In the present thesis, the interlanguage development of second language acquisition (SLA) was examined as it relates to students' French verb tense use in three program variants of French immersion: early French immersion (EFI), middle French immersion (MFI) and late French immersion (LFI). Verb tense is a crucial element of the French language and an area of considerable difficulty for students in French immersion (FI). The age at which the learners were first exposed to intensive amounts of French varied in each of these programs--5 years of age (Kindergarten) in the earliest starting program, EFI, 9 years (grade 4) in MFI, and 11 years (grade 6) in the latest starting program, LFI. Fourteen separate FI classes were studied: eight at grade 6 and six at grade 8. There were two classes per program at each grade level with the exception of grade 6 MFI where all four classes were involved. A major goal of this thesis was to study the issue of 'starting age' in SLA as it applies to intensive exposure to the second language (L2) in a school setting. Those who favour an early start argue that the larger number of cumulative hours of exposure to the L2 coupled with a 'natural process' of language acquisition produce better results. Those who prefer a later start claim that a 'natural process' of SLA need not be limited to younger learners, and that the older learner's advanced cognitive ability and first language literacy skills result in more rapid and efficient language learning. In general, the results of this research indicated that, regarding students use of basic French verb tenses, all three French immersion (FI) programs were working effectively as reflected in the superior performance by grade 8 students in all three programs on both tests. On the more analytic, written task two groups of later-starting students appeared to make fairly quick progress in some casesby the end of grade 6), and performed at a level which was closer to their earlier starting peers. Learner factors such as starting age (i.e., cognitive maturity and first language literacy), and second language fluency seem to interact with different pedagogical techniques to produce results which advantage late starting learners on more analytic tasks. Finally, the interlanguage analyses provided evidence that the passe compose and imparfait aspects of the written French past tense are extremely difficult for students in French immersion. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uottawa.ca/oai:ruor.uottawa.ca:10393/6736 |
| Date | January 1994 |
| Creators | Dicks, Joseph. |
| Contributors | Wesche, Marjorie, |
| Publisher | University of Ottawa (Canada) |
| Source Sets | Université d’Ottawa |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 252 p. |
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