A pilot study to evaluate the writing skills of French immersion students at the grade nine level in Newfoundland and Labrador

• Main Author: Corbett, Paula
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Memorial University of Newfoundland 1991
• Subjects: Newfoundland
• Online Access: https://research.library.mun.ca/4980/; https://research.library.mun.ca/4980/1/Corbett_Paula.pdf; https://research.library.mun.ca/4980/3/Corbett_Paula.pdf

The writer has evaluated the level of student writing in French immersion at the grade nine level in Newfoundland and Labrador. -- Three research questions provided the basis for the study. They were as follows: -- 1. How proficient are students when using the written skill? -- 2. Do discrepancies exist between different geographical areas, ie., rural, urban and francophone? -- 3. Are there differences between the performance of females and males? -- The data consisted of a delimited pilot population of 64 student writing samples where the students were asked to write a letter to their principal suggesting one way in which the school could be improved. The 64 profiles were then assessed in six different writing categories and a mark rendered for the writing level attained in each category. -- Statistical analyses were conducted on the data and the results were discussed. -- It was found that students performed best in the categories of effectiveness (getting the message across) and vocabulary use. Grammar and spelling/accent/punctuation/capitalization were the categories in which the students performed only moderately well and sociolinguistic performance and organization of information least well. -- Regional differences in performance did exist. Urban students tended to perform better than either the rural or francophone regions and females outperformed males; males only approached the female rating in the category of sociolinguistic performance, although males actually outperformed females in the urban area in the categories of grammar and organization of information. -- The thesis concludes with a series of recommendations for French immersion education and further research.