Research has shown that children attending immersion programs reach a native-like level in comprehension and in reading by the end of elementary level. However, in writing and speaking, they rarely achieve target-like proficiency. Some conditions seem to favor the production of output. This study presents an investigation of children's ability to notice errors in their French second language in immersion program in Montreal. The study was conducted with forty-three (43) children aged 8-9, and aimed to gather information related to the following research questions: / Can we train 8 year-old second language learners to: (a) notice their errors; (b) self-correct (given certain prompts); (c) use metalinguistic terminology to identify forms; and (d) negotiate form using language as a conscious tool to improve their L2 oral production? / Children were required to participate in two (2) stages: first, video recording of communicative activities whit ungrammatical episodes with provision of corrective feedback were selected; and second, audio recording of children's attempts to negotiate form. The database was collected from these stimulated recall sessions of collaborative discussion. Results show how young learners may benefit from the provision of metalinguistic information, thus facilitating their second language learning development.

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. / Education, Faculty of / Language and Literacy Education (LLED), Department of / Graduate

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Montreal's cosmopolitan environment becomes richer and is modified as the years go by with the increased mobility and the arrival of new immigrants. In this context, it seems essential to know the development of the immigrants' cultural representations related to their own cultural identity, and related to the French language and people who speak this language. For the French teaching milieu, such knowledge is essential to inspire the development of curriculum to fulfil the new arrivals' linguistic and cultural needs and to better intervene in the classroom. Second language education can therefore provide opportunities for better knowing, understanding and appreciating the Other as well as the other language and culture. / This enquiry explores the cultural, representations of adult immigrants from different cultural backgrounds learning French in Montreal in various post-secondary institutions sanctioned by the ministere de l'Immigration et des Communautes culturelles du Quebec (MICC). This study uses quantitative and qualitative survey instruments in order to examine the cultural representations of these immigrants in relation to their integration, their linguistic, cultural and social practices, a new definition of their cultural identity, their reactions in instances of intercultural contact as well as their motivation to study French. In total, 110 immigrants answered our written questionnaire and 14 of them participated in an interview. / Findings suggest that the participants generally hold positive cultural representations towards the French language and French-speaking Quebecois. The study indicates that immigrants are mostly looking for informal French learning experiences within their host society. Moreover, participants acknowledge that learning and mastering French is very important for them, both to interact with French-speaking Quebecois, and to obtain a good job in Quebec. Findings related to the immigrants' cultural identity reveal that they seem to experience a "me-them" cultural duality in their host province. / The implications of this study are mainly related to the importance of emphasizing the informal learning of the French language so that immigrants can become better integrated into the French-speaking society. Further study perspectives could include the development of French language programs and the content of the French courses offered by the MICC, the use of different data collection methods as well as the participation of immigrants from specific cultural origins. / L'environnement cosmopolite montréalais s'enrichit et se modifie au fil des annéesavec la mobilité des populations et l'arrivée de nouveaux immigrants. Dans ce contexte,il apparaît essentiel de connaître le développement des représentations culturelles desimmigrants en lien avec leur propre identité culturelle, et envers la langue française et lesgens qui parlent cette langue. Pour le milieu de l'enseignement du français, une telleconnaissance est essentielle pour susciter le développement de curriculum répondant auxbesoins langagiers et culturels des immigrants. L'éducation en langues secondes peutdonc fournir des opportunités pour mieux connaître l'Autre, sa langue et sa culture, etéventuellement pour permettre de le comprendre et de l'apprécier davantage.

[No Abstract Submitted] / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

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