Many second language (L2) teachers are concerned about the use of computers in the classroom and question the value of using them if they do not promote meaningful interaction. Research performed on French as a Second Language (FSL) students’ language interaction at the computer agrees with Mohan's (1986) research on English as a Second Language students' language interaction which suggests that the quantity and quality of interaction is lower during computer tasks compared to conversation. Secondly, analysis of the codeswitching (CS) of the FSL students' interaction suggests that intersentential CS shows functional variation in discourse during computer use compared to conversation. This study examines the use of the computer to facilitate interaction as well as the possible role of CS in second language acquisition. / Education, Faculty of / Language and Literacy Education (LLED), Department of / Graduate

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Canada has two official languages: French and English. Each province must allow for an educational program in both languages where the number of students warrant such programs. Although minority language schools exist in all Canadian provinces, some provinces are so overwhelmingly English that the Francophone school programs struggle constantly to survive and threaten to become extinct. Yet a vigilant group of parents and partisans work incessantly to maintain these minority language school programs. This thesis will examine why these schools exist in British Columbia and whether or not they can promote the Francophone minority language and culture in the overwhelming Anglophone environment. Bilingual Canadian wonder that more Canadians are not bilingual. Some Canadians are dedicated to educating their children in their official minority language while others do not understand why Canada is officially bilingual. Yet, to take the example of just one province, British Columbia is and remains an Anglophone province. A Francophone parent would, I shall argue, be doing her child a great disservice to insist on schooling in Francophone minority programs. Family is only part of a child's world. The media, friends, neighbors, the stores, the community centers and the people that surround us make up our language and culture. In British Columbia, the language is English and the cultures are as diverse as the people who are part of them. The purpose of this study is to investigate and present an historical, religious, political and economic analysis of the reasoning behind the existence of Francophone minority language schools and programs in British Columbia, and to evaluate whether or not it is possible for these programs and schools to fulfill their mandate. My initial sentiments were biased in favor of Francophone minority programs and though I still believe that official minorities have an unquestionable constitutional right to their schools and to the administration of these schools, I no longer believe that these schools and programs alone can provide a rich ethnic sanctuary that could permit the minority language and culture to flourish. In fact, I no longer believe that it is in the student's best interest to attend these schools and programs. The students can only be crippled by their lack of knowledge of English and by their limited exposure to the Francophone world. I visited two of the three homogeneous Francophone schools and four Programme cadre programs in the mainstream Anglophone and French immersion schools in BC. I interviewed and videotaped students, parents, teachers, language education experts and attended conferences and meetings, examined pertinent historical, political, legal and pedagogical data, and concluded (not surprisingly) that language and culture are expressions of our everyday lives. My research strategy thus combined elements of historical, legal, sociological, and socio-linguistic method, relying both on direct observation and reference, and on considerable secondary literature. I conclude that one can teach the French language, but unless it is expressed and alive as part of our world, it is but a code with limited value. One cannot teach the Francophone culture. One either lives it (or a limited part of it) in a setting that must exclude the majority, thereby confining the world around and restricting opportunity, or one quickly becomes assimilated. Providing community schools where minority language is strictly enforced and reinforced at home is only the beginning. To date these ethnocentric shelters are not available in British Columbia. Perhaps the recently acquired right to administer some of the Francophone programs by the Francophone minority will empower the Francophone minority in B.C. and provide higher academic standards, a more attractive image of the minority language and culture and force the Francophone community to assume a sense of identity and belonging.

This study examined a group of English-speaking individuals temporarily residing in the province of Quebec who were studying French. I expected to find that language students who take an active role seeking opportunities to practice French outside of the classroom would demonstrate acquisition of a native speaker (NS) language variant more than those students who take a passive role in seeking out informal French interactions or those who actively sought instead interaction in English. However, no significant correlation between active or passive reactions to the learning environment and the production of the language variant was established. Students who actively sought French interaction were those who were focused on French language study, favored linguistic diversity, and spoke more French at school. For future French language students coming to Quebec to acquire native-like French I suggest developing a strong foundation of French beforehand and, once in Quebec, to live in a Francophone area.