Speech profiles of early French immersion students at the senior high level

• Main Author: Dean, Susan L.
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Memorial University of Newfoundland 1996
• Subjects: Newfoundland
• Online Access: https://research.library.mun.ca/5133/; https://research.library.mun.ca/5133/1/Dean_SusanL.pdf; https://research.library.mun.ca/5133/3/Dean_SusanL.pdf

The purpose of this study was to describe the oral production of senior high level early French immersion students in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The intent was to develop language descriptors for each of grades ten, eleven and twelve which could eventually be used as a basis for evaluation. These profiles may constitute a realistic framework through which to examine the oral second language skills of senior high level early French immersion students rather than the commonly used native-speaker criterion against which these students generally do not rate well. -- Interviews were conducted with six students from each of grades ten, eleven and twelve. These interviews were recorded on audio-cassette. Following the data collection stage, the interviews were transcribed and analyzed, and speech profiles were developed for each grade level. -- The profiles indicate that while some distinctions exist between the speech of grade ten, eleven and twelve early French immersion students, these variations are generally minor with students' speech at each level containing many errors. A significant increase, however, in the length of students' utterances at the senior high level was noted possibly indicating an increasing ability of students to control their oral production.