Results of Intensive French at OCS 2009/2010

Intensive French (IF) became a reality for the Grade six class at Ottawa Christian School (OCS) during the past school year and research results demonstrate that it was a success on all fronts.

Oral production
Students were interviewed at the beginning and end of the intensive period to determine their ability to carry on a conversation in French related to their own lives and the topics studied. At the end of the six-month period, most students exceeded the target level described as: Able to show a certain spontaneity when speaking about familiar topics; uses simple but complete sentences; asks and answers simple questions. In short, students were no longer restricted to memorized phrases but could create sentences to express what they wanted to say. Evidence of this was described anecdotally by many parents who noted that their child now claimed to ‘think in French.’ This phenomenon was accurately described by another parent as the child having ‘internalized conversational French.’ The OCS average for oral production exceeded the national average for IF programs.

Written production
Written production skills were tested in February using a standardized measurement instrument that required students to write a short composition. OCS students perform similarly to other IF students in Ontario with regard to fluency of written production and exceeded performance on overall level and accuracy.

Motivation and attitudes toward studying French
In order to track any change in motivation and attitudes as a result of the IF experience, students completed a questionnaire in September and again in February. Student scores on all the subscales increased over the six-month period. However, in order to appreciate the most interesting change, it is important to understand the difference between an integrative and an instrumental orientation to motivation. Instrumental motivation refers to an interest in learning another language for personal gain, such as a better job or higher salary. This concept is reflected in a questionnaire item such as: Studying the French language can be important for me because other people will respect me more if I know another language. Integrative motivation, on the other hand, refers to interest in learning another language to know the other language group (or out groups, in general) and a willingness to identify with the speakers of a language group. This concept is reflected in a questionnaire item such as: Studying the French language can be important for me because it will make me feel more comfortable with people who speak French.

This suggests that language learning is oriented to the ‘other’ rather than to the ‘self.’ The score reflecting this integrative orientation to learning French in September was the highest of all the subscales, leaving very little room for improvement. Nevertheless, in February, this scale shows one of the largest changes. We can be very thankful for this striking outcome, which reflects a spirit congruent with the educational goals and core values of OCS.

Parental appraisal of student experience of the IF program
Parents were also invited to assess the program and the quality of their child’s experience. All parents responded; six considered the experience to be very positive, three positive and one negative.

Summary
It appears that IF was a successful experience at OCS. This program is often described as a ‘kick start’ for learning French since the intensity of instruction brings students brings to a level where they are able to communicate spontaneously and creatively in French. Although their level of proficiency is still limited, students finally feel they are able to do something with the language they are learning.
Larry Vandergrift, Ph.D.
Chair, IF Implementation Committee