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Maturing metalinguistically : negotiation of form and the refinement of repair

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.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.82686
Date January 2005
CreatorsBouffard, Laura Annie
PublisherMcGill University
Source SetsLibrary and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation
Formatapplication/pdf
CoverageMaster of Arts (Department of Second Language Education.)
RightsAll items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated.
Relationalephsysno: 002227292, proquestno: AAIMR12700, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest.

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