaire (in cooperation with H. Séguin, 1995, Paris: CLE International). He has presented research findings in many countries, and is currently involved in a project in Africa about French as a second language. With Dr. Joan Netten, he received two major grants from the Language Acquisition Research Branch, Canadian Heritage, for Intensive French and co-edited a Special Issue of the Canadian Modern Language Review on “Intensive French in Canada” (February 2004).
Joan Netten received a Ph.D from the Université du Québec à Montréal (2001). She is an Honorary Research Professor, Faculty of Education, at Memorial University of Newfoundland. She was Coordinator of the French Education program at Memorial University, and, during this time received a major grant from the Department of Canadian Heritage to improve French teacher education and, with W. H. Spain, a grant from SSHRC to investigate classroom interactions in French immersion. She was seconded to the provincial Department of Education where she implemented French First Language education. She is currently Director of the Intensive French Project, and, with Claude Germain, a recipient of two major grants, co-editor of a special issue of the Canadian Modern Language Review, and was invited to address a Parliamentary Committee on language education in Wales. She has been Vice-President of the Canadian Association of Applied Linguistics, National President of Canadian Parents for French, and is Vice-President of the Editorial Board of the Canadian Modern Language Review. She received the Order of Canada for her contribution to research and development of French education. |
