Investigation of how much knowledge of certain aspects of French culture has been acquired by grade 9 students, in the early and late French immersion programs, in St. John's, Newfoundland

• Main Author: Clark, Vivien F.
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Memorial University of Newfoundland 1995
• Subjects: Newfoundland
• Online Access: https://research.library.mun.ca/1040/; https://research.library.mun.ca/1040/1/Clark_VivienF.pdf; https://research.library.mun.ca/1040/3/Clark_VivienF.pdf

Although much study has been done on the language skills and attitudes of French immersion students, there has been very little assessment of the students' knowledge of French culture, even though many educationalists advocate such knowledge for second language learners. The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Department of Education, Program of Studies, states as one of three objectives for French immersion, the appreciation of French language and culture (p. 184). Thus the intention of this study was to find out if, indeed, early and late French immersion students in grade 9 in St. John's, Newfoundland, have any knowledge of French culture, and if so, how much and of what type; and a further aim was to measure differences, if any, in these areas between the students in the two programs. This study was carried out by means of a questionnaire devised by the researcher. -- The questionnaire was designed in two parts, although the division was not obvious to the respondents. The first part was designed to create a profile of the respondents, and the second part was a test on French culture. This test was divided into three types of culture: behavioral culture is the typical behavior of the culture and involves such things as functional language, gestures and values; informational culture is facts that are cherished by the culture including history and geography, heroes and villains; and achievement culture is the artistic and literary accomplishments of the society. -- The information gathered was used to address the following research questions: — Do the students in the early French immersion and the late French immersion possess similar types of cultural knowledge and similar amounts of knowledge of the three types of culture: behavioral, informational, and achievement? Is there a correlation between knowledge of French culture and, program, overall achievement, achievement in French, attitude towards French people and their culture? Are there any differences in the students' knowledge of French culture ...