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With globalization and the growth of the World Wide Web, it is increasingly important for non-Anglophone students to acquire a functional level of English before graduating from secondary school. However, Francophone students in the province of Quebec who are learning English as a second language (ESL) face particular challenges that hinder their development of English proficiency, not the least of which is motivation. This quasi-experimental case study explores the effects of an eTandem project with Anglophone peers on the motivation of Francophone ESL learners in secondary school. The results indicate that Francophone students who completed the eTandem project showed greater motivational intensity, greater desire to learn the target language, and less anxiety. It also appears that technical problems, scheduling issues and anxiety contributed to the majority of Francophone students discontinuing the project. Recommendations are made to integrate eTandem projects into Quebec’s ESL curriculum and to address the anxiety issues of students in class.

With globalization and the growth of the World Wide Web, it is increasingly important for non-Anglophone students to acquire a functional level of English before graduating from secondary school. However, Francophone students in the province of Quebec who are learning English as a second language (ESL) face particular challenges that hinder their development of English proficiency, not the least of which is motivation. This quasi-experimental case study explores the effects of an eTandem project with Anglophone peers on the motivation of Francophone ESL learners in secondary school. The results indicate that Francophone students who completed the eTandem project showed greater motivational intensity, greater desire to learn the target language, and less anxiety. It also appears that technical problems, scheduling issues and anxiety contributed to the majority of Francophone students discontinuing the project. Recommendations are made to integrate eTandem projects into Quebec’s ESL curriculum and to address the anxiety issues of students in class.

With globalization and the growth of the World Wide Web, it is increasingly important for non-Anglophone students to acquire a functional level of English before graduating from secondary school. However, Francophone students in the province of Quebec who are learning English as a second language (ESL) face particular challenges that hinder their development of English proficiency, not the least of which is motivation. This quasi-experimental case study explores the effects of an eTandem project with Anglophone peers on the motivation of Francophone ESL learners in secondary school. The results indicate that Francophone students who completed the eTandem project showed greater motivational intensity, greater desire to learn the target language, and less anxiety. It also appears that technical problems, scheduling issues and anxiety contributed to the majority of Francophone students discontinuing the project. Recommendations are made to integrate eTandem projects into Quebec’s ESL curriculum and to address the anxiety issues of students in class.

The questions addressed in this study arose from an earlier project which attempted to provide videoconferencing opportunities for Second Language (SL) teachers to engaging in bilingual “virtual exchanges” for their students (hereafter referred to as “eTandem videoconferencing”). This investigation was initially motivated by the interest on discovering why these teachers and their students did not take the opportunity to participate in the synchronous part of the exchanges. This qualitative study reports on the developmental paths experienced by twenty SL teachers from the US, the UK, Switzerland and Spain and their pupils in the process. It particularly aims to discover what teachers' roles emerge in the process. The research also focuses on how these teachers’ practices are consistent with a more social constructivist approach to Computer Assisted Language Learning. The investigation builds on Hartnell-Young’s theoretical model (2003) of teachers’ roles where computers are used. Data collection involves an initial survey, observation of teachers and students before, during and after the exchanges and video-stimulated recall interviews with the teachers. The research centres on critical incidents experienced by these teachers. Hugues' model (2009) of the expanded critical incident approach provides the methodological framework. In line with her model, the study has created a multifaceted word picture of these teachers, further characterised by a condensed set of critical findings. The teachers’ accounts reveal several incidents that inhibited or supported the teachers’ development in terms of how they planned the learning environment regarding the physical space, the virtual setting and the social environment and in terms of how they mediated the implementation of the exchanges towards a more interactive approach. In doing so, this investigation adds to the knowledge base available to educators and researchers by offering greater understanding about these SL teachers’ particular experiences.

A partir d’un dispositif eTandem chinois-français initié et développé par l’Université de Genève (Suisse) et l’Université du Hubei (Chine) sur cinq années, cette thèse aborde deux problématiques : l’ingénierie pédagogique du dispositif et la co-construction des compétences via la réalisation des rôles d’expert et d’apprenant entre les locuteurs natifs et non natifs. D’une part, nous montrons que la conception du dispositif doit prendre en compte l’influence des exigences institutionnelles, des pédagogies et des cultures éducatives sur la motivation, les stratégies et les performances des apprenants. D’autre part, nous analysons de manière fine des interactions au sein de binômes dont les styles d’organisation peuvent varier. Le « projet didactique » sous-jacent à leurs échanges, grâce notamment à son caractère institutionnalisé, mobilise des ressources technologiques et interculturelles en lien avec le processus d’apprentissage. Nous montrons en particulier comment les stratégies de résolution de problèmes (négociation du sens et de la forme) sont prolongées et enrichies par les outils informatiques. / Based on a Chinese-French eTandem course initiated and developed by the University of Geneva (Switzerland) and the University of Hubei (China) over five years, this thesis tackles two issues: instructional design of the course and co-construction of competences through the realization of the roles of expert (native speaker) and learner (non-native speaker). On the one hand, our research shows that the course design should take into account the influence of the institutional requirements, teaching methods and the educational cultures on students’ motivation, strategies, and performance. On the other hand, we analyse interactions between learners, which present varying organisational styles. Thanks to the institutionalisation of the eTandem course, the « didactical characteristics » identified in their interaction mobilizes technological and intercultural resources related to the learning process. We show particularly how problem-solving strategies (negotiation of meaning and form) are extended and enriched by new technologies.

A partir d’un dispositif eTandem chinois-français initié et développé par l’Université de Genève (Suisse) et l’Université du Hubei (Chine) sur cinq années, cette thèse aborde deux problématiques : l’ingénierie pédagogique du dispositif et la co-construction des compétences via la réalisation des rôles d’expert et d’apprenant entre les locuteurs natifs et non natifs. D’une part, nous montrons que la conception du dispositif doit prendre en compte l’influence des exigences institutionnelles, des pédagogies et des cultures éducatives sur la motivation, les stratégies et les performances des apprenants. D’autre part, nous analysons de manière fine des interactions au sein de binômes dont les styles d’organisation peuvent varier. Le « projet didactique » sous-jacent à leurs échanges, grâce notamment à son caractère institutionnalisé, mobilise des ressources technologiques et interculturelles en lien avec le processus d’apprentissage. Nous montrons en particulier comment les stratégies de résolution de problèmes (négociation du sens et de la forme) sont prolongées et enrichies par les outils informatiques. / Based on a Chinese-French eTandem course initiated and developed by the University of Geneva (Switzerland) and the University of Hubei (China) over five years, this thesis tackles two issues: instructional design of the course and co-construction of competences through the realization of the roles of expert (native speaker) and learner (non-native speaker). On the one hand, our research shows that the course design should take into account the influence of the institutional requirements, teaching methods and the educational cultures on students’ motivation, strategies, and performance. On the other hand, we analyse interactions between learners, which present varying organisational styles. Thanks to the institutionalisation of the eTandem course, the « didactical characteristics » identified in their interaction mobilizes technological and intercultural resources related to the learning process. We show particularly how problem-solving strategies (negotiation of meaning and form) are extended and enriched by new technologies.

A partir d’un dispositif eTandem chinois-français initié et développé par l’Université de Genève (Suisse) et l’Université du Hubei (Chine) sur cinq années, cette thèse aborde deux problématiques : l’ingénierie pédagogique du dispositif et la co-construction des compétences via la réalisation des rôles d’expert et d’apprenant entre les locuteurs natifs et non natifs. D’une part, nous montrons que la conception du dispositif doit prendre en compte l’influence des exigences institutionnelles, des pédagogies et des cultures éducatives sur la motivation, les stratégies et les performances des apprenants. D’autre part, nous analysons de manière fine des interactions au sein de binômes dont les styles d’organisation peuvent varier. Le « projet didactique » sous-jacent à leurs échanges, grâce notamment à son caractère institutionnalisé, mobilise des ressources technologiques et interculturelles en lien avec le processus d’apprentissage. Nous montrons en particulier comment les stratégies de résolution de problèmes (négociation du sens et de la forme) sont prolongées et enrichies par les outils informatiques. / Based on a Chinese-French eTandem course initiated and developed by the University of Geneva (Switzerland) and the University of Hubei (China) over five years, this thesis tackles two issues: instructional design of the course and co-construction of competences through the realization of the roles of expert (native speaker) and learner (non-native speaker). On the one hand, our research shows that the course design should take into account the influence of the institutional requirements, teaching methods and the educational cultures on students’ motivation, strategies, and performance. On the other hand, we analyse interactions between learners, which present varying organisational styles. Thanks to the institutionalisation of the eTandem course, the « didactical characteristics » identified in their interaction mobilizes technological and intercultural resources related to the learning process. We show particularly how problem-solving strategies (negotiation of meaning and form) are extended and enriched by new technologies.