Difficultes d'apprentissage de la langue seconde chez l'immigrant adulte en situation scolaire: Une etude dans le contexte quebecois (Adult Immigrants' Problems in Learning a Second Language in an Academic Setting: A Study in the Context of Quebec Culture and Practice). Publication B-101.

N

152

Adult Students; Audiolingual Methods; Communicative Competence (Languages); Educational Research; Failure; French; Immigrants; Intensive Language Courses; Interlanguage; Language Research; Languages for Special Purposes; Learning Problems; Low Achievement; Postsecondary Education; Second Language Learning; Surveys

978-2-89219-100-4

A study was carried out of the 15 to 20% of immigrants enrolled in French second language classes in the "Centres d'Orientation et de Formation des Immigrants" (COFI) in Quebec, who learn little or no French after 8 weeks of an intensive course and repetitions of the course. This report presents the data gathered in the course of the 18-month project. The six chapters deal with the following material: (1) the influence of linguistic theory and research in psycholinguistics on language learning and the fact that this reorientation has cast serious doubts on structuralist and behaviorist methods; (2) a survey of instructors; (3) case studies; (4) a survey of students and analysis of the results, which led to the conclusion that pedagogical activities in certain classes were not a help to the students and were often a hindrance; (5) proposed solutions consisting of the introduction of practical content related to social and professional integration into Quebec culture instead of instruction in grammar and exercises in structure; and (6) an analysis of the interlanguage characteristics of subjects on various aptitude levels. The appendices contain the questionnaires and tests used in the project. (AMH)

1982

ED207332