A CASE STUDY OF TEACHING STRATEGIES

ASSOCIATED wmJ DIFFERENT FORMATS

FOR CORE FRENCH

Christopher Paul Hïimer

A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements

for the degree of Master of Arts
Department of Curriculum, Teadiing and Learning
Ontario ïnstitute for Studies in Education of the
University of Toronto

O Copyright by Christopher Paul Hilmer 1999

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 A CASE STUDY OF TEACHING STRATEGIES ASSOCIATED

WITH DIFFERENT FORMATS FOR CORE FRENCH

Master of Arts
1999
Christopher Paul Hilmer
Graduate Department of Education
University of Toronto

This study deals with the teadillig strategies that a particular teacher uses
when instructing two Grade 7 core French classes in different program formats.

The aim of this study is to determine whether differences in the teaching

strategies used in the two formats are a factor in the students' leaming outcornes
and attitudes towards Iearning FrendL
Students in two groups of roughly equal academic ability were assigned
to one of two program formats: a traditional format of 40 minutes daiiy for the

entire school year or a compact format of 150 minutes daily for approximately
one-quarter of the school year. Sarnple lessons were videotaped, and the
teaching strategies were analyzed.

Quantitative findings indicate that there was no difference in this teachefs

use of teaching strategies between the two program formats. Evidence from the
qualitative data suggests, however, that the two dasses were not treated exactiy
the same way.
 1 have many people to adnowledge for their contributions to my writing

of this thesis.
1 wodd like to give my heartfelt thanks to Sharon Lapkin, m y supervisor,

and Birgit Harley for their guidance and insight throughout this project Their
invaiuable comments and suggestions were always thought-provoking and
incisive- I espeudy appreaate their unfailing patience and understanding.
1 am grateful to Glenn Campbell for permission to pursue the research he

outlined in his proposal. My th& also go to Doug Hart for his role in the
original Carleton case study.
Susan Elgie from the Research Consulting 5ervice at OISE/UT deserves
many thanks for sharing her statistical expertise with me.
My family and many friends deserve recognition for the roles they played
in helpuig me complete this thesis. Their understanding, cooperation and faith
in me were essential throughout my thesis-writing process. In patticular, 1
would Iike to thank Iva Baltova for performing inter-rater reliability checks on
the coding of the observational data, Miles Turnbull for his unflagging
encouragement, and Hiroko Seya for her constant support.
Last but certainly not least, the anonymous teacher who agreed to
participate in this study desemes many thanks for enduring my constant
observation, mechanical faiîures, and my incessant probing. Without
cooperative teachers like her, dassroom research would be impossible.

iii
 Table of Contents

Abstract
Acknowledgements
List of Tables
Chapter 1: Introduction and R w i o u s Rescuch
1.1. Purpose
1.2. Issues
1.2.1. Rationale for the Study
1.2.2. Theoretical Issues
1.2.3. Practical Issues
1.3. Conceptuai Framework and Previous Research
1.3.1. Time as a Factor in Student Learning Outcomes
1.3.1.1. Lapkin, Harley and Hart (1995). Revitaiizing Core French:
The Carleton Case Study
1.32. T h e as a Factor Affecting Teaching Strategies
1.3.2.1. Spada and Lightbown (1989). Intensive ESL Programmes
in Quebec Primary Schools

1.3.2.2. Spada (1987). Relationships between Instructional

Differences and Learning Outcomes

1.3.3. Teaching Strategies and Their Effect on Student Outcomes

1.3.3.1. Gayle (19û4). Effective Second-Language Teaching Styles

1.3.4. Summary of Previous Research

1.4. Research Focus
1.4-1. Research Questions
 1.4.2. Hypotheses
1.4.3. Assumptiom
1.4.4. A Definition

1.5. Summary
Chapter 2: Methodology
2.1. Overview
2.2. The Sample
2.3. Research Materials
2.3.1. Teacher's Journal
2.3.2. Questionnaires
2.3.3. Tests
2.3.4. Classroom Observation and Videos
2.3.4.1. Observation Scherne
2.3.4.1.1. Teaching Strategies
2.3.4.1.2. Student Language Production
2.3.4.1.3. Explanatory Notes for the Observation Scherne
2.3.4.2. Summary of the Obswation %eme
2.3.5. Interviews
2.4. Procedurd Overview

2.5. Summary of Methodology

Chapter 3: Findings
3.1. Quantitative Findings
3.1.1. Summary of Quantitative Findings
3.2. Qualitative Findings
 3.2.1. Interview Data
3.2.1.1. The Teacher's Language Leaming Experiences
3.2.1.2. The Teacher's Beliefs about Language Teadiing
3.2.1.3. The Teacher's Implementation of the Éhns Materials
3.2.1.4. The Teacher's Consistency in Lesson Planning
3.2.1.5. The Teacher's Suggestions for Future Changes to
Her Teadiing in a Similar Context
3.2.1.6. Summary of Interview Data
3.2.2. Teacher Journal Data
3.2.2-1. The Teacher's Implementation of the Éhns Materials
3.2.2.2. The Teacher's Use of English
3.2.2.3. Impressions of the 40-Minute and 150-Minute Classes
3.2.2.4. Favourable Attitudes toward the 150-Minute Program
Format
3.2.2.5. The Loss of Teadung Time
3.2.2.6. Summary of Teacher Journal Data
3.2.3. Classroom Observation Da ta
3.2-3.1. Summary of Classroom Observation Data
3.2.4. Summary of Qualitative Findings
3.3. Summary of Findings
Chapter 4 Discussion
4.1. Interpretation of Findings
4.2. A Possible Explanation for the Results

4.3. Possible Explanations for Differences in Group Outcornes

4.3.1. The mect of the Variation of Other Teadiing Strategies

 4.3.2. The Effect of the Teacher's Use of English
4.3.3. The Effect of the Loss of Class Time
4.3.4. The Effect of Differences in Group Composition

4.3.5. The E f k t of Reactivity Problems

4.3.6. The Effect of the Intensive Program Format

4-3.7. Summary of Possible Explanations for Differences in Group

Outcornes
4.4. Shortcomuigs and Limitations of the Shidy

4.5. Implications for Theory and Practice

4.6. Directions for Future Research

4.7. Condudtig Remarks

Ref -ces

vii
Table 1.1. Overview of Gayle's (1984) Language Teadùng
Record Scheme
Table 2.1- Teaching Strategies
Table 2.2. Student Language Production
Table 3.1. The Nurnber and Percentage of Occurrences of Each
Teaching Strategy in the Two Groups
Table 3.2. The Number and Percentage of Occurrences of Each
Type of Student Utterance in the Two Groups
Table 3.3. The Number and Percentage of Occurrences of
AU Translation in Each Group
Table 3.4. The Nurnber and Percentage of Occurrences of
Extended Questions in Each Group
Table 3.5. The Number and Percentage of AU Student Utterances
in French in Each Group

Table 3.6. The Number and Percentage of Teacher Utterances in

French and in English in Each Group

viii
 Chapter 1
Introduction and Previous Research
This thesis reports on an educational case study involving a Grade 7 core
French program in Ontario. My study considers the possîbility of variations in
the use of certain teaching strategies associated with program format as a factor
affecting student performance. This study is done within the fiamework of
another project hvestigating time or program compactness as a variable affecthg
students' linguistic achievernent and attitudinal outcomes.
Compact courses are programs which have the same number of
instructional hours as regular programs but complete the total number of hours
in a shorter span of time. Therefore, compact courses are of a short overall

duration but consist of dasses longer than those in regular, more distributed
courses. Researchers and educators are showing interest in compact programs,
because they may contribute to better student leaming outcomes (Lapkin,Hart &
Harley, 1998; Lapkin, Harley & Hart,1995; Baxter, 1993; Jorgensen, 1993; Lindsay,
1993; Tumer et al., 1993;Carroll, 1990;Stem, 1985). (Note that Lapkin, Harley and

Hart, 1995, is an official report; Lapkin, Hart and Harley, 1998, is the published
version in general distribution. Throughout the present document, only the
original report by these three researchas is a t e d instead of their published
chapter in order to eliminate a double citation.)
Improved student leaming outcomes may be a result of variations in
teadllng strategies used in the different program formats. For the purposes of
this study, 1 have defined "teaching strategy" as a specific teadiing behaviour

1
which may support one or more practices of an approach to, or method of,
language teadiing (see section 1.4.4 for further details). (Richards and Rodgers,
1985, define "method as the melding of a teaching "approach" - the theoretical
assumptions and beliefs about language learnïng - and the "procedure" - the
practical dassroom techniques, activities and tasks.) The teaching strategies that
1am focussing on here are not activities or tasks such as the use of a dictogloss, a

dictation, or oral substitution driiis; such classroorn w ork constitutes different

1991; Bowen, Madsen & Hilferty, 1985; and
practice techniques. (See N~nan#
Ailen & Valette, 1977 for more examples of second language practice techniques,

activities and tasks.) The teaching strategies observed in this study (and
desaibed at greater length in section 1.4.4 and in Chapter 2) are more fine-
grained; they are teadiing behaviours at a more "micro" level.
My definition of a "teaching strategy" dosely foilows Gayle's (1984, 1989),
and these teaching strategies should not be confused with what others may cal1
"teaching approaches", "teadiing practices", "procedures" or, indeed, "teaching
strategies". Gayle (1984) defines teaching strategies as the "verbal dynamics in
the second-language classroom" (p. 525) which describe "the pedagogical
[author's italics] function of the [teacher's] oral behaviour rather than [the]
linguistic function" (p. 526). "[Rleference to configurations on the miao level of
the discourse hinction rather than on the more macro level of the activity, etc.,
offers a certain advantage since it is important to determine exactly what the
teacher ïs doing in the classroom." (Gayle, 1984, p. 526)

The teaching strategies that 1 am researdUng are basic strategies used for
conducting a lesson in a second language dassroom. They represent the teacher
talk intended to elicit certain behaviours or verbal interaction in the students.
They provide the students with a source of target language input (in addition to
the teaching materiais) and they encourage the students to produce target
language output and/or partiapate in or, at least, foilow the lesson and partake
in the classroom activity. Some examples of these teaching strategies are
info r n ation questions, &play questions, requests or commands, disüplinary
actions, and comprehension checks.
When an instructional program is made more compact, it is reasonable to
believe that instructors WU adjust their teaching strategies to better facilitate
1e-g (Stem, 1985; Carroll, 1990;Turner et al., 1993; Jorgensenf 1993). Studies

have shown that teachers adapt th& teadiing approach (Spada & Lightbown,
1989), Vary in their practices (Spada, 1987), and ciiffer in their individual use of
particular strategies (Gayle, 19û4)- However, 1 have not yet found research in
which a key element - the participation of a single teacher in the various
program formats - is kept constant and where the teaching strategies have the
potential to change when the format of the program is altered. Further research
into the process-product relatiowhip must be done.
This thesis proposes to investigate two questions: Do different formats of a
program affect the teadiing strategies ernployed by a particular second language
teacher? If yes, could the variations in teaching strategies selected for
observation be responsible for different linguistic or attitudinal outcornes? This
work, based on adiievement and attitudinal testing conducted by Lapkin, Harley
and Hart (1995),investigates these questions as they relate to a compact dass of
150 minutes and a regular dass of 40 minutes in a grade 7 core French program
taught by the same teacher. Information about teaching strategies was gathered
through classroom observation, banscripts of videotaped lessons, an interview,
and the teacher's journal.
1.1. Purpose

According to Canadian Heritage (1994), three-quarters of Canadians

would like their chilchen to leam both of Canada's official languages. With more
than 2 million students outside Quebec now enrolled in elementary and
secondary French second-language programs, the offiaal support for French is
obvious. The demand for French immersion classes is particularly great;
enrollment in immersion progams has risen to almost 300,000 - nearly a ten-fold
inuease since 1977 (Canadian Heritage, 1994). This means that there are more
than 1.7 million students in traditional, core French classes in Canada. Mrhile
French immersion seems to have received the majority of research attention and
public fanfare since its inception two decades ago, the most common FSL
program in Canada today is stilI the core French dass (R LeBlanc, 1990; J.C.
LeBlanc, 1985). With such a large number of students involved in the core French
program, it is wise to inspect it more dosely and to invest in its revitalization.
Both the federal govenunent and laquage educators recognize the
importance of effective French second-language education. "Knowing both
officia1 languages enridies the lives of Canadians and helps us understand one
another better. The Canada of tomorrow is being built in the dassrooms of
today" (Canadian Heritage 1994). The federal government, through Hentage

Canada (formerly the Department of the Secretary of State), provided some of the
funding to support this research into core French revitalization.
 The purpose of this study is to consider strategies for the improvement of
core French instruction in this bilingual country with the uitimate intention of
improving the second language skills of young Canadians.
1.2 Issues

In this section, the rationale for this study is explained. Also, some
theoretical and practical issues arising from the study are briefly outlined.
1.21. Rationaie for the Study
Despite J. C. LeBlanc (1985) teporting that most English-speaking
Canadians want French to be taught in the schools, core French at the
junior/intermediate levels in Ontario is still viewed as a subject of minor
importance. There is a general feeling that core French is only offered for
political reasons rather than for any benefits that exposure to language learning
may have on children. Poyen and Gibson (1990) report that
[mlany school p ~ u p a l begrudge
s the time taken for French in what
they cowider a aowded tirnetable. Finding a good French] teacher is
often a low priority and, when dasses must be cut to accommodate
special events, it is not musual to find that the French class has been
cancelled. (p. 20)
Even some elementary dassroom teachers may feel that the sole purpose of core
French is to provide them with their daily, 40-minute preparation period.
Although the core French class is a daily event in the schools, it is often not
considered to be an integral part of the system.
The poor attitudes towards core French which may mise among the
elementary school staff and administration are sometimes reflected in the student
body. Because it is not often th& reguiar dassroom teacher who teaches thern
French, students can often see the core French dass as a break from the "subjects
that count". Researchers have noted h t "students in Grade 7 and 8 tend to
express negative attitudes, and to behave negatively [...and display a] la& of
motivation [...] in the core French program" (Smith h Massey, 1987, p. 314).
Aside from this kind of research, there is much anecdotai evidence which shows
thaï students do not settîe down quiddy in dass, and they begin to pack up their
books-and dose their minds--relatively early before the end of dass. This
situation results in the l o s of precious minutes and, over the course of the school
year, hours of instructional tirne. The resulting loss of instruction and practice
time-time away from exposute to French-certainiy does not improve the
students' ability to communicate in French. When students do not feel successful
in their attempts to learn French (or any other subject), they may develop

negative attitudes towards that subject (Hanen, 1993).

Offering core French in a compact format could change both the
adiievement and attitude problems of students in these programs. Stem (1985)
theonzes that compact courses ailow students to concentrate on their shidies
more and thus learn better. Because students in these courses are able to develop
a strong sense of achievement, they can enjoy the subje& Campbeii (1992) made
a proposa1 to assess the impact of compact programs on core French. He
hypothesized that student achievement and attitudes wouid be positively
affected by the compact program, just as they were in the intensive E L program
evaluated by Spada and Lightbown (1989) (see below). At the same tirne,
Campbell also proposed the possibility of compact programs affecting teaching
strategies which dtîmately could infiuence student achievement and attitudes.
Therefore, in my study, 1 try to explore differences in adiievement and
attitude between students in different formats of the same core French program
from the perspective of possible variations in teaching strategies in the t i o
program formats.
1.22 Theoretid Issues

Spada (1987, p. 138) notes that "Little research has been undertaken to
demonstrate that there is a relationship between spedic instructional practices
and second-language achievement". Most research into teaching and its effects
on student achievement has concentrated on a certain approach or a specific
method of second language teachïng (Gayle, 1984) rather than looking at some
finer details of teacher-student interaction in the classroom. Because individual
students seem to learn in different ways, the teaching approach or their related
practices m a y not be the only factors in determining student success in the
language classroom. Researchers and educators must look more deeply into the
process-product relationship.
Perhaps when the context of teaching (for example, program format or
class Length) changes, the teaching also changes. A relationship between the two
has been suggested by Stem (1985), Carroll (1990), Turner et al. (1993), and
Jorgensen (1993). Of course, there can be changes in certain activities that can be
made with more dass tirne, but researdiers have begun to ask what happens to
the "smaiier", "micro level" teachïng strategies (Gayle, 1989; Gayle, 1984) that
teachers use on a daily basis. The next levei of researdi into teaching practices,
therefore, pertains to the "smailer" teaching strategies involving teacher/student
interaction. Further research into this area wiil expand our understanding of
pedagogical discourse functions and their effect on leamer outcomes.
Teaching strategies should not be viewed in isolation from teaching
approaches and practices. It may be that it is neither teadiing strategies alone nor
the approach alone nor the practices alone that determine student achievement.
Instead, upon doser examination, researchers may h d that it is more lrkely that
a balance of factors related to ali aspects of the tea&erfs and students' behaviour
in the dassroom is responsible for successfd second language learning.
It is research such as that proposed in this study that may open the d w r a
little wider on our understanding of teaching behaviours and their comection to
students' second language acquisition.
1.23. Practid Issues

Studies iike this may have an effect on teacher behaviour as well as student
learning outcomes.
The prevailing wisdom in Canadian second language education indicates
that teachers should be adopting a communicative/experiential approach in
order to facilitate their students' learning. Communicative/ experiential teaching
is structured around communicative tasks and permits the learners to participate
in authentic communication situations (Tremblay, Duplantie & Huot, 1990). It is

similar to the widely known communicative language teaching (CLT)which

"emphasizes that the goal of language leaming is communicative cornpetence"
(Richards, Platt & Platt, 1992, p. 65). Despite the support for such teaching,
Spada (1987,p. 138) notes that "teachers are left to interpret how CLT can be
implemented in the dassroom" and to determine which practice activities are
appropnate. Her study indicates that teachers do interpret the communicative
approach and judge the value of ptactice activities differently - sometimes
producing varied student outcomes (see below). More research into the finer
details of the teacher's role in second language education may lead to more
prescriptive teaching techniques for better second language learning and
acquisition
Shidies üke this may help to improve core French education and make it a
more respected option to immersion. This, in tum, could lead not only to better
results in students' efforts to leam French in class but also to students' greater use
of French outside the classroom.
1.3. Conceptuai Framework and Previous Research

In this section, 1 describe the concepts which fotm the foundation of my

study. 1 focus on time as a factor in student leamïng outcomes, time as a factor
affecüng teadiing strategies, and teadiing strategies and their effect on student
outcomes. 1 also review relevant background research, highlighting four studies
in particular: Laplsin, Harley and Hart (1995), Spada and Lightbown (1989).

Spada (1987),and Gayle (1984).

1.3.1. Tirne as a Fador in Student Leaming Outcornes
Research into classroom second language learning involves
experimentation with and investigation of the interdependence of many variables
and their effect on linguistic outcomes. Some of the relevant variables indude
individual differences among the participants themselves, the teaching approach
and/or the teadung strategies used in the dassroom, and the element of time
involved in instruction. Participants may Vary in age, ability, educational
background, linguistic background, and personal experience. Çome research
concerning individuai variables in student participants has been done. (For
example, in their study, Naiman, Frohlich, Stem and Todesco, 1978, o u t h e
individual variables such as learner's strategies, their productive versus
receptive competence, IQ and language aptitude, attitude, personality and
cognitive style which indudes tolerance of ambiguity, tolerance of the teacher's
use of the target language in the dassroom, and field independence. Harley,
1986, discusses general considerations in the nature of second language

acquisition by younger and older leamers while focusing speàficaiiy on issues

of early and late French immersion. Skehan, 1989, discusses other variables such
as motivation and cognitive/affective influences like extraversion-introversion,
risk-taking, and anxiety in addition to providing an overview of these types of
studies.) Mu& debate still occurs over which teaching approach, another major
variable, is best. At the time this case shidy was being done, the Ontario Ministry
of Education (1980) did not mention any particular preferred approach;
however, it indicated that the "aim of the Core French program [was] to help
students develop the ability to use the French language to communirate" (p. 21).
Furthermore, it stated that "students should be placed in a situation where they
must receive and give all information in French" (p. 62). ALthough the preferred
teaching approach was not named, a communicative, if not experiential,
approach seemed to be implied. A third major variable, time, is important as it
is generaiiy accepted that one is more likely to master a second language the
more time one spends studying it (Carroll, 1975) (see section 4.3.2). However,
researdiers do not know very much about the extent of the influence that tirne -
and, specificaily, its distribution - has on language learning and much less about
its effects on the language teaching process.
Stem (1985) states that most research done into time as a factor affecting
language learning has dealt with lengthening the program and inaeasing the
study time within the program as well as beginning language study at an earlier
age. It is widely accepted by professionals in the field of language education that

more t h e spent on the task of language study, whether formal or informal, leads
to more learning. However, Stem (1985) points out that süii more research can be
done with the variable of t h e .
Tirne can be altered not only by adjusting the total number of hours of a
language program but also by making it more compact. A compact course is
one in which the total number of hours is held constant (as compared to a
"regular" course); however, the t h e frame in which the course is realized is
shorter or more compact. A compact course does not entail an inaease in the
number of hours of study in a program. It sirnply involves making the program
more "intense". Intense, in this case, does not mean the addition of
communicative targets to be mastered or more difficult linguistic structures to
be leamed in the program; however, a compact course is intense in the sense that
the regular amount of material must be covered in the same number of dassroom
hours but in a shorter overaii time frame. In short, the distribution of hours in a
compact program is different from that of a regular program, yet both courses
maintain the same number of instructional hours.
Although proposed at least as far back as the late 1970s/early 1980s, the
concept of compact courses is a relatively rare phenornenon in the public sdiools
of Ontario. Stem (1985) theorizes that compact language courses may be more
effective than programs which fitribute th& content over longer periods of
tirne- However, Stem cautions that much is to be investigated before a compact
course is implemented. It is not known what effect the program's compactness
has on long-tenn language learning. Even less is known about the effect that a
program's compactness has on 0th- variables such as the teaching approach or
teaching strategies adopted by the language teacher. It has not yet been
determined if ciifferences in outcome between regular and compact programs
are due to the program compactness or to any adjusteci teaching strategies- %me
researchers may hope to establish a general cause-and-effect chain between these
kinds of variables and second language learning in order to prescribe more

effective teaching conditions.

1.3.1*1. Lapicin, H a l e y and Hart (1995). Revitalizing Corn French=
The Carleton Case Study
Lapkin, Harley and Hart (1995) were able to conduct research similar to
that proposed by Campbell (1992). This study investigated two questions: (a) Do
compact courses result in improved student adiievement and attitudes?, and @)
Are any improvements maintained over time?

Their case study, hereinafter referred to as the Carleton case study,

focused on three classes of grade 7 core French taught by the same teacher. The
control or cornpa.rison group was one dass of students which received the usual
40 minutes of core French instruction per day for the entire sdiool year. Another

dass was an experimental group which received a half-day (150 minutes) of core
French instruction per day for ten weeks; it was the intensive or compact group.
The third dass was an experimental group which received 80 minutes of core
French instruction per day for five months.
Students' abilities in liçtening comprehension, reading comprehension,
and writing in French were pre-tested. A random subsample of subjects in each
dass underwent an oral ability pre-test in French. Students were given a post-
test some time after the completion of th& program, and a diffexent delayed
post-test was administered at the beginning of the following school year.
Students completed attitude questionnaires at aii three stages of the study. The
three classes used the same textbook and workbook (Duplantie, Beaudoin &
Huilen, 1991) which were based on a communicative/ experiential learning
approach (Tremblay, Duplantie k Huot, 1990; R LeBlanc, 1990; Stem, 1992).
From their findings, Lapkin, Harley and Hart (1995) reported that a l l three
classes improved between the French pre-test and post-test- However, students
in the two compact programs made gains on 5 of the 6 tests (the Test de
compréhension auditive, the Test de lecture, the Dictée, the Compositions, and
the first part of the oral test involving descriptions of pictues), while students in
the reguiar 40-minute dass made gains on only two of the tests (the Dictée and
the second part of the oral test involving a role-play in a restaurant) during the

pre-test/ post-test period and had signifïcantly poorer pst-test results on another
(the Test de lecture). (See subsection 2.3.3 for details on these tests.) In a
cornparison of the groups, it was found that students in the two compact groups
did significantly better in French reading comprehension than those in the
reguiar group. Resdts from the French listening comprehewion and French
speaking tests ùidicated that there were no signifiant differences in achievement
 14

between the three groups. Students in the 150-minute group scored signincantly
better than those in the 40-minute group in French writing. This ciifference was
the only lead that was maintained in follow-up testing.
These researchers dso reported hdings on students' self-assessments of
perceptions and attitudes. About two-thuds of the shidents in the compact
groups liked having more time for French each day, while the remaining one-
third did not. The majority of students in the two compact groups felt that they
could remember more of their French from day to day than in the regular
program. About threequarters of students in the compact groups felt that those
formats made speaking French easier. Students in these two groups felt that they
had done better on speaking French in class as compared to self-assessments
made by students in the regular group. (However, as noted in the above
paragraph, there had been no significant differences in French speaking skills
between the three groups when they were post-tested.) Aside from large
portions of the compact dasses mentionhg that they got tired or that it was hard
to pay attention in the longer classes, students' reactions to the compact program
formats were largely positive.
Lapkin, Harley and Hart (1995) conduded that a compact program could
promote higher levels of achievement and contribute to greater levels of self
confidence in students' use of French.
1.32. T h e as a Factor Affecting Teaching Stratcgies

Although their findings did show that students could make gains in
French ski11 areas while in a compact course, Lapkin, Harley and Hart (1995) did
not determine whether it was the program format per se or a possible variation in
teadiing strategies prompted by the change in dass length that was responsible
for these attitudinal and learning achievements. There is some research to
indicate that t h e does affect teaching behaviours.
Carroll (1990) suggests a restructuring of the traditional instructional
programming in secondary schools. His model, which he cails the Copemican
Plan, proposes long maaoclasses of 220 minutes running for 30 days and shorter

microclasses of 110 minutes running for 60 days. As Carroil suggests, a compact

program can consist of both macro- and microclasses or of either macro- or
microclasses. Carroll (1990) states that
if the schedule for students and teachers is completeiy reoriented to

provide conditions that will accommodate better instructional practice,

then many practices identifieci with more effective instruction can be
implemented. 1. .] The Copemican Plan establishes conditions that
foster the use of a variety of instructional approaches that are more
personalized and more effective. (pp. 361-362)
Clearly, Carroll believes that the compactness of the course would not be
directly responsible for improved achievement scores. Rather, the longer classes
in a compact program ailow teachers to use teaching strategies that would help

to reinforce and expand on the lesson targets. (Carroli does not elaborate on the
exact nature of these better instructional strategies.) As Carroll (1990) expresses
it: "Teachers can teach students rather than cuver classes" (p. 362). Presumably,
in the language classroom, this situation would involve teaching strategies that
not oniy present second language structures and aiiow for th& usage but also
encourage the real use of language whidi is necessary for language learning
 16

(Stern 1992).
Canady and Rettig (1993) advocate a change from traditional program
formats, and Traverso (1991) reports on schools in the United States which have
adopted the Copernican Plan or block thetable. Baxter (1993), Turner et al.
(1993)' Lindsay (1993)' Jorgensen (1993), Hanen (1993)' and Morris et al. (1993)

describe the success of this system and its benefits for both teachers and students
in various schools in British Columbia although they do not refer specifically to
core French or second language dasses. (The Lapkin, Harley and Hart, 1995,case
study looking into compact programs did not look at the effects of a Copernican
tirnetable on students' general education, but instead focused on the effects of
different program formats on students' leaming and attitudes in the core French
classroom.) It is worth noting that this type of instructional programming has
been adopted without the benefït of extensive research.
Wong-Fillmore (1985) notes that students may learn best by
communicating in the target language in social situations that have personal
meaning. Having a longer dass period may mean that the teacher is able to
create more "social situations" more often than in regular dass penods. This
concept was explored by Spada and Lightbown (1989) and is describeci below.
1.321. Spada and Lightbown (1989). Intensive ESL Pmgcunmes in
Quebec Primary Schools
Some research in modified programs has already been conducted in
Canada. Spada and Lightbown investigated the effects of an intensive English as
a second language (ESL)course with native speake~sof French in Quebec.
h i e a d of receiving the usual 120 minutes of English language instruction per
week (or about 25 minutes a day) for the entire school year, students in the triai
program received up to five hours of language instruction per day for five
months. (It is important to note that this experimental program differed from
Ontario's program of French immersion in that it did not provide instruction in
content subjects in the second or target language.) Spada's and Lightbown's
study focused on 19 groups of grade 5 students and 14 groups of grade 6
students. Classroom observation revealed h t teachers of these classes used a
variety of teadung approaches and techniques. %me teachers taught grammar
and vocabulary through communicative contexts whiie others decontextuaiized
theV language teaching. Some teacher-centred instructors encouraged their
students to Listen whiie other instructors provided their students with many
opporhuiities to speak. Teachers also varied in the degree of accuracy which
they demanded of their students. Testing of listening comprehension ability
showed that the grade 5 and 6 students in the intensive program outperformed
not only their peers in the regular program but also those students in the regular

grade 9 program who had accumulated the same number of instructional hours,
but in a less intensive manner. When testing for fluency, the tesearchers f o n d
that the students from the intensive program produced more words with less
prompting than did students from the regular program. Spada and Lightbown
conclude that "the potential for learning ESL is dramaticdy better in these
programmes than in the traditional drip-feed approach" (p. 24). In a foliow-up
study, Lightbown and Spada (1991) were able to condude that students who had
participated in the intensive ESL program in primary school were able to
maintain the^ linguistic gains and continue to improve at the end of secondary
school.
Spada and Lightbown (1989)also researched changes in attitude brought
about by the intensive program. The researchers measured students' attitudes
towards learnulg English both before and after their programs. When the
attitude measurements were compareci, they found that the attitudes of students
in the intensive program became more positive as a resdt of their program.
Attitudes of students in the regular program, on the other hand, declùied by the
end of that program. At both testing times, students in the intensive program
had more positive attitudes towards learning Engiish than the students in the
regular program. Spada and Lightbown concluded that the final positive
attitudes of the students in the intensive program were attributable to some

aspect of that program.

It must be noted that Spada and Lightbown are describing an intensive
program rather than a compact program. in this intensive program, the total
number of hours of instruction in the second language has been increased.
Because of the increased exposure and study, it is not surprising that students in
the experimental group outperformed students in the peer cornparison group.
Carroll (1975) found similar results when he investigated factors affecting
students' levels of achievement in French (see section 4.3.2). What is of interest in
the Spada and Lightbown (1989)study is that the students participating in this
intensive ESL program posted better second language outcomes than older

students who had received an equal number of instructional hours in a l e s

concentrated way. These results prompted, in part, Lapkin, Hart and Hatley
(1998, p. 5) to ask "Could similar results be achieved in core French programs
without inaeasing o v e r d instructional tirne?" Work with compact courses
where the overall amount of time is not diangeci is still in the early stages.
An important finding fkom this study was that there was a variety of
approaches employed by the teachers when the program format was düinged.
Different teachers used different approaches to teach the same program. One
must wonder if the study's resdts would have been the same if aii teadiers had
adopted a communicative approach to instructing their students. As the

foliowing study by Spada (1987) indicates, the results are not likely to have been

1.3.2.2. Spada (1987). Relationships between Instructional

Differences and Leaming Outcornes
One study that bears some similarity to my own study was conducted by
Spada in which she investigated possible reiationships between the differences in
instruction and the learning outcornes of adult students in a communicatively-
based program. Specifically, Spada focused on two questions:
(1) Were there differences in the kind of instruction that learners were

receiving fkom the different teachers in this program?

(2) Did differences in instruction contribute to any variation in the

Iearners' irnprovement in proficiency?
Spada's subjects were 48 intermediate-level students in an intensive
English as a Second Language program. Eadi student had been randomly
assigned to one of three teachers. Extensive pre- and post-tests were
administered. These tests were comprised of a iistening comprehension test, a
reading comprehension test which induded a doze passage and a section on
inferencing, a writing test scored for grammar, vocabulary, discourse and
content, a speaking test involving an interview and an interaction task which
were scored for syntax, vocabulary, pronunciation, fluency, and
discourse/sociolinguistic ability, and a grammar test. In order to note potentiai
differences in instructional treatment between the three classes which had been
described as communicative in nature, Spada used the COLT (Communicative
Orientation of Language Teaching) observation scheme while performing 20
hours of observation in each dass.
Spada found that the teadiers of dasses B and C used more function- or
meaning-based activities than the teacher of dass A. This latter teacher used
more form-based activities than the other two teachers. The teacher of class C
spent about one-half as much t h e on form-based instruction as the teacher of
dass A. An even greater contrast was found with the teacher of dass B who spent

only one-third as much time as the teacher of dass A on this kind of instruction.
A further difference was that dass B had the greatest teacher topic control and

the least student topic control. Of the three dasses, dass A had the greatest
student topic control and dass C had the least teacher topic control. Spada also
found that the teachers of dasses B and C were not only using more authentic
activity types than the teacher of dass A, but that they presented the iistening
cornprehension activities differently than the other teacher. This latter teacher
simply allowed the students to silently read the listening comprehension
questions, whereas the other two teachers prepared the students for the activities
by using predictive exercises and a discussion of the questions. (Spada does not
present any evidence of expliat differences in teaching strategies or activities
intended to promote student oral production.) From the comparison of these
observations, Spada was able to condude that there are differences in the kind of
instruction between similarly oriented classes.
M e r an analysis of the pst-tests, Spada found that the students in dasses
B and C improved significantly in Iistening comprehension, while those in dass
A improved only slightly. On speaking tests, the students in dass B improved

significantly, while those in dass C improved slightly. Students in dass A

showed a deaease in their speaking test scores. (Spada explains that this may
have been due to the fa& that different evaluators administered the pre-test and
the post-test to this group.) The students in dass B improved significantly over
those in dass C on discourse scores. According to Spada, the differences in the
amount of dass time spent on listening activities were not a factor in the
variations of the outcomes of these test scores for the three dasses. Spada noted
that one class (class B) did improve overail more than the other two, and she
concluded that the instructional differences did contribute to this variation in
learning outcomes. However, based on the results of her study, she is not able to
prescribe the optimal kind of instruction. She does note, nonetheless, that a

mixture of function- and form-based instruction is required for student success.

Spada concluded that qualitative rather than quantitative diffetences in

instruction seemed a more plausible explanation for significantly more
improvement in listening comprehension in classes B and C. This study shows
that more communicative instruction was better than the formal, explicit
instruction, but it may have left out other aspects of the teacher's teadung
practices.
 This study is similar to mine in that it explores a process-product
relationship in the classroom. Spada's study and my own attempt to find a link
between teadiing ach and leaming outcomes. However, with regards to process,
Spada's study is reaiiy investigaüng teachers' interpretatiow of CLT. Because
there is so much variation in teaching approaches and practices, researchers
should perhaps focus on other aspects of teadiing behaviour. This leads to the
question: What happens to the strategies of teachers (or, in this case, one teacher)
with one interpretation of CLT in classes of varying formats? In the study
described below, Gayle (19û4)tried to analyze classes without regard to their
orientation or approach Instead, she wanted to observe the strategies that are
employed by most language teachers on a daily basis.
1.3.3. Teaching Strategies and Th& Ufect on Student Outcornes
In the two preceding articles, the first outlined the variations in teaching
occurring under a new program format, while the second described links
between variations in teaching and differences in student leaming outcomes. It is
important to note that the authors here are referring to differences in teaching
approaches or methods. Over the decades, there has been much discussion
about the best approaches or methods for teaching a second language (se, for
example, Nunan, 1991, for a brief overview). Little research has been done on
specific teaching behaviours that may be used with various teaching approaches
or methods. Researchers do not often take the role of micro-level teaching
strategies that can occur across the various approaches and methods into
account The foliowing article explores the potential importance of such
teaching strategies on student language leaming outcomes.
 1.3.3.î. Gayle, G.M.H. (1984). Effective Second-Language Teaching
Styles
Gayle used the Language Teaching Record Scheme ( L m ) to observe
pedagogical functions of teachers' speech in order to identify teaching styles. As
this scheme is not sensitive to the teaching method (e-g. audiolingual,

coxnmunicative/experiential, etc.) used by the teacher, she was able to make

observations on the "micro level [of teadung strategies] rather than on the more
macro level of the activity" (p. 526). (See also Gayle, 1989.) Although my own
study does not focus on teaching styles, Gayle's research may help to identify
which teaching strategies might have been responsible for the better leaming and
attitude outcornes of the intensive group in the Carleton case study.
Gayle referred to strategies as a grouping of related pedagogical discourse
functions rather than c a h g the actual functions themselves strategies as 1 do in
my study. For example, according to Gayle's sdieme, information questions are
not a single strategy but rather one part of a strategy cailed "Language
Exposure". Reading, writing, illustration, and rephrasal are also part of this
strategy on the LTRS. (My observation scheme is not as detailed as Gayle's;
however, on my scheme, information questions are a strategy by themselves.
Based on Gayle's discourse function of "initiation", 1 developed my "student
utterance" strategy as weii as the teacher "aside" category.) Table 1.1presents the
strategies, pedagogical discourse functions, and definitions from Gayle's LTRS.
Gayle's study involved 12 teachers in an intensive program relying on an
audiolingual approach. Ail participants were teachers of grade 6 French and
Social Studies (taught in French) in Ontario, Canada. After obsefving their
Gayle's Stratagias Oiscourso Fundoni* Dafinitions

Basic oisplay questions

Language m u r e General information Information questions or unrehearsed

statements
Reading Reading to aid subsequerit student
interaction
wrib'rlg for practice of to clarily meaning
Using an exampie of a pmviow, nle or
generalizatiori
Use of diierent uiwds mthout a change in
rneaning

lndependent Initiation Extreme readiness to utilire ianguage

Anaiysis and Use freely anâ extensiveîy
Of Language Subetiution af the correct form without
(Enterprise) focusing on the enor

Mechanical Use Cornpiete repetition

of Language Partial m p e t l i i
Expansion to full seritence

Direction Acceptance Positive feedback for pieceding response

Rejection Negative feedback for preceding response
Diredive Command or request for riorr-verbalaction

Verbal Processing Precise indication of exact wor

Specifïï information (due)
Gerieral information (due)
lilustratiori (due)
Suggestiori of e m r
Stating the mason for inconectness or
conectness of preceding student response
Relerenceto grammatical features of L2 to
aid correct student iesporrse
ProfqHto diclaie cxmect amwer
Promglto stimulate an accepteble answer
Use of a simillude to pcampt a student
response
Use of diiererit mnds to aid studemt
cornprehension
Focw on LIIL2 simiiaiitiesor dferiences to
cue appropriate student ramponse
An unpînnned tianslation mede to pmmote
further interaction

* Gayle's pedagogical dixourse functions are similar to the teaching strategies

discussed in the present study. (See Chapter 2.)
teaching, she identified pattems which indicated differences in teadiing styles.
T e a d h g styles were identifieci by certain dominant frequencies in the different
categones of pedagogical discourse functions (or what 1 would consider to be
teadUng strategies). Gayle identified four teadUng styles among these 12
participating teadiers.
The four teadiing styles outlined by Gayle were described as Lateral,
Linear, Balanced, and Information. The Lateral teaching style was characterized
by the dominant use of her "Language Exposure" categories. However,
information questions, which were part of this strategy, were not used to a great
extent. This style was also characterized by a low fkequency of initiation to
converse freely on b o t . the teachers' and students' parts. (Italicized words
indicate strategies found on my observation scheme. See Chapter 2.) The Linear
teadùng style is diaracterized by the dominant use of repetition (an individual
student or group of students repeating after the teacher) and similar mechanical
usages (rather than a communictive use) of the language and a more restricted
use of the tirget language. The Balanced teaching style is a blend of the first two
styles. There is a domMnce by "Language Exposure" functions @ut, again, not
by infonnntion questions) as well as mechanical uses of the language. However,
its dominance by cIassroom management or "Direction" functions and "Verbal
Pr ocessing" functiow like explicit correction, dues to specific information (for
example, by beginning a mord or phrase for a student), and translation
differentiates the Balanced teaching style from the Lateral and Linear styles.
Finally, the Information teaching style is dominated by its use of "Language
Exposure" functions - especiaily by information questions. It shouid also be
noted that ali four of these teaching styles were dominated by the use of display
questions.
Gayle's study had been intended to show a link between teaching styles
and learning and attitude outcornes. She found that students with low attitude
and low aptitude scores were helped by the Laterai style. In fact, her results
showed that these low aptitude/attitude students could sometimes score higher
that high aptitude/attihide students taught with the Lateral style. In general,
Gayle found that low aptitude/attitude students responded weii to the Lateral
and Balanced styles due to their dominance of "Language Exposure" functïons.
By contrast, high aptitude/attitude students did weli with the Linear teaching
style and its focus on "Mechanical Use of the Language" functions. Display
questions also fadlitated the learning of high aptihide/attitude students.
According to Gayle (1984,1989),a teadùng style is recognized by a certain
pattern of different proportions of the various teadiing strategies. My study is
not trying to identify the participating teacherfs teaching style through the
frequency of her use of certain strategies; it is, however, trying to link the
frequency of certain teaching strategies in each group to the linguistic
adiievernent of shidents in the respective groups.
1.3.4. Sununay of Revious Reseuch
The research cited in this chapter has helped to focus the present study.
The research literature indicates that time may be an important factor affecting
student language leaming outcornes. However, the literature also suggests that
time or the program format can affect teachersr uses of various teaching
approaches, methods and strategies. It has been shown that these variations in
teaching strategies can affect student learning outcomes. In the present study, I
will further explore these last two points.
1.4. Research Focus

This section outlines my research questions, hypotheses, and the

assumptions behind them. An important definition and descriptions are also
provided.
1.4.1. Research Questions
This case study is intended to address questions related to the effect of
program compactness on the teaching strategies of the second language teacher.
As proposxi by Carroll (1990),when the format of a program is d w g e d to
become more compact, teachers may find that they are able to use more, fewer, or
different strategies to develop their students' language profiuency. If there are
differences in teaching strategies and differences in linguistic or attitudinal
outcomes when the program is made more compact and if the program and the
subjects are equal in ail other respects, then both the teadring strategies and the
program compactness can be considered as factors contributhg to the outcomes.
However, if the outcomes are different but there is no ciifference in teaching
strategies when the program is made more compact and if ali other variables
between the two programs are held constant, then the outcome differences can be
attributed primarily to the program compactness. In other words, this study is
an attempt to isolate possible variations in teaching strategies as a factor affectïng
program outcomes.
The present study is an extension of Lapkin, Hariey and H
art's (1995)
Carleton case study in which differences in learning and attitude outcomes were
f o n d between dasses with different program formats.
The questions to be addresseci by the present case study are:
(1) Do different formats of a program (Le. its compactness) affect the

teaching strategies empioyed by this particuiar second language teacher?

(2) if yes, could the variations in teaching strategies selected for

observation be responsible for different Linguistic or attitudinal outcomes?
The study does not aim to look at the value of form-focused or content-
based activities on second language acquisition. Rather, it looks at the
interaction the teacher has with a class to possibly account for potential
differences in outcomes between dasses. My observation scheme does not deal
with differences in classroom activities that might occur between the
experimental lessons. These differences, if any, in activity (eg. use of materials
other than course text and workbook like a film, student control of content by
choosing a writing or discussion topic, changes in groupings, providing models
of oral and/or written work, etc.) could be noted separately by the researcher as
well as by the teacher in her journal.
1-42 Hypotheses
1 anticipate finding variation in teaching strategies across dasses during

this study. Carroll (1990) suggests that it is not unreasonable to expect teachers to
alter their teaching when the program format changes. The school board
cooperating with my study arranged special daily release time for the teacher
involved so that she would have the opportunity to consider changes to her
lessons for each of her three dasses. Therefore, it is reasonable to anticipate that
there will be differences in teaching strategies among these dasses.
 Laplch, Harley and Hart (1995) reported that there were differences in
linguistic outcomes between the groups. These researchers were not able to
conclusively show that the program format was the primary factor affecting
students' linguistic outcomes. For this reason, 1 suspect that another factor rnay
be responsible for these differences. 1 hypothesize that 1 wili find variations in
teaching strategies between the program formats which wilI account for the
differences in learning outcomes.
Some of those teaching strategies may be ones outlined by Gayle (1984)
(see above); others may be those described by Mitchell (1988) who descriiîies
"teacher communication strategies" which are intended to facilitate learners'
language acquisition. She highlights strategies such as language switching, due
giving, and repetition. In m y observation scheme, there are similar categories
which explore the use of French and English and translation done by the teacher,
begïnning a word or phrase for a student, and repetition.
Educators like Lindsay (1993) report that teachers at his d o 0 1 feei that
compact courses allow them to use a greater variety of teaching techniques and
provide them with more quality inskuctional t h e . Hanen (1993) reports that
students are better engaged in their learning under these circumstances. Clearly,
the teaching can affect students' attitudes and th& learning outcomes.
1 hypothesize that more communicative teaching strategies - Le. those
leading to independent oral production by students -- WU be employed in the
compact classes. For example, I believe that the teacher will ask more extended
questions (requests for information prompting an extended reply by the student),
provide more encouragement, and/or stimulate more student-initiated
utterances in the compact dasses. Because these teadung strategies engage the
students linguisticaily and emotionally, dasses exposed to these strategies will
have better achievement and attitudinal outcornes than those classes offering
fewer such strategies. This hypothesis follows Swain's (1985) belief that students
must produce cornprehensible language (or output) in order to develop their
ianguage skills. 1 hypothesize that their greatex use in the dassroom WU
correspond to better achievement scores in the classes using these teaching
strategies.
In summary, 1 am hypothesïzïng that (a) there wiii be variations in teaching
strategies used in the different program formats, @) the teaching strategies 1 have
selected for observation can affect students' learning, and (c) communicative
teadiing strategies wiii be used more frequently in the more successful dass.
1.4.3. Assumptions
Most students t a h g core French in Ontario (induding those partiapating
in this study) do not receive a great deal of target language input from theix
surroundings; in other words, we can assume that these second language leamers
receive their linguistic input during French class only. The language used by the
teachers helps to improve students' language knowledge, impart general
information and develop skills (especiaiiy in a communicative/experiential
program) as weli as serving as the linguistic input. In her study of teaches t . as

input in second language dassrooms, Wong-Fillmore (1985) found that effective

teachers could control the input, model the target language appropriately, and
encourage students to use the language.
In my study, 1 observe the number of occurrences of certain teaching
strategies. Behind this obsenration is the assumption that these kinds of teaching
strategies are valuable forms of input in the communicative dassroom. (Of
course, the teacher's spoken language is not the only kind of input that students
receive. Texts and tapes from the French program also serve as means of
linguistic input. I do not take these means into account as the instructional
materials were the same across classes. Furthermore, my study focuses merely
on the participating teacher's particular teadiing strategies.)
In the present study, there are two underlying assumptions that
accompany the hypotheses that certain teadiing strategies are valuable as input.
First, 1 assume that the total number of occurrences of a particdar teaching
strategy will be indicative of time spent on that kind of input. By doing a tally of
the different kinds of teaching strategies (see Chapter 2 for a discussion of my
methodology), my assumption is that the frequency of a teadiing strategy will be
roughly equal to the duration of time spent on providing input to students by
means of that particular teadiing strategy. In other words, the more often a
teaching strategy is used, the more time it takes. In my study, 1 compare
frequencies of teadllng strategies between groups rather than time spent on these
strategies. Second, there is the assumption that "more is better". In other words,
1 assume that a greater frequency of a particular teaching strategy is an
enhancement of the overaii input received by the students. All of the observed
teaching strategies have the potential to provide students with valuable target
language input and/or assist them in using French. Nonetheless, after the
analysis of the data, I will attempt, if possible, to determine which teadung
strategies are the most beneficial.
 32

1.4.4. A Definition
My study looks at various ways a particuiar teacher provides potentially
valuable target language input in order to develop students' linguistic slcills and
to encourage them to produce meaningfui second language output.
1 am defining a teadiing strategy as a specific behaviour which may

support, directly or indirectly, an approach or method to language teaching. A

teaching strategy is different from an approach or a practice technique. It is at a
more "micro" level than these. In a hierarchy, they foilow as su*
approadi or method e-g. communicative language teaching
\

practice technique (an acüvity or task) e.g. role playing

\

teaching strategy (not necessarily prompted by an activity;

it cornes more from the teachers themselves) e-g. asking
information questions
Mitchell (1988)desaibes "teacher communication strategies" which are
intended to facilitate learners' language acquisition. She highlights strategies
such as language s w i t c h g , d u e giving, repetition, and substitution. These
"teacher communication strategies" have been derived from a functional
perspective; that is, they desaibe the function of each statement in classroom
interaction. My teadiing strategies, on the other hand, are derived from a more
discursive or descriptive perspective within the pedagogical communicative
kamework. In effect, my teaching strategies are a fonn of teacher talk.
Nunan (1991) states that "teacher talk is important. The modifications
which teachers make to their language, the questions they ask, the feedback they
provide and the types of instruction and explanations they provide can a i l have
an important bearing [...] on the acquisition by learners of the target languagetf (p.

7). Teaching strategies cowist of the teadier talk which helps the lesson to
progres; they are taiiored to help a student or group of students participate in
the lesson and learn the target language in general terms, teachhg strategies
support the functioning of the dass and the execution of the lesson.
Breen (1983) states that "communication is not merely the objective and
content of the dassroom, it is also a crucial gneaw for the actual processes of
teaching and learning". A teacher may utilize teadiing strategies outside of the
formal planned lesson; however, these very teaching strategies become part of the
students' language leaniing experience. Everything that is happening in the
target language is part of the language leaming process. Because they act to
some extent as a source of input for the students, teadùng strategies such as
asides and dassroom management/disciplinary actions are part of the lesson.
Nunan (1991) concurs by stating that "teacher tallc provides learners with the[ir]
only substantial live target language input" (p. 190) whether it is planned or
spontaneous. The teachirtg strategies may be planned (as in the asking of certain
questions) or spontaneous depending on the dassroom situation. Nonetheless,
this teacher talk and the teaching strategies that it encompasses contribute to the
students' leaming by exposing them to the target language and assisting them
with their own target language production.
The teadung strategies foc& on in this study are repetition, translation
@oth fuii and partial), correction, beginning a word or a phrase for a student,
direct encouragement to speak in French, asides, requests/commands,
comprehension checks, display questions, and information questions. (See

Chapter 2 for more details on these teaching strategies.) Berause an important

airn of providing students with target language input iç to facilitate meaningfd
output, I provide data on student utterances as an indication of the teacher's
success in promoting the use of the target language in the dassroorn. In this
study, I observe student language production in the form of clarification
requests and other student utterances initiated in French. (See Chapter 2 for a
more complete description.) This kind of data complements the teaching
strategy data.
In summary, for the purposes of this study, 1 am defining teaching
strategies as a type of teacher talk which provides target language input and
which assists students in their comprehension and/or production of the
language. in order to track the relative success of the use of such teaching
strategies, 1 also observe student target language production
1.5. S u m m a y

Despite the popularity and high profile of French immersion programs

across the country, the traditional core French dass is still the most common FSL
program in Canada today. With dose to 2 W o n students enroiled in core
French dasses, it makes sense to research ways in which these programs could be
made more effective. The purpose of this study is to examine means to improve
core French instruction with the intention of improving students' French skills.
One suggestion to improve core French outcomes is to change the
program format This suggestion entails lengthening the dass period while
maintainuig the total number of instructional hours. Researchers and educators
believe that students are able to concentrate on fhe material more easily and
retain the content better in such compact courses. In a case study, Lapkin, Harley
and Hart (1995) measured the attitudinai and achievement outcomes of tluee
groups of Grade 7 core French students. Each group covered the same program
with the same teacher yet experienced a different program format: 40 minutes
daily for the entire school year, 80 minutes daily for half the school year, or 150
minutes daily for about one-quarter of the school year. These researchers f o n d
that there were some benefits from the compact program formats for the ski& of
reading and writing.
This chapter has describeci research which indicates that there are student
outcome differences in compact programs as compared with regular programs.
Similarly, if has also outlined research which shows that in compact programs
teadiing strategies ciiffer from those in regular programs. The issue that rernains
in the present case of core French is the determination of the cause of the

differences in student achievement 1s time distribution alone (i.e. the program

format) responsible for these differences or do variations in teaching strategies
affect the learning outcomes?
This research may provide greater insight into the process-product
relationship in second language learning as weii as lead to recommendations
regarding the use of teadiing strategies. The ultimate aim of this study is to
contribute to ùnprovements in core French education.
 Chapter 2

Methodology
This chapter provides an ovenriew of the study induding a description of
the participants and an explanation of the various research materials The
speaaily adapted observation scheme is described at l m .
Zl. Ovewiew
Overview

The present study is an offshoot of the Lapkin, Harley and Hart (1995) case
study conducted in the Carleton Board of Education, focusing more on the
teaching dimension than the student outcomes of the main case study. Whereas
Lapkin, Harley and Hart's (1995) Carleton case study investigates the role of time
distribution on student achievement and attitude outcomes, the present case
study investigates the nature of teachïng strategies associated with different
instructional formats for core French. As 1 wiU be doing further analyses of data
collected in the main case study, many of the same procedures and instruments
are used.
Ail participants were tested for French proficiency irnrnediately before

and after their experimental (or cornpaxkon) treatments. Another test for French
achievement was admùUstered as a delayed post-test weii after each group's
treatment. A widely used general academic test of English w a s also

adrninistered at the beginning of the program. Students provided information

about theV background, and they completed entry and exit questionnaires about
their feelings about leaming French In the Carleton case study (Lapkin, Harley
& Hart, 1995), a certain lesson unit was selected, and this same lesson unit was
videotaped in each of the three groups. In the present study, these videotapes
were analyzed for teaching strategies. Observational notes were taken during the
lesson presentations. The teacher involved with the studies agreed to keep a
journal of her experiences and impressions, and she consented to an interview.

Student performance and responses from tests and questionnaires, the

teacher's impressions as recorded in her journal and interview, and the observer's
notes and classroom videotapes provided a variety of sources of data to be
analyzed in the present study.
Par~ntalCon.-
A s with al1 studies involving minors in a school setting, the participants'

parental consent was required for the case study conducted by Lapkin, Harley
and Hart (1995) for the Carleton Board of Education. Parents and guardians were
informed in advance of the reaçons and plans to implement this study at the
school in question Parents who were wiUuig to have their chiidren participate
in the shidy then signed consent forms agreeing to the release of test,
questionnaire, and observational data to the researchers. Signed consent was also
given for videotaping done in the dassroom.
The participating school periodicaily infonned parents of the study's
progress as many were keenly interested in it. Some parents expresseci regret
that their child had not been placed in one of the experimental groups, and
others even attempted (without success) to have their child moved into an
experimental group.
Consent specific to my shidy was not required as it had already been
obtained through parental consent to the main study by Lapkin, Harley and Hart
(1995).
22 The Simple

Because the Carleton Board of Education had made core French

revitalization a priority, it w a s piepared to partiapate in an elaborate, controlîed
study. The experimental school was selected when an interested teacher and
cooperative principal volunteered their senrices. Participants for the study were
drawn from the overali student population entering the regular Grade 7
program in the experimental school in the 1993-1994 school year. In the
Carleton/Ottawa area, a significant proportion of students wanting to study
French choose to enter French immersion programs, and this was true at this
school. Nevertheless, a large potential sample of students in the core French
program was stili available for study purposes. After dass lists were created and
timetabled so that the same teacher could teach these d a m s , approximately 90
students in total were involved in the study. In dl,three of the four grade 7 core
French dasses at the school participated. (For reasons to be explained below, the
present study involved oniy two of the partiapating dasses.)
School personnel randornly assigneci students in the study to dasses in the
three different program formats-150-minute and 80-minute heatments and the
40-minute cornparison group. Minor changes to these random assignments were
made in order to ensure that, to the greatest extent possible, variables affecting
class performance were equal aaoss the three groups. These variables-academic
ability and behavioural history-were believed (by school personnel, at least) to
have a potential impact on student learning and, thus, class achievement scores
and attitude outcornes. ( L a p h , Harley and Hart also surveyed students on their
previous school experience with French and their exposure to French at home.)
Elementary feeder schools provided information about students'
behavioural history and academic abiiity. The school guidance counsellor asked
the feeder school homeroom teachers to rank their students on a tluee-point scale
for academic ability (above average, average, below average) and on another
three-point scale for behaviour (weli behaved, average behaved, having
behavioural difficulties). An equal number of students of each ranlcing was
distributed auoss the three groups more or less randomly. When students were
not placed randomly into a group, it was because they needed to be part of a
certain class for scheduling purposes in order to accommodate such course
selection as music instruction. Other than two students identified as being @Red
who had to be placed in the 150-minute group for scheduling purposes, the
groups were identical in respect to academic ability and behavioural history.
However, due to students leaving and moving into the school area and to
discrepancies between the feeder schools in the ranking of students, it became
apparent by the time that standardized tests were administered in October 1993
that the three groups were not e q d academicaliy. Based on the scores from the
reading and language subtests of the Canadian Adiievement Test (CAT), it was
found that the 150-minute dass was significantly stronger academicaliy than the
40-minute dass. (Lapkin, Harley and Hart statisticaily controlied for these
differences in CAT scores among classes in theu analyses.)
Each of the three groups contained some students who spoke English as
their second language or students who had never studied French pnor to Grade
7. Groups varied slightly in the amount of experience individual students had
with the French language. %me participants had been enrolied in French
immersion programs or Fr& language schwls before switdiing to the regular
core program, and there was some concem that they couid be potentid linguistic
leaders in their respective groups. However, each dass had a similar median
number of years vent in immession or French-language sdiool programs.
23. Research Materials

Research materials for this study consisted of instruments intended to

gather qualitative and quantitative data. A teacher's journal, questionnaires,
tests, observation and videotaping of dassroom activity, and interviews were
used in order to provide a complete overview of the context of each class. These
instruments as well as a description of the observation scheme are described
fuiiy in the foilowing subsections.
2.3.1. Teacher's Jounial
Throughout the 1993-1994 school year, the teacher involved in the study
agreed to keep a journal. 0th- than asking her to record her impressions of the
groups involved in the study, the researchers gave her no guidance as to what
should be induded in the journal. The teacher usually made several short
journal entries each week. Subjects of journal entries induded her personal
impressions of the groups, expressions of concern for various students, work
covered in dass, factors affecting student performance that day, etc-
This journal provided qualitative information about the progress of the
study. It also provided the researchers with a more complete picture of the

different groups as they were able to observe the classes in person only on a very
few occasions.

2 3 2 Questionnaires
Prior to the study, subjects completed background questionnaires
regarding their history of FÇL education, their exposure to French at home and
outside of dass, abiiities in languages other than English and French, and th&
thoughts about l&g French-
Parents of students partiapating in the study were also asked to complete
background questionnaires. These q u e s t i o ~ a i r e sasked for information
regarding the parents' history and ability in French and other languages as weil
as the5 educational and professionai background. Parents were also asked to
comment on th& children's experience with leaming French as well as their own
thoughts about the French programs available. The response rate to the parental
questionnaire ranged from approxîmately 61 percent to 65 percent in the t h e
groups.
As respondents to the two above-mentioned questionnaires were not
requKed to idenhfy themselves, the data collected ftom these questionnaires
provided the researchers with general insight into the learning experiences, and
linguistic and souoeconomic backgrounds of the participants and their
respective groups. Questionnaire results indicate that groups were similar with
regard to their French language home background and parental education levels.
One student in each group reported that French was used more than "hardly
ever" at home, while responses to the parent questionnaire indicated that there
was a francophone adult in no more than 10 percent of the households of
students in each dass. The highest level of education attained by fathers of
participants was similar arross groups; at least half had a university degree or a
diploma from a community college. Sixty percent of mothers of partiapants in
the 40-minute group had eamed such a degree or diploma compared to about
one-third of them in the two other groups. However, over half of aii m-others in
each of the three groups had experienced at least some postsecondary education.
During their (experimental or cornparison) treatment, participants were
asked to complete another questionnaire. This questionnaire asked participants
to provide their impressions of their experience learning French that year as
compared to the previous year when they were in Grade 6. Participants were
also asked to rate their performance in different aspects of French such as
vocabular y learning, s p e l h g , reading, conversation comprehension, etc.
Finally, participants were also asked to comment on activities done in dass that
year. A second form of this questionnaire was given to partiapants in the two
experimental groups. In addition to the questions already mentioned, this
second questionnaire form had a section dealing specifically with their
impressions of their experiences in the longer (experimental) groups. This
questionnaire (in both forms) was administered to subjects at the end of their
respective programs. The data collected here aiiowed the researchers to measure
dianges in student attitudes toward 1 e a . gFrench in the core program.
2.33. Tests

Three different tests were used to provide data about the students'
abili ties. In addition to the Canadian Achievement Test, two different French
tests were also administered on other occasions.

The Canadian Achievement Test (CAT) is a general academic test (of

English) used widely across the country; in fact, the schwl involveci in the study
regularly administers it to aii Grade 7 students. The CAT scores were used to
help determine the academic ability level of each of the three groups.
Researchers wanted to detemine if the "semi-random" placement of subjects into
groups had in fact aeated three groups of equal academic abiiity.
The first French test admuiistered to the subjects was the Grade 8 Core
French Test Package (Harley et al., 1995) deveioped and used extensively by the
Modem Language Centre of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (of the
University of Toronto). Despite the test having been intended for students of a
higher grade Level, this test was used because the vast majority of participants
had attained the 600 to 800 instructional hours of French for which the test was

designed. This French test has sections to evaluate students' listening

comprehension, reading, writing, and speaking skills.
The Test de compréhension auditive, the l i s t e h g comprehension
component of the Grade 8 Core French Test Package consists of 15 multiple-
choice questions based on a conversation between two young native speakers of
French.
In the first section of the Test de lecture, the reading comprehension
component, students must correctly match written commands with pictorial
signs. in the second and third sections, students are required to answer muiüple-

choice questions based on a series of postcards.

For the writing component, students first complete a partial dictation
(Dictée) based on a tape-recorded account of a sports event. Scoring is based on
the comprehension and spelling of each missing word. Students then write two
compositions (Compositions) on a magazine advertisement and the pros and
cons of school unifonns. Students are assessed on their ability to complete the
task with a majority of words in comprehensible French.
The speaking component of the test package requires students to give a
fnend oral instructions on how to reaeate two pictures that th& partner cannot
see. Students are scored on their ability to convey key information in
comprehensible French. The second section of the speaking component scores
students on their use of souolinguistic elements and their pronunuation of
various phonemes during a restaurant roleplay task. Both sections of the
speaking component are administered individuaily. Only a random sample of
students from each of the three groups was administered the speaking
component of the test.
The Grade 8 Core French Test Package was administered to the subjects
just prior to or at the beginnuig of their respective program treatments. It was
aciministered again imrnediately following each of the treatments. This test was
the pre-test and immediate post-test referred to elsewhere in this document. The
pre-test and pst-test results weie compared in order to measure improvement
(if any) over the course of the subjects' respective programs.

Another French test was used to measure student achievement and to

establish whether students maintained their improvemenb (if any) over t h e .
This test-the Grade 7 Core French Reading and Writïng Achievement Test-was
developed specificaily for the Carleton case study, and it was based on the
textbook materials used by the participants.
The reading comprehension component of this test has three sections
toudiing upon concepts that had been covered in this particular Grade 7 core
French program. First, students answered multiple-choice questions regarding
the ownership of various items described in a short passage. Next, students
matched instructions from a numbered iist to the corresponding paris of an
irnaginary machine. Finally, students completed sentences by matchhg sentence
stems and possible endings based on a passage about the beaver. Students
received a score based on the numbex of correct responses given.
The writing component also has three sections. In the first section,
students had to express their opinion about six questions related to television.
Next, students were asked to write a postcard with s p e d c information. Both
sections require responses to be written in comprehensible French. The third
section presents students with three pictures on which they must base a story.
Marks are awarded here for suitable description, style, and the appropriate use
of discourse devices.
The listening comprehension component from the pre- and post-test
package was re-administered to round out this test.
This test was administered as a follow-up test in the early fall of 1994. It is
the delayed pst-test referred to elsewhere in this document.
2.3.4. Classroom Observation and Videos
The three groups were observeci and videotaped during the instruction of
"Zoom sur les sens", Unité 3 of the Première partie of Éhns 1. Certain sections of
the videotapes have been transaibed, because they consist of activities that were
done with a l i three groups and a researcher was avaiîable to observe the classes
in action at those times. These transcripts were made in order to facilitate the
coding of the observation scheme. Due to technical problems, the videotaped
segments for the 80-minute group are not complete. The videotape of the first
day of observation for this group consists of only about the Grst 20 minutes of the
80-minute lesson. The videotape of the second day of observation for the 80-
minute group does not have the audio component. Therefore, transcripts of the
lessons for the 80-minute group have not been made. My dassdoom observation
notes for this group do not have enough specific data on the teacher's use of
teaching strategies to make an analysis meaningful; therefore, 1 was not able to
consider the 80-minute group in my case study.
This lesson in the program was not chosen delierately for observation;
rather it was selected from among possible dates that coincided with both the
researchers' and the teacher's schedules. Forhuiately, this lesson permitteci the
researchers to observe the teacher and students working through a variety of
tasks. Dupiantie, Beaudoin and H d e n (1991) state that the majority of acüvities
in Élans 1 are experiential; nonetheless, the activities observed for the study are

representative of the range of activities in the program. Each activity supports

the O ther, either by orienting the student linguisticaliy (with form-focused/
analytical activities) or by engaging the student personally (with
communicative/experientiai activities). These kinds of activities were chosen for
this lesson in order to maintain the ultimate goal of the program: to enrich the

students' personal experience through use of the target language as well as to

improve their ability to communicate in French.
The sections of the lesson that were observed and videotaped represent
both communicative/experiential and form-focused/analytic activities. For
 47

example, page 33 of the textbook (Duplantie, Beaudoin & Hullen, 1990a) is a

fonn-focused activity which introduces students to various ways of expressing
their opinion with phrases such as S e l a moi,D'aprPs moi, A mon avis, Je dirais
que, Je pense que, etc. This activity is meant to expand the students' French
(vocabulary) skills with the intention of helping them to express themselves
during subsequent tasks Page 34 of the texfbook is an experiential activity called
L'expérience. Shidents read instructions in order to perform the steps necessary
for completing a short experiment. Students must describe what they see and
provide an explanation for the phenornenon that occurs during the experiment.
This activity is rather realistic; students use the target language to carry out a
meaningful task and give their personal reaction- Page 36 of the textbook and
page 60 of the workbook (Duplantie, Beaudoin & Hdien, 1990b) are related
communicative activities. Shidents first read about the life of a young blind
person before answering general questions about blind people. Both the reading
passage and the questionnaire are used as points of departure for an open
discussion on the students' impressions of the blind and of blindness. Students
are supposed to move beyond the actuai content of the reading passage and the
questionnaire in order to discuss their personal expenences related to the topic.
In this way, this activity becomes truiy experiential. Finaiiy, page 59 of the
workbook is an analytic activity (baseci on the concept of giving instructions to
complete an experiment) in which students must dioose the appropriate vetbs
from a List and provide their correct (imperative) forms. By focusing on form,
this activity is designed to improve students' accuracy in their efforts to use the

target language.
 The videotaping and classroom observations were conducted
simultaneously on dates when the respective groups were being taught this
lesson. Because of the intensive nature of the 150-minute dass, this group
completed the lesson before the two other groups. This group was observed and
videotaped on the morning of Friday, November 5, 1993. The 40-minute
cornparison group was next to reach this lesson Because of the shorter dass
length, this lesson was conducted over a penod of four days. This group was
obsemed and videotaped on Friday, January 14,1994 and from Tuesday, January
18 to Thursday, J a n v 20, 1994. This group, 7C,always had French dass from
2:20 to 3:00 p . n , the last period of the school day. Because it started later than
the other groups, the 80-minute group wai last to reach this particulas lesson.
This group was observed in the moming on two successive days, Wednesday,
Mardi 2 and Thursday, Mardi 3, 1994. However, due to the technicd problems
mentioned above, complete data for this class could not be gathered and,
therefore, this group is not induded in this study.
23.4.1. Obsemation Scheme
The observation scheme considers teaching strategies from two
perspectives. In the f i s t subsection, 1 outline teaching strategies that provide
target language input as well as assist students in their comprehension and/or
production of the language. Many of the categories of this observation scheme
have been adapted from the COLT (Communicative Orientation of Laquage
TeadUng) observation scheme developed by Men, Frohlich and Spada (1984).
In the subsequent subsection, I describe student language production and
categorize it into darification requests and other student utterances.
 23.4.l.l. Teaching Shategies
The first part of the observation scheme deals with the strategies the
teacher uses to present language to the students. These strategies may be
intended to provide linguistic input, aid comprehension, or elicit a (verbal or
non-verbal) response from the students. The teadung strategies here range from
open-ended information or referential questions to closed-ended display
questions, and indude requests or commands, comprehension checks, dassroom
management actions, asides, beginning a word or phrase for a student,
translation, repetition, correction, and direct encouragement to use the target
language. This subsection defines these terms and explains why they were
induded in the observation scheme. Table 2.1 presents an overview of the
selected teaching strategies.

The 'raison d'être' of the communicative classroom is to allow leamer-

controlled curricula to develop from and interact with the teacher's pre-planned
curriculum (Breen 1983). Therefore, the teacher must try to engage the students
so that they become active participants in the language acquisition process rather
than allow them to be passive presences in the dassroom. The teacher must draw
out expliut contributions from the studenh so Uat the dassroom discourse is as
realistic as possible. Teachers are Likely to accomplish this by asking questions.
It might be expected that teachers trying to encourage students to spealc at
length in the target language (as in a communicative or experiential approach)
wiil ask th& students more open-endeci questions than dosed-ended questions.
Open-ended questions, also known as information or referential questions,are
Table 2.1. Teadiing S t r a t e e s

Wonnation Questions
Extended Qu 'est-cequ 'il a?
Quin'étairpos ici veridredi?

Display Questions
Limited Est-ce qu'une personne meugle est une personne qui peut
voir ou ne peut pas voir?
Extended C'est m e très b o ~ question,
e parce que si tu as une 'e' ici,
qu'est-ce qui mrive?

Est-ce que tu peur me lire le premier, le premier verbe?

Okay, alors, dis-le encore wre fois.
- -

Comprehension Check Est-ce que tu comprends 'tenir'?

Classroom Management/ Encore unefois, je te demande de, de rnertre le sac par terre.
Disciplinary Actions Monsieur. Regardez au tableau. Michael. Et Jamie et Brrrd,
regarde [sic]. Les yeux ici.

Oh, quelqu'un estfatigut'!

ilfaut être gentil

Beginning a Word or T: L 'in..

S: nitif
.m..
.
Phrase for the Student

Translation S: Est-ce que...if you have an 'e' ...

T: S'il y a un 'e' ...

Repetition s: [...]
T: Okay. Ici...
S: Ici...
T: est-ce qu 'on entend..
S : est-ce qu 'on entend..
 T: le...
S: le 's'?

Comction S: Est-ce que c'est fmt...

T: ilfaut
S : ilfaut oublier-.,
T: Pas 'oublier'. Écrire.
S: écrire les mots

Direct Encouragement
to Use the L2
French Dis-le enjkqais.
Some French Dis-&un peu en anglais et un peu enfian~ais.

questions to which the questioner/teacher truiy does not know the answer. 1
have made a distinction between two types of information questions: one

requVing an extended response and the 0 t h prompting a limited response. An

example of an information question requiring an extended response taken from
the transcripts of the lessons is Qu'est-ce qu'il a? [150-59-13]. (The numbers in
square brackets refer to the group, the page number of the current activity, and
the line number that the quotation appears on in the transcript of the relevant
dass session. In this example, the quotation is taken from the thirteenth line of

the transcript of the 150-minute dass while working on page 59.) In this situation,
the teacher is asking a student to desaibe what her blind brother uses to aid him
in walking. Here, the teacher does not know the answer, and her question

encourages a reasonably long or detailed response. An example of an

information question prompting a limited response is Qui n'était pas ici
vendredi? [M-59-31. The teacher does not know the answer; however, students
may answer with a very short answer or even a single word.
Display or dosedsnded questions are questions in which students must
display their knowledge. There is no real commdcative impetus behind the
question, because the teachedquestioner already knows the answer. As with
information questions, 1 make a distinction between the possible extended and
limited natures of the responses to display questions. An example of a display
question prompting a limiteci response is Est-ce qu'une pmonne awugle est une
personne qui peut mir ou ne peut pas voir? [150-59-51. Here, the teacher is not
asking the question because she herself does not know the answer, rather she is
trying to determine whether a specific student or the entire dass undetstands the
meaning of the word aveugle . It is a limited display question, because the
responding student need only to Say a few words to adequately answer the
question. Extended display questions are those which require the students to use
phrases to answer a question to which the teacher already knows the correct
response. C'est une très bonne question, parce que si tu as une 'e' ici, qu'est-ce
qui arrive? [40-59-118] is an example of this type of question.
Extended information questions and extended display questions iequire
leamers to produce more language than limited information or limited display
questions. According to Swain (1985), student output is an important factor in
successful second language acquisition. Questions of an extended nature
encourage students to use the lexis, the structures and syntax, and the phonology
of the target language. For this reason, 1 hypothesize that classes exposed to
more extended questions will have better achievement and attitudinal outcornes
than those classes offering fewer such questions.

Other teadllng strategies that might be considered helpful to students Li a

communicative or experiential context are requests or commands made by the
teacher. A typical request or command like Okay, alors, dis-le encore une fois
[150-59-51 is recognizable by its use of the imperative verb form. (Expressions

like Regarde are not counted as commands as they are used more as an
exclamation than as a directive.) However, a question may be a request if it has
the intent of requiring a student to do something. Richard, est-ce que tu peux me
lire le premier, le premier verbe? [40-59-1261 is an exarnple of a question that
functionç as a request. In this situation, the teacher is asking the student il he
can read the first verb but is rather requesting him to read it.
Requests or commands are a way of involving the students in the lesson.
They provide valuable communicative input; students must act immediately
upon the message given in the target language.
Coo
-n C a
A comprehension check is a special kind of limited information question.

With comprehension checks, teachers ensure that one or more students

understand their or another student's message. Comprehension checks may be
important in a dassroom that stresses the fluent expression of the message over
the accurate production or mode of communication. In a comprehension check,
the teacher asks a student or the dass directly if they understand such as in Est-ce
que tu comprends 'tenir'? [40-59-1621. Such comprehension checks are intended
not only to ensure that al1 students can be involved in the lesson but they also
encourage students to express themselves.
. . .
Classroom Mananement/Disuvlinarv A c t i o ~
Teachers can provide more communicative input by disaplining students
in the target language. Discïplinary or classroom management actions are
examples of real communication-teachers express th& feelings or wishes and
students (should) read to these statements. An example of a disciplinary or
classroom action is encore une fois, je te demande de, de mettre le sac par terre
[40-59-51. Commands, as in Monsieur. Regardez au tableau. Michel. Et Jarnie
et Brnd, regarde [sic]. Les yeux ici [150-59-45], may also be disciplinary or
classroom management actions. This category of teadiing strategies does not
include questions purposely directed a t specific students to stop them from
talking to their seatmates or otherwise misbehaving.

Asides
Language teachers can provide more communicative input by adding
comments that would not nonnaily be part of the lesson if a certain coursebook
was followed strictiy. These cornments-or asides-may be immediate reactiow
to actual occurrences in the classroom. For example, after a student yawned
loudly, the teacher commented Oh, quelqu'un est fatigué! [150-59-1221- When
the teacher asks the students to estimate the number of m o r s she made that day,
she added jokingly Il faut être gentil [150-59-1431. This comment is an aside,
because it is not a planned part of the lesson; it is tangential to the c u r e n t
activity, and the teacher knows that most students do not need to understand it in
order for her to still meet her lesson objectives for the day. (In this category of
teaching strategies, comments such as Très bien, Okay, Bon, Point pour toi,
Merci, are not considered to be asides and are, therefore, not counted in my tally
of asides.)

Asides can be considered to be a strategy for providing the students in the

class with additional authentic input.
Encouragement to Produe the T a r w m i a ê g e
Because the intent of the communicative second language dassroom is for
students to produce the target language, teachhg strategies which assist or
encourage the students to speak at length in French must be studied. (Incidents
of the students reading from the textbook will not be induded here.) Chaudron
(1988) notes that categories like "teacher encouragement" are often induded in
observation sdiemes in order to gain more insight into teacher intentions, student
strategies, and dassroom dimate. There are a variety of strategies which teachers
can use to promote the production of language by students. The COLT (Ailen,
Frohlich and Spada, 1984; etc.) observation scheme recognizes teacher reactions
with such subcategories as correction, repetition, expansion, and paraphrasing.
These subcategories are adapted in my observation scheme. 1 consider these

types of reaction to be encouragement to aid students in speaking; therefore, my

observation scheme includes teaching strategies such as direct or explicit
encouragement to use the target language, repetition, translation, correction, and
beginning a word or phrase for a student. These teaching strategies are explained
below.

Regardless of the students' ability, the teacher's aim is to have the students
produce the target language as often as possible. Nonetheles, the teadier may
recognize that some students could be ready to use the language earlier than
others. It is conceivable that a teacher and/or the students in a beginw-level
core French class may happen to use the L1 on occasion. A teacher could
directly or explicitly encourage those students who seem to have some ski11 with
the target language or those who display confidence in using French to use
French exdusively. An example of this teaching strategy from the transcripts is

Dis-le en français [150-59-251. The teacher may encourage students who are
having diffidty expressing themselves or are hesitant to express t h e d v e s in
French by asking them to use only as much of the target langauge as they can.
For example, the teacher might say Dis-le un peu en anglais et un peu en fnmçais
[40-59-1041.
&pe titioq

To assist students who are having more diffidty or who are afraid to risk
using the target language, teachers may have the student repeat after them or use
their words and phrases to continue the sentence and express their thoughts.
Examples of this strategy are:
s: [...]

T: Okay. Ici.,.
S: Ici...
T: est-ce qu 'on entend..
S: est-ce qu 'on entend..
T: le...
S: le 's'?
[a-59- 10911 1SJ
 s: 'i" 's'
T: Oui, il y a un groupe avec
S: i'
T: s' & k a f i Et il y a un mtre groupe avec
S: une Y.

[40-59-59/63].
Translation
The following excerpt from the transcripts is an example of the teadrer's
attempt to assist the student by providing a partial French translation of what the
student wishes to Say.
S: Est-ce que...lfyou have an 'e'

T: S'il y a un 'e'...
[40-59- 107/108]

This teaching strategy provides students with the language necessary for
expressing themselves.
Correction
Another strategy that teachers cm use to faolitate student production is to
simply provide a correction whiie the student is speaking. This strategy ensures
that the student produces the language correctly. This excerpt from the
transcript demonstrates how the teacher's correction prompts the student.
S: Est-ce que c'est fou&..
T: if faut
S: ilfaut oublier...
T: Pas W i e r :Écrire.
 58

écrire les mots

a Word or P b for the S a

The teadiing strategy of beginning a word or phrase for a student may

assist the student to use the target langauge in a limited way. An example of this
is
T: L 'in.-fin.- .
S: nitif
[ 16O-S9-59/60]

23.4.12. Student Language Production

Teachers rnay use certain strategies to provide their students with
oppominities to use the target language. When trying to determine the effect of
these teachllig strategies on student language production skills, it is important to
consider the linguistic output of students. in my study, 1 looked at clarification
requests made by students as w d as other types of student utterances. When
examinhg each utterance, 1 considered the degree of student initiation of each

-
utterance. The categones which make up the second section of my observation
scheme are desaibed below. Table 2.2 presents a brief o v e ~ e w
of the different
types of student utterances and the clarification requests examinecl in my study.

When asking students questions, teachers can often predetermine the

language that learners wiii produce. Questions cm provide the learners with
prompts that may iimit their language output grammatically, semantically or
ideationally. In a communicative or experiential dassroom, the teacher should
be concerned that students produce language on theii own accord (Tremblay,
Duplantie & Huot, 1990; Stem, 1992; Breen, 1983). It is not enough for students to
merely react to the teachet's utterances; they must aeate true interaction by
influencing the discourse themselves. It is mutual interaction-not simple
reaction-that is real communication (Malamah-Thomas, 1987). It has been
theorized that language leamers require opportunities for comprehensible
output in order to acquire the target language (Swain, 1985). Utterances that are
spontaneous, that have required no prompting from the teacher are perhaps the
most valuable in terxns of language acquisition. For this reason, one must
consider the degree of initiation that students take in beginnïng an utterance. My
observation scheme makes a distinction between student utterances that are hilly
student-initiated, partiaiiy student-initiated, or non-student-initiated. These
types of student utterances wiii be counted and the totals for each dass wiii be
compared.
A fully student-initiated utterance is unprompted by a request or
question. In this example, Ah, 'rapproche', c'est avec 'a' [M-59-44] the student

a& on her own hee will and corrects the teacher's spelling error. Another type
of fully student-initiateci utterance is the clarification request in which a student

asks the teacher to explain something more dearly. A partiaiiy student-initiated

utterance is one that is made by a student who is interacting with the teacher but
is not responding directly to the teacher's request or question In this example,
the student uses some assistance from the
Est-ce que j'ai un point? [40-59-1751,
teacher to ask if he is awarded a bonus point for his previous response. A non-
student-initiated utterance is one in which a student is simply required to
Table 2.2 Student Luiguyle Production

Student Utterances
Fully Student-initiated S: Ah, 'rapproche',c'est avec 'a'.
Partially Student-iniW S: Je suis un point.
T: Je suis un point? Non- Est-ce que j 'aiun point?
S: ESt-ce que j'ai un point?
Non-student-initiated T: Ou est-ce que c'est parce que c'est vendredi?
S: Parce que c'est vendredi

Clarification Requests S: Si tu as un 'e ' après le 's', wouldn't i ~ .you

.
wouldn't hear the 'e' too much, would you?

respond to one of the teacher's questions. In other words, the student is not
uttering anything that he or she truly wishes to comrnunicate. In this core French
dassroom, ail of these kinds of utterance might be made in either the target
language or the students' fitst language. For this reason, 1 have done six different
taliies for both groups - one for each of the thtee kinds of student utterances
(fully student-initiated, partially student-initiated, and non-student-initiated) in
French and in English.
.. .
t Clarification -
R
A darification request is a speciai type of student utterance in dassroom
discourse. My definition of a clarification request is broader than the usual
definition. Not only do I consider a clarification request to be a question about
the content or meaning of what an interlocutor has just said, I also consider it to
be a question that focuses on the form or code of the target language during
instruction. An example of this broader type of darification request is:
S: Si tu us un 'e ' après le 's', wouldn't it.- you wouldn't hear the 'e' tao

much, would you?

[40-59- 1231

In each group, 1 have counted incidents of student darification requests

made in French and in English separately.
2.3.4.l.3. Explanatory Notes for the Observation Scheme
Teaching strategies may vary depending on the teaching approach. For
example, the extensive use of drills, substitution exercises, and choral repetition-
that is activities without a meaningful context done simply to practise usage of
the target language-axe not a hallmark of communicative-experiential teaching.
Rather, experiential teadiing concentrates on conveyixtg a message instead of
concentrating on the language form (Stem 1992, Tremblay, Duplantie & Huot
1990, Rogers 1969). Because the goal of communicative-experiential teaching is to

have learners express their persona1 experiences and ideas, experiential-

communicative teaching strategies could involve asking students for the2
opinions, impressions, and observations about various situations. Proponents of
communicative-experientiai teaching believe that students will learn the
language by using the language in meaningful ways. Communicative-
experiential teaching strategies are those which encourage or require the students
to purposefully use the target language and/or expose them to real language in
use.

However, it is not always a simple task to detemiine whether a lesson is

communicative-expenenüal. h y lesson, whether the teacher considers her
teaching approach to be communicative-experiential or "traditional" (form-
focused), may incorporate strategies from vanous types of approaches. For
example, a teacher could use a drill exercise, a "traditional" activity, and the
lesson might be hastily judged to be one that does not adopt a communicative-
experiential approach. in the videotaped lessow which act as a sample of the
teacher's strategies, the use of a drill exercise may not be representative of the
teaching done in the w e c o r d e d lessons. In other words, the lessow cannot
merely be analyzed for their activities or events like dass discussions os choral
repetition exercises; rather the teaching strategies of interest to this study are
more subtle. Many of these subtle teaching strategies may be used in both a
communicative-experientid dass and a form-focused, analytic dass. Malamah-
Thomas (1987) describes the development of an observation scheme as foilows:
The various systems and categories...are aU intendeci to act as frameworks
of description for what goes on, in verbal tesms, in any lesson. They
cannot be used to judge the success of a lesson, or to prescribe what
should go on in a lesson, unless seen in conjunction with other factors,
such as the general purpose or content of the lesson in question. They are
not, however, to be seen as wholly objective instruments of description.
They are ali subjective to the extent that they are based on pasticular
assumptions and preconceptions about the dassroom. (p. 56)
The general purpose of each lesson given by the teacher in this study is to
provide her students with linguistic input so that they may produce meaningfui
target language utterances. Therefore, the observation scheme must capture
these kinds of strategies. When defining obsewationd categories, Chaudron
(1988) and Nunan (1989) refer to behaviours or behavioural events. These

behaviours can refer to unintentional reactions, intentional behaviours, Le.

strategies or pedagogical functions, or utterances. One is Left to assume that
regardless of the activity, the teacher wiil use strategies to engage the shidents in
some sort of meaningful discourse. Examples of these strategies might be
information (or referential) questions, display questions, requests and
commands, comprehension checks, dassroom management or disciplinar y
actions, communicative asides, repetition, translation, and correction. (These
teaching strategies are outiined in Table 2.1 and described in more detail above.)
Teachers use their strategies to provide their students with opportunities to gain
verbal input and/or to speak. Therefore, teaching strategies which furthet
faalitate oral production among students must also be studied. (These strategies
are iisted in Table 2.2 and explained above.)
The categories used in the observation scheme for this study have mainly
been modelied o n existing observation schemes, while providing a clear
description of the interaction between the teacher and the students as they
pertain to the focus of the study. For example, some pedagogical discourse
functions from Gayle's (1984) Language Teaching Record Scheme (outiined in
Chapter 1) have been adopted or adapted for the observation scheme of the
present study. My teaching strategies of display questions, information
questions, requests or commands, and full and partial translation have been
developed from Gayle's discourse functiow of speafic information, general
information, directive, and translation respectively. In addition to Gayle's (1984)
L m , my observation scheme adapts categories from other schemes. As the
classes observed in the present study are supposed t o have a
communicative/experientiai basis (as evidenced by the teacher's choice of
program and textbook materials as weii as her comxnents during her interviews),
the observation scheme must capture the communicative nature of the dassroom
interaction. For this reason, categories fiom the Communicative Orientation of
Language Teadiing (COLT)observation scheme developed by Ailen, Frohlich
and Spada (1984) have also been adapted for my observation scheme. COLT
categories like "discourse initiationff and "use of target language" have been
adapted to suit the purposes of my observation scheme. Nonetheless, recently
developed observation schemes like the COLT are built upon research
experience with earlier observation schemes. For this reason, my scheme is
dosely linked to the COLT scheme but also incorporates elements from older
schemes like Flanders' Interaction Analysis Categories (FIAC) (Flanders, 1970)
and Moscowia's Foreign Language Interaction (FLINT) system (1971).
From Flanders' Interaction Analysis Categories (1970)' 1 have used the
"asks questions" from his "Teacher Talk" section However, 1 have modified his
"asks questions" category to reveal the types-Le. extended or limited-of display
and information questions being posed by the teacher. I have a h adapted the
"gives directions" category from the "Teacher Talk" section of the FIAC.
From Moscowitz's FLINT (1971), 1 have used the "praises or encourages"
category from her "Indirect Influence of Teacher Talk" section. From her "Direct
 65

Influence of Teacher Tallc", 1 have used her "gives directions" category; however,
1 did not combine "requests/commands8~and "directions" into one single
category. Her "uiticizes student behaviour" is used in my "dassroom
management" category. In her "Student Taik" section, 1 have adapted her
"student response, specific" and "student response, open-ended or student-
initated" categories. As Moscowitz does, 1 also consider the use of the L1 and LZ
My observation scheme is descriptive; it is meant only to describe the
interaction in a class that is aiready considered to be communicative. My
observation scheme reveais the strategies that the teacher in the study uses to
provide students with oral input and the ways in which the students respond.
Some observation schemes may use a time unit as the basis of observation
of each category. The observation of the totai number of seconds or minutes
spent on a particular pedagogical event is an example of time being used as the
unit of analysis. Other observation schemes use the occurrence of a particular
pedagogical behaviour as th& unit of analysis. These pedagogical behaviours
could be as "smaii" as an utterance (e.g., an extended open question) or as "large"
as an activity (e-g., a game). In embarking on this study, 1 did not know whether
the teacher would use the same "large" pedagogical behaviours-or whether to
the same extent-in each of the groups. On the other hand, it was almost certain
that the teacher wodd use some similar "small" teaching strategies in a i i of her
classes of different formats. However, 1 did not know the extent to which she
would use these "small" teaching strategies in eadi dass due to the varying
length of each tesson. The use of a time unit of analysis might mean that some
"srnail" teadung strategies are misseci during the observation. Due to this and to
the fact that 1 wished to determine whether there are variations in teadiing
strategies between the different groups, this observation scheme uses a tally of
the number of occurrences of specifïc strategies as the basis of observation. High
learning outcome scores or attitude ratings assoaated with the geater use of
particular strategies in a certain group may indicate the effectiveness of those
strategies.
The classification of the various teaching strategies into specific categories
should be consistent. According to Chaudron (1988), this consistency is
influenced by "the degree of inference required of the observer in making the
classification" (p. 19). Low-inference categories are those which are defined by
dear behaviours. High-inference categories, on the other hand, require the
obsenrer to make a judgement about the significance of a behaviour, thus,
making their interpretation possibly less reliable. In an attempt to elimlliate any
possible misunderstanding of behaviours, 1 have tried to use categories that
require as fittle interpretatioii as possible. %me categories in my o b s e ~ a t i o n
scheme, s u c h as "comprehension checks" or "requests / comrnands", refer to
strategies which are dearly defined and obvious in their nature (and, therefore,
low-inference), whereas others, such as "extended display questions" and
"limited display questions", require some interpretation on part of the coder. In
an effort to maintain consistency, 1 assess inter-rater reliabiiity (as ciiscusseà in
section 3.1) in the coding of the observation scheme categories.
Chaudron (1988) notes that some observation schemes permit multiple
coding. Multiple coding refers to the possibility of having a behavioural event
assigned to more than one category. This situation is possible if a researcher is
looking at, for example, the linguistic content and social value of dassroom
utterances. The present study is unidimensional in that the observation sdreme
needed to capture only the (potential) pedagogical value of strategies as
delimited by dassroom utterances. Therefore, 1 have used categories that are
intended to be mutually exclusive; that is, each verbal strategy (utterance) is
coded only once.
Often, observation schemes are coded in reai time. Real-time coding refers
to the method of observing and coding the dassroom events simultaneously; the
coding is completed while the researcher watches the live action in the
classroom. As stated earlier, this observation scheme is based on an analysis of
transcripts made from videotapes of the groups. Therefore, the observation
scheme for this study is not done with real-time coding.
23.4.2. Summary of the Observation Scheme
In summary, the observation scheme has two parts. The first part deals
with teaching strategies intended to provide target language input, aid students'
comprehension and/or elicit student responses. It has categories for extended
and limited information questions, extended and limited display questions,
requests/commands, comprehension checks, classroom management/
disciplinary actions, asides, beginning a word or phrase for a student, translation,
repetition, correction, and encouragement to speak. In the second part of the
observation scheme, 1 make note of student language production. The categories
here consist of incidents of student-initiated utterances and whether they are
fully student-initiated, partiaily student-initiated, or non-student initiated as
well as student darification requests.
 Each instance of the above-mentioned strategies is counted, and tallies of
each teaching strategy and each type of student utterance are compared for the
groups involved in this study. This permits me to determine whether there are
variations in teaching strategies between the different dass formats. Results of
achievement and atatudinai testing from Lapkin, Harley and Hart's (1995) study
are reviewed for the two applicable groups. In groups where the teacher may
have varied her teaching strategies significantly and where performance and
attitudinal results differ between the groups, the discussion focuses on the
reiationship between these strategies and the differences in outcome.
23.5. Intemiews

In March of 1994, the teacher involved in the study was intervieweci about
her impressions of the study, her perceptions about the performance of the
various groups, her impressions of the chosen pedagogical material, and her
teaching style. The interview was conducted in an office at the teacher's school
during her non-teaching h o w . Due to technical problems, this interview was
not properly audio-recorded. Immediately following the interview, the teacher's
responses were reconshucted in a written format. By mutual agreement between
the teacher and researchexs, a second interview date was set for May 1%
As it was intended to confirm the responses reconstructed from the first
intenriew, the second interview covered the sarne topics as the first The second
interview was conducted while the teacher was attending a professional
conference at a hotel in downtown Toronto. The responses provided during the
second i n t e ~ e wdid not differ substantially in content from those of the f i s t
interview. They did differ slightly in tone as the teacher adopted a more formal
approach to responding to the interviewer's questions.
The interview ptovided qualitative background information on the
teacher's experiences, teadiing style and strategies. The i n t e ~ e wresponses
could be compared to data collected during dassroom observations.
2.4. Procedurd Overview
This section presents a brief history and general xhedule of events rdated
to the Carleton case study and the present study.
July 1992 a proposai by Glenn Campbell for "Assessing the h p a d of
Compact Core French Programs", a p a p a submitted as a
course requirement for Sharon Lapkin's OISE graduate
course on Research Themes in Canadian FSL Education
Lapkin, Harley and Hart begin to discuss the possibility of
conducting this study with Nancy Halsall of the Carleton
Board of Education
cooperative prinapal and core French teacher are found
Spring 1993 parents of students at the school where the study is to be
conducted are informeci of the purpose of the study
Sumrner 1993 students are assigned to their groups by the school's
guidance counseilor
September 1993 the 40-minute control group begins its (regda.) program of
study
the pre-test is administered to this group
the CAT is administered to all Grade 7 students
October 1993 the 150-minute intensive group begiw its program of study
 9 the pre-test is administered to this group
November 1993 the 150-minuteintensive group is observed and videotaped
December 1993 the 150-minute intensive group ends its program of study
and the immediate post-test is administered to this group
the 80-minute group begiw its program of study
sections of the videotapes from the 150-minute group are
transcribed
Jan. 1420,1994 the 40-minute control group is observed and videotaped
February 1994 creation of the delayed post-test begins
sections of the videotapes from the 40-minute control
group are transcribed
the 80-minute group is observed and videotaped
the classroom teacher is interviewed for the first time
April 1994 attempts (aii unsuccessful) are made to transcribe the
videotapes from the 80-minute group
May 1994 pilot-testing of the delayed post-test begins
May 29,1994 the teacher is interviewed for a second time in Toronto
June1994 the immediate post-test is administered to the 40-minute
control group
September 1994 the delayed post-test is administered to students from the
three groups
the writing of this p a p a beginç
October 1994 resdts are analyzed and interpreted by Lapkin, Harley and
Hart
January 1995 Lapkin, Harley and Hart produce draft version of their
Report to the Carleton Board of Education and Canadian
Heritage entitled Revitaiizing Core French: The Carleton Case
Study
March 1995 Lapkin, Harley and Hart release final study
1995 to 1999 completion of this document
25. Summary of Methodology
This study is an extension of Lapkin, Harley and Hart's (1995) Carleton
case study. Approximately 90 Grade 7 core French students were divided into
three heterogeneous classes so that there would be few differences in academic
ability and behavioural history between the groups. Each dass experienced one
of three treatments that varied the amount of their daily exposure to French but
not their overail annual time spent on core French. My study, however,
considers only two of these three groups. The cornparison group received 40
minutes of core French instruction each day for the fuil school year. The other
(experimental or intensive) group received 150 minutes of core French
instruction for approximately onequarter of the school year.
The principal data for this study were gathered through the observation

and videotaping of the classes. Each of the dasses was observed and videotaped
at the same point in th& respective programs. The videotapes were transcried
and analyzed according to a specially adapted observation scheme. This
observation scheme had categories for teaching strategies like asking extended or
limited information questions, asking extended or Limited display questions,
making requests or commands, doing comprehension checks, conducting
disciplinary actions or managing the classroom, and making asides. Other
categories include encouragement to use the target language, translation,
repetition, correction, and beginning a word or phrase for the students.
Clarification requests made by the students and their utterances and whether
they were fully student-initiated, partiaily student-initiated or non-student-
initiated are also recordeci on the observation schexne. A taily of the incidents in
each category was kept and statisticaiiy analyzed in order to relate these totals to
the achievement and attitudinal outcornes from the Lapkin, Harley and Hart
(1995) study.

Because only a limited amount of dassroom observation and videotaping

could be done, the participating teadier was asked to keep a journal to note her
impressions of the three dasses. Interviews with the teacher were also conducted
in order to gain more background information. These sources provide the study

with some qualitative data.

Ail of the data are used to determine whether there are variations in the
use of strategies by this partidar teacher in the classes of differing lengths.
 Chapter 3

Findings
This chapter presents both quantitative and qualitative results from my
study.
Quantitative results are presented in section 3.1. Tallies for the various
teaching strategies and each type of student utterance in both groups are
statisticdy anaiyzed and shown in table form.

Qualitative data is outlined in section 3.2. This section features qualitative

data from an interview with the participating teacher, the teacher's journal, and
my observations of some of her dasses. The data here focus on the way the
teacher implemented the Élans program in the different dass formats as weil as
her impressions of the different groups and the students in them.
3.1. Quantitative F i n d h g s

In this section, 1 present the quantitative findings from the observation

scheme. These findings are derived from a comparison of the tallies of the
different teaching strategies and types of student utterances in the 40-minute and
150-minutegroups. First, 1 briefly describe how the selected teaching strategies
and types of student utterance were coded, and 1 outline the inter-rater reliabiiity
of the obsenration scheme. Second, 1 o u t h e the statistical process used for
analyzing the data, and 1 explain the required level of significance. Third, 1
present the data in table form and describe the comparisons.
As explained in the previous chapter, the groups were videotaped and
transcripts were made ftom the videotapes to facilitate the coding of the
observation scheme. 1 coded each complete distinct utterance (not induding
sentences that were read from the course materials) as being one of the seleded
teadiing strategies or types of student utterance. The total number of instances of
each teaching strategy and each type of student utterance in each group was

calculated. These totals and the2 percentages relative to a i l occurrences of

teachirtg strategies and student utterances for each group are presented in Tables
3.1 and 3.2.

A random excerpt, comprishg ten percent of ail transcribed utterances,

was coded by another observer in order to estimate inter-rater reliability. W e

agreed on 90.4% of our codings. Differences between my codings and those of
the other rater occurred mainly with the types of student utterance, i-e. when
indicating whether it was fully initiated, partiaily initiated or not initiated by the
student. (Each type of student utterance in the two groups was statisticaiiy
analyzed separately; however, î n order to take into account the differences in
coding between the second rater and myseif, 1 also grouped these categories for

comparative purposes.) Other differences in coding occurred, I believe, because

the other rater based her coduigs on the transcript alone. She did not watch the
videotapes and, therefore, was not able to see the actual flow of dassroom
discourse.
Tallies for each type of teaching strategy and student utterance in each
class format were analyzed statisticaiiy in order to present an objective
cornparison of data from the two groups (Talmage, 1976). For example, the
number of occurrences of information questions prompting an extended
response in French in the regulat %minute group was compared to that of the
intensive 150-minute group. A drisquare (n*) "goodness of fit" test (Popham

and Sirotnik, 1973) using the exact statistics module of Minitab 12 for Windows
(version 12.21) for tests of independence was chosen for the analysis, because the
nominals (or tallies) were, in general, very low. The chi-square test checks the
disparity between frequencies: the greater the difference between the two

nominals, the higher the ~2 value and, consequently, the greater the probability

of significance (Le. the lower the resulting p value which indicates a lesser
probability of an event occurring by chance). This analysis was approached by
testing the n d i hypothesis i-e. that there is no difference between the total
number of occurrences of one type of strategy or student utterance in the two
class formats. A rejedion of this nuii hypothesis (Ho) wouid indicate that the two

numbers would not likely occur together and, therefore, are significantly
different (Seliger and Shohamy, 1989; Hatch and Farhady, 1982; Popham and
Sirotnik, 1973).
Becaw the tallies are, in most cases, quite low (refer to Tables 3.1 and 3.2),
a relatively strong level of sipificance (i-e. a low p value) is requited (Hatch and
Farhady, 1982). (in fact, due to the difficulty of analyzing low nominal values
with confidence, the Minitab chi-square procedure alerts the user to frequencies
of or below five.) Sudi a procedure ailows for a strong level of confidence in
interpreting the resdts of statistical tests. For this reason, 1 have set the level of
significance at pe0.01 (Hatch and Farhady, 1982; Popham and Sirotnik, 1973).
Table 3.1 presents the number and percentage of occurrences of the
various teadiing strategies in each group. Table 3.2 presents the number and
 Table 3.1. The Number and Pexcentage of Occurrences of Each T e a d h g
Shategy in the Two Group.

REGULAR REGULAR P
GROUP VALUES
mon
N u m rd Porcentago Nu* of
Occurrences of Occur-
Occurrences rences)
Infoma?h
Questions:
Extendeci in Fmnch
Extended in English
Limited in French
Limited in English
Disphy Questions:
Ekended in French

1 Extended in English
Limited in Frecich
FitedinEnglish
R uestslCommands
Comprehension

Direct
Encouragement to
Speak in:
French
English

Phrase
Correction V

1
TOTAL 459
* Total not 100% d piaces.
Table 3.Z The Number and Pacentage of Occurrences of Each Type of Student
Utterance in the Two Grmips.

STUOENT REGULAR REGUUR INTENSîVE INTENSIVE

UlTERANCES GROUP GFIOUP GROUP GROUP
N u h r of Percentage N u h rd Pemntage
Occurrences of ûccurrences of
Occurrences Occurrences
Fu@ lnaialed f
mfierich 8 5.67 6 5.3l
i n ~ l g ~ 11 7.80 2 i.n
Partiatiy lnitiied
nFiiecich 14 9.m 16 14.16
iiEngM 9 6.38 13 11.50
Non Student Initiated
in French 61 4326 56 48.67
iiEi~#dl 29 20.57 18 15.93
CIarifkat ion Requests
hFierich 4 2.84 1 0.88
mErgCGh 5 356 2 1-77
TOTAL - 141 100.00 113 99.99'
* Total not 100% due to tmcating/rounding of decimai places.

percentage of occurrences of each type of student utterance in each program

format. The final column in both tables presents the p values from the
cornparison of the number of occurrences of each individual teaching strategy or
student utterance in one group with that in the other group. These figures
indicate that there are no statistical cornparisons that meet the set level of
significance (p ~0.01).This is perhaps not surprising considering the number of
low totals and similar tallies between the two groups (Hatch and Farhady, 1982).
In addition to testing for statistical ciifferences in individual teaching
strategies and types of student utterances between the two groups, five other
cornparisons were made using the same testing procedure desaiid above.
Because the p value for the comparison of the number of occurrences of
partial translation in the two groups (p=0.014) closely approached my
previously set level of signiôcance (p<0.01), I analyzed a l l translation done in
both classes. By doing so, 1 wanted to determine whether there was a significant
statistical difference for tanslation between the two groups I added together the
number of occurrences of partial translation and fùll translation in each group
and statistically compared them (see Table 3.3.). The p value for combined
partial and full translation @=0.015) also dosely approaches but does not meet
the set level of significance. Popham and Sirotnik (1973) stress the importance of
maintaining previously established levels of significance. For this season, 1 must
find that the number of occurrences of translation (partial and full) in the regular,
40-minute group is not significantly different from that in the intensive, 150-
minute group.
The number of occurrences of questions of an extended nature (regardles
of whether they were information questions or display questions) in French and
English as weii as those in French only were compared for the two groups (see
Table 3.4). This meant that, in the fist case, a total of 59 for the repuiar group and
a total of 48 for the intensive group were statisticaily compared. No significant
difference was found (p=0.243). In the second case, totals of 57 and 47 for the
regular and intensive groups respectively were statisticdly compared. Again,
no sigxuficant difference was found @=0.281).
As shown in Table 3.5, the fourth additional comparison that was made
was done for the total number of student utterances and student clarification
 Table 3.3. The Number and Pacentage of Occurrences of All Translation Donc
in Each Group.

STRATEGY REGULAR REGULAR INTENSIVE INTENSIVE

GROUP GROUP GROUP G W P
Number d Porcentago
Occurrences of
Occurrences

Partiai Translation

Full Translation

Partial and Full

Translation

Total Teaching
Strategies

Table 3.4. The Numba and Percentage of Occurrences of Extended Questions in

Each Group.

1 EXTENDED REGULAR REGULAR INTENSIVE P

GROUP GROUP GROUP VALUES
m-d on
Nurrbr d Number d Percentaga Nu* d
Occurrences Occurrences of Occur-
Occurrences rances)

in French & English 0.243

in French

Total Teaching
requests made in French between the two classes. cornparison was made,
because - as noted earlier in this chapter - the inter-rater reliability in
determinhg the types of student utterance was slightly lower than the overall
inter-rater reliability for aii student utterances and teaching strategies. For the
purpose of statistical comparison, differences in the coding of student utterances
are irrelevant when the various types of student utterances are combined.) A

total of 87 such student utterances in the regular group was compareci to the total
of 78 such utterances in the intensive group (using each group's respective total
number of clarification requests and student utterances directed to the teacher to
complete the chi-square test). This comparison, too, did not produce a
significant statistical difference @=0.224).

Table 3.5. The Number and Pacentage of AU Student Utterances in French in

Each Group.

STUDENT REGULAR REGULAR - INTENSIVE INTENSIVE P

UTERANCES GROUP GROUP GFWP GROUQ VALUES
W2-d on
Number of Percentage N u m rd Percentage Nu* d
Occurrences of Occurrences of Occur-
Occurrences Occurrences .- rences)

in French 87 61.?O 70 69.m 0224

_-
1

Total Student 141 -- 113 --

Utterances' -
* Indudes aii darification reauests and student utterances directed to the
teacher. Comments made (inhglish) by students to one another recorded on
tape were not counted.
 81

The fSthadditional compatison dealt with the teacher's use of Engiish in

each dass. I counted the nuniber of times the teacher used English during the
lessons. An English utterance may have been a complete sentence such as 'We
were looking for a blind spot" [150-59-29], a sentence partialiy in Engiish such as
"Do you know somebody qui est aveugle?" [40-36.751, or a minimal utterance of
simply a word or two like "Enough!" [15û-60-181. (Ocmences of "okay" were
not counted at dl.) Each distinct utterance made in French was counted
regardless of its length. The teacher used 59 English utterances and 1494 French
utterances with the 40-minute group and 58 English utterances and 1413 French
utterances with the 150-minute group. (See Table 3.6.) The chi-square test
described above was applied in order to compare the number of utterances
made by the teadier in one language (English or French) to the total number of
utterances (French and English) in each group. No significant difference was
found (p=0.838)between the groups in the teacher's use of English (or French).

Table 3.6. The Number and Pacentage of Teacher Utterances in French and in
English in Each Group.

TEACHER REGUîAR REGULAR INTENSIVE INTENSIVE P

UTTERANCES GROUP GROUP VALUES
0)a-d on

Occurrences
Porcontago
of
ûccurrsnces I N u W rd
Occurrences
Porcentago
of
Occurroncos
Nu* d
Occur-
roncar)

in French 1494

in English 58

TOTAL 1-
 82

None of the statistical cornparisons between the two groups provided

evidence of differences in the numbers (frequencies) of occurrences of the
various strategies or student utterances at the p<0.01 level of significance. In a i i
cases, the numbers of occurrences of each teaching strategy or student utterance
in the two groups were found to be similar, and the n d hypothesis, thetefore,
couid not be rejected. In other words, no sipifkant difference was found
between the groups with respect to the t k h h g strategies or student utterances.
3.1.1. Summary of Quantitative Findings

In the preceding section, my quantitative data were presented. Each

occurrence of a certain category of teaching strategy or type of student utterame
recorded on the transcripts of the dassroom videotapes was tallied. Another
rater and 1 agreed on over 90% of our coduigs of these strategies and utterances.
In addition to taiiies, 1 calculated the percentage that each teaching
strategy represented as a part of the total teaching strategies occuning in that
program format group. 1 did the same for each type of student utterance in both
groups. These percentages and the tallies were displayed in table form.
To determine whether there were differences in the teaching strategies and

types of student utterances between the two program format groups, 1 performed
chi-square tests for comparative purposes. These statistical analyses determined
that there were no siiificant or practical differences in the frequencies of any of
the teadiing strategies or student utterances between the two groups. However,
the data for partial translation and partial and full translation combined almost
produced statisticaily significant differences between the two program formats.
There was no significant difference in the number of English utterances made by
the teacher in the two groups.
The quantitative data indicate that the teadier used similar amounts of
each teaching strategy with each group and that students in each coup
produced similar amounts of student utterances. No variations in teadiing
strategies were found between the two program formats.
3.2. Quaiitative Fin-

This section presents qualitative data gathered for my study. This

qualitative data is derived kom an intewiew with the partiapating teacher, from
the journal that she kept while teaching that d o 0 1 year, and from my notes
while observing some of her classes. In this section, 1 describe various issues that
arose kom the three qualitative sources.
3Z1. Interview Data
The participating teacher was first interviewed at her school in March
1994. At that time, she had completed the 150-minute program and was about

halfway through the IO-minute program. Due to technical problems, the

interview had not been properly audio-recorded and, thus, could not be
transcribed. Imrnediately after the interview, 1 made notes of the teacher's
responses to my questions fiom memory. The teacher was shown these notes and
she agreed that they seemed to match her opinions Nevertheless, out of courtesy
to the teacher, for purposes of darity and for reasons of reliability, the interview
w a s redone at a later date. In April 1994,I met with the teacher whiie she was
attending a conference at a downtown Toronto hotel. 1 believe that the content of
this interview is virtually identical to that of the eariier interview. The only
difference between the two interviews is in their tone; the teacher seemed to
adopt a more formal tone for the second i n t e ~ e w .
My questions ranged over a variety of topics which induded her
impressions of the study, the classes and the course material as weil as her
feelings about language learning in general. A number of issues of potential
interest to my study emerged from her responses. In this section, 1 wiu outline
five major issues that may have had a beating on her deiivery of the different
program formats. First, the participating teacher's own experiences in language
learning will be briefly mentioned. Second, her beliefs about language learning
will be outlined with speehic reference to teacher chaiacteristics, grammar and
pronunciation, her use of English in the dassroom, and smaîi group and pair
work. Third, her implementation of the Élans materials in her dassroom will be
addressed. Fourth, 1 will touch on her consistency in lesson planning for the
three groups. Finally, changes or improvements that she would Iüre to make to
her lesson planning will be described. AU quotations are from statements this
teacher made during the second interview.
331.1. The Teacheis Language Lelming Experiences
During her childhood, the participating teacher's family Lived in several
countries overseas. She began school in Germany where she leamed German.
Several years later, her family moved to (the former) Czechoslovakia where she
attended a French school administered by the French embassy. With little or no
previous exposure to French, she was submersed in the language in content-
based subjects each school day. Her problems with quickly acquiring the
language understandably caused her to have difficuities mastering the content of
her courses. Nevertheless, as she looked badc on the experience from an adult
perspective, she claimed that it was the "ideal way" to leam French. Being
forced to try to communicate, with little formal instruction, in order to play with
her French-speaking dassmates made her learn the language.
Later, she attended a private high school in Canada and studied Gerrnan,
Spanish and French before going on to major in French and German at
university. Her latest language leaming efforts had been about eight years prior
to our interview. At that t h e , she had participateci in an immersion experience
intended to improve the French skills of teachers. She spent four months
studying and living with a famiiy in northern Quebec and four months receiving
special post-service training from the University of Ottawa in order to prepare
herself to teach histoire and géographie in a French immersion program. Again,
she described her own immersion experience as the "very, very, very best way"
to learn French. She felt that as far as she was concerneci, that was "the only real
way to leam a language". When 1 asked her if it would be the best way for her
students to leam, she emphaticaily replied, "Oh, absolutely." In general, it
seems that this teacher feels that the realistic communicative demands placed on
a learner in an immersion environment rather than simple classroom study
provide the best conditions to acquire a second language.
3.2.1.2 The Teadrde Beïiefs about Language Teaching
During our interview, a number of the paffiapating teacher's beliefs about
language teaching arose. She had strong feelings about the characteristics of
good elementary core French teachers, the personal importance she placed on
proper pronunciation over correct graxnmar as students learn the language, her
use of English in the dassroom, and the value of group or pair work.
 When 1 asked her about her strengths as a teacher, she felt that the
diffidties that she had had in school helped her to relate to some of her students
and that she was able to explain things well. She also believed that she was
h y . This teacher felt that it was important to be "a little aazy", dynamic, to be
an actor. She stated that core French teilchers would do better not to be strict
disciplinarians, that they had to be more tolerant of the noise created by the
communicative exchanges arising from "a very loosey-goosey kind of program"
like Élans. According to her, flexibility in coping with new teadiing approaches
and in dealing with the students was one of her assets. Finally, she believed that

ail of these characteristics-the ability to provide dear explanatiow, a sense of

humour, a flair for fun, tolerance and flexibility-made students want to go to her
French classes.
This teacher expressed some strong beliefs about studentsf ability to speak
acceptably weil by emphasizing the relative importance of pronunciation and
gramrnar for language learners. In her opinion, proper pronunciation was more
important than correct grammar for those Ieamuig to speak a Ianguage. When
trying to communicate with learners, she felt more bothered by those who had
difficulty with their pronunciation than by those who had poor grammar. She
desaibed this as her "pet peeve about pronunciation and hashing the language
to death". She did not want her students to be able to speak French but
pronounce it badly- She indicated that she wanted students to communicate in
full sentences, but she realized that they h a d to this point, not had enough
opportunity to acquire an adequate vocabulary or sufficient grammatical
knowledge to interact well by themselves on an informal basis. For this reason,
she was not bothered by students who got words "a little backwards". By having
better pronunciation, she felt, learners would sound better.
She described improving her students' pronunciation as her "focus". She
felt that the textbook did not provide enough opportunities for the students to
practise their pronunciation and intonation, so she had them read "everything"
in it aloud. She did admit, however, that the students' fiuency and their ability
to communicate was the ultimate goal. Nevertheless, she also revealed that
opportunities to practise pronunciation and intonation in an expliat w a y were
not the only opportunities that the students did not have to a great extent. She
stated that what she had managed to do with her dasses, particularly the 80-
minute group, was to have "at the very least each student in the class say
something in French every period. And on good days they get to say two
things". It seems that students did not have extensive opporhinities to freely
produce output regardless of the teacher's intended focus or goal.
During the interview, this teacher mentioned her use of English in the
classroom. She felt that Élizns was good at forcing her to speak as much French as
she possibly could with the students. She admitted that she might have spoken
more English if she had not been involved in the Carleton case study. Her energy
level and the students' behaviour could have been factors in a decision to speak
in English. She also admitted that she had to speak "a lot of Engiish" with the 40-

minute group that was scheduled for the end of the school day otherwise she
would "be hanging off the rafters". It seems that she found her use of English in
class acceptable, because it made difficult situations more bearable for her and,
consequently, the shidents.
 1 asked this teacher directly about her feelings about group work and pair

work. She understood the theory behind group work and agreed that it should
work; however, she doubted that the students' French was good enough to gain
any benefit from it. She dearly stated, "1 think it's great, but they're going to
speak English. And that's just the reality of it" She said that she did try to place

students in rnixed-ability groups so that they would help each other. She found,
however, that students could not speak French the whole time, so "there's going
to be English. There can't not be any English" From her experience, this teacher
felt that students could not work dectively in French when placed in groups,
and she, therefore, preferred to have them try to learn to cornxnunicate in French
independently.
By sifting through the interview data, these four personal beliefs of the
teacher-the quaiities of a good teacher, her preference for proper pronunciation
over correct grammar, her use of Engiish in dass, and her disiike for smaiî group
and pair work-were evident. They may have been discussed only briefly, but
her strong feeLings about them were dear.

321.3. The Teachefs Implementation of the Élans Materiab

A thisd major issue that arose from the interview data was her

implementation of the Élans materials in her classes. Because this teacher had
previously taught in a French immersion program, 1 asked her if she found
parallels between the immersion approach and the communicative/experientiai
basis of the program she was using. In general, she did not see any great
sîmilarities. Othet than the fact that there was communication going on in the
immersion dassroom, she perceived it to be "very much one-way. Teacher-
student, student replies. You know, teacher-directed. Teacher-centred".
Because students in immersion dasses were not communicating in French
amongst thernselves without the teacher's intervention, this teacher did not t .

that that type of dassroom was particularly communicative. She felt that the
cornmunicative/experiential orientation of Élans was much better and more
advanced than the lecturestyle of immersion.
Men the teacher described her own classes, however, she revealed that the
level of the Élans materials did not always facilitate effective communicative/
experiential lessons. She explained that, because the É h s material was often too
difficult for the students, her dass "ends up that, although i f s communicative,
there are times when i f s more of a one-way communication with the kids either
presenting to the dass or the teacher asking the question and the kids responding
as opposed to kids asking kids questions in French". This was one example of
her classes being (on occasion) teacher-directed or teacher-centreci.
Another example of this is seen in how she would have her classes work
through workbook or textbook exercises. She indicated that she knew she was
supposed to allow the students to work independently or with a partner to
complete theh awwers. However, she often felt that the exercises would not get
done efficiently that way especiaiiy with the %minute group in the afternoon.
To keep the students focused, she would lead the completion of the exercise at

the bladcboard. Students would give their response oraiiy and she would write
it out in a complete and correct sentence for a i i to see and use as a model. She

admitted that this was not true communication, but she beiieved it helped
students by providing them with necessary vocabulary. In her opinion, this was
a better way of compleüng the exercise whiie maintaining (disciplinary) control
of the dass. She did not believe that it was the best way to aid the students in
their language leaming, but she exdaimed that "they canft do it" othenvise.
This teacher liked the philosophy behind Éhns, but she had to be realistic
with her students. Because, as she believed, Élans was designed for the best
students of French, teachers would have to adjust theV expectations of theù own
students. She felt that o d y the best students could do the activities the way that
the Élans teacher's manual suggested. According to her, the textbook authors
had overestimated studentsf ability in French and the size of their vocabulary.
This assumption made it difficult to implement the program the way it had been
intended.
In general, it seems that this teacher found that the course materials made
it difficult to get the students using the target language on their own. As a result,
she often ended up leading the dass-a situation which, she realized, detracted
from the communicative intent of the program materials.
3.2.1.4. The Teachds Consistency in Lnsson Planning
The fourth issue that arose from the interview pertains to the teacher's
Lesson planning for the three groups. The teacher had to cover the same material
in the same overall amount of time; however, the formats for the classes varied

from the traditional daily, 40-minute approach to a more intensive format.

Nevertheless, the teacher was not necessarily expected to plan her lessons for
each group in the same way. When I asked the teadier if she was doing anything
differently with the 40-minute group as compared to the 80-minute group and
the 150-minute group that she had finished teaching, she replied, "1 think I've
 91

tried to keep it f a ~ l y
consistent-"
It appears that this teacher tried to keep her lessons the same regardles of
the dass format. Her earlier experiences with the 150-minute group prepared her
to make adjustments to her teaching when dealing with the 40-minute group.

When she knew an activity was going to be diffidt to carry out as it had been
intended she would do it "a iittle bit differently", by doing it together on the
blackboard, for example. She realized that this reduced the amount of work
students were doing independently, but such a procedure ensured that students
completed the activity.
Some of her other comments indicate why she might not have wanted to
make significant changes to her lessons plans for the different groups. First, she
may have felt it was best to follow the recommendations in the teacher's manual.
She stated, "Élans had prepared a program so 1 don't have to prepare the lessons;
they're done. Which is why I Like it." By adhering to the provideci lesson plans
as closely as she could, the teacher may have felt she was implementing the
program in the best possible way. Second, she may have beiieved that she was
supposed to maintain consistency in her lesson plans between the different
groups for the purposes of the study. When she commented that she used the
materid slightly differently with one group, she made a point of saying that she
didn't think that that difference was "going to mess up the study". in her first
interview (for which there is no verbatirn transccipt), she had indicated that she
had to do everything the same because this was part of an experiment
For whatever reason, this teacher believed that she carried out the lessons
for the different groups primarily in a consistent manner. (It is interesthg to note
that, despite consistenaes in her lessons, this teacher indicated a preference for
the 80-minute format-)
3.21.5. The Teachds Suggestions for Future Changes to Her
Teaching in a Simila Context
The fifth major issue from the i n t e ~ e wthat bears noting for this study
deals with the changes or improvements the teacher would have liked to make to
her lessons. This teacher indicated that there were four general changes she
would have liked to make. These changes concem the teaching of grammar, the
use of a notebook, giving the students more freedom to communicate, and
expanding the program for the 150-minute group.
The teacher stated that she tended to want to teach some grammar in her
classes, but it was diffidt to find in the Élans books. She felt that if she did more
forma1 grammar lessons with her students, they would do better on the
evaluation materials that were part of the ÉLms program.
She indicated that she would have the students keep a notebook the next
time she taught the program. By maintainhg a notebook, students would be able
to copy notes off the blackboard. Although she admitted that a notebook was not
part of the Élans philosophy, she believed that it could be a valuable resource for
the students.
The teacher found that she could have given her students more &dom to
try to use French for their own communicative purposes. She admitted thaï she
was "stili not great at turning the kids loose and allowing some English and yet
one or two words of French" which is what this particular program would like
teachers to do. She knew that "that requires the teacher to be a littte brave" when
allowing students to possibly fail in their attempts to produce the target
language. However, she realized that it could be a necessary step in helping
them acquire French
With regard to the 150-minute group, the teacher expressed some ideas for

possible altemate lessons She said that she would add a novel to the 150-minute
format program. The story could be related to one of the themes in the textbook
and thereby complement the requïred material. She also thought that doing a
play or a skit was another good possibility with 150-minute dass. She felt that
students found it tedious to stay in the same book ali the tirne. She believed that
the students in the 150-minute dass wanted to use the time to d o something
different iike geography in French. The teacher felt that by expanding on the
course rnaterials, she would maintain more interest during the long dass period
and extend the possibiüties for students to l e m Frendi.
This teacher had thought about ways to adapt and expand the Élans
program to suit her needs and perhaps better serve her students. She felt that
more grammax, a notebook, more opportunities for free communication, and
using a novel or skit or a lesson on a speualized topic could improve the
learning experiences in her dasseç.
3.2.1.6. Summary of Interview Data

To surn up the interview data, I have presented five pertinent issues culled
from the teacher's comments. These issues dealt with the teacher's background
with regard to language learning, her beliefs related to language teaching, her
implementation of the teachhg rnaterials, her consistency in lesson planning, and

dianges she would make to her lessons. There seem to be some contradictions in
her statements. This teacher said that she showed fiexibility in her teaching;
however, she was adamant in her belief that students had to have proper
pronunciation over correct grammar in order to be understood. Despite this
teacher's daimed flexibility in her teaching, she was not willing to try to do smail
group or pair work more than a few times with her dasses She said that she did
not iike group work, because the students ended up speaking in English.
Nonetheless, she was able to justify her own use of English with the students.
Despite her belief that an immersion-type experïence is the ideal way to learn a
second language, she did not create such an environment in her class. This
teacher said that she believed in the communicative orientation of the course
materials, yet she controiled and directed much of the communication in the
dassroom in order to complete the activities in the course materials. F M y , the
teacher was consistent in planning her lessons for the various formats, yet she
expressed some regret for not doing things (or not being able to do things)
differently.
3.2.2. Teacher JournalData
The second source of qualitative data is the teacher's journal in which the
participating teacher had been asked to keep an account of her experiences with
the dasses during the study. She was given no explicit direction as to what she
should record in the journal in order to ailow her to express hesself as freeiy as
possible. The 45-page (typed) journal she submitted contained entries ranging in
length from just one line to dense paragraphs. The teacher usuaily recorded her
experiences with each class separately and in an informal style. Her entries
induded her impressions of eadi dass and certain students, work done that day
and reactions to it, her feelings about the study and the different dass formats,
speual evenh and various concerns. When the joumal is read as a whole, it
provides an interesthg account of the unfolduig of this teacher's year on the job.
When the journal is scruanized, recurring issues corne to light.
There are five main recurring issues with some salient related issues that
will be discussed in this section. First, the participating teacher kept an account
in her journal of the work that she finished with each dass and she mentioned
ways which she thought would be better to do the vanous exertises. With
evidence from het journal, I will show how she implemented materials from her
chosen course program. Second, the teacher's use of English will be outlined.
Third, the 150-minute morning dass and the 40-minute late aftemoon dass
represented two very different teaching environments. 1 wiil desaibe how the
teacher provided, intentionally or inadvertently, two contrasting pichires of
these groups. Fourth, the positive feelings about the experimental group will be
mentioned. Fifth, a matter of concern for this teacher was the loss of time due to
interruptions in her dass. Her feelings about these interruptions WU be detailed.
3.2.2.1. The Teacheis Implementation of the elans Materials
The f i s t main issue arising from the teacher's journal entries is the way in
which she implemented the course materials. As stated earlier in this thesis, the
flans program is based on a communicative/experiential approach to language
teaching and learning. The philosophy behind Élans is that students will leam
the target language by learning how to communicate when they share their ideas,
experiences and opinions with their classrnates. Materials are designed
principally to expose students to situations in which they must use French in real
ways rather than manipulate forms of the language. It is up to the dassroom
teacher to implement these materials in ways which ensute that students acquire
communicative skilis. According to the teacher journal, this participating
teacher completed the materiais to the best of h a (and her students') abîiity;
however, it is necessary to look at how she accomplished this. First, I will
describe how the teacher referred to the materials Next, 1 will outline how she
had students work with the materials and how she orgMzed her lessons.
The teacher's journal is peppered with references to page numbers in the

textbook and student workbook. These references appear throughout the entire
journal. For example, at various points during the school year, the teadier wrote:
"1 only managed to get to 2C page 10 of Unite [sic] O" [p. 21, ' W e worked on page

24,25 in the textbook and page 40 in Workbook" [p. 111, and 'We did lots today-
pg. 22 to 25 in the Workbook and 2 pages in the text" [p. 171. (The numbers in
square brackets refer to page numbers in the teacher's journal.) At times, page
references to materials finished in dass on a particular day comprise an entire
journal entry. For example, the teacher wrote, "Finished pg 85. in cahier and pg
53 in text" [p. 281 on Febniary 28 and "Did 2A and a i i the rest of pg 104" [p. 331 as
her complete entry for April 14. This form of j o d keeping is not significant in
itself; the teacher was informing the researcher of the Pace at whidi she was
working with a particular dass. However, this kind of entry may provide an
indication of the teacher's teadung.
A portion of the entry for October 27 reads, "Managed to pg 16 in
Workbook" [p. 111. The word "rnanaged"may suggest that the teacher is trying
to cover the material rather than to exploit it for its communicative intent. It may
not be enough for the students merely to do the tasks put forth in the course
materials; the teacher may have to ensure that students' skiils and linguistic
knowledge are developed while completing them. When providing these page
references, the teacher did not make any statement as to what she had wanted
students to gain or what she felt the students had gained from that patticular
task.
On October 13, the teacher wrote, "1 was r e d y womed this morning. The
dass started to drag almost immediately. I watched kids looking at their watches

and yawning loudly. 1 began to panic, cold sweat etc. Moved quiddy through
the Ex on page 10, 11of Cahier hoping the next exercise would be better - No luck
- Exeruse 2A on page 12 was the same kind of thing. 1 survived and made it to
pg 13 of the Cahier which thankfully sparked more interest" [p. 71. This teacher
was understandably concerned about how the students would receive each ta&;
however, she was progressing through the course material page by page. She
realized that merely going through the materials was not motivating the students,
but she does not Say if the students had learned anything. She does give
indications in the journal, however, of the ways in which she implemented the
Élans program in order to cover the material and (perhaps) benefit her students,
and I wiii outline some of these now.
Because the Élans material is based on a communicative/experiential
approadi, its airn is to have students use the target language as much as possible
in realistic contexts. In order to give students as many opportunities to speak as
possible, É h s recommends that teachers have students work with a partner or in
smali groups. As noted in the teacher's journal, the teacher participating in this
study did use these techniques on a few occasions. She wrote that she "[hlad the
desks in groups of 4 which didn't work, so we spent the time lefi moving desks
badc. It was the worst dass I've had with [the 40-minute] dass so far" [p. 41. Even
several months later, this teacher was not wiiling to try to have this dass work in
smaii groups. "They are supposed to do this [task] with two friends but 1 know
they won't speak French. 1 still feel that they wiïl be forced to speak more if it is a
guided activity. There are 16 dues so 16 kids got a chance to speak. In fact more
did because 1 had some read the due and others answer in a full sentence" [p. 371.
Although this teacher selected the Élans materials, she dearly had her doubts
about some of the recommended techniques. The authors of the program
materials believe that it is better for a l i students to try to express themselves
freely in French (i.e. create genuine output) than for a few students in the dass to
use the language and others to read the written text aloud. This teacher, on the
other hand, seemed to believe that she has more control of the quality of the
students' language if she guides the activity. She wrote that the class "worked
together on a stmctured, teacher directed lesson on pg 6, 7, 8. Wiii separate
desks if necessary. They reaiiy can't do this SMalone. They get bogged down,
lose interest, and then the problems begin. At least when we do it together they
have to read orally and make full sentences" [p. 371. It seems that this teacher

could monitor students' behaviour and French output more easily when they
did not work in groups.
The teacher's concem for maintainhg proper behaviour in her dassroom
and her desire to preserve her French language standards among her students are
genuine. However, it is ironic that she wrote, "I don't think that the program
(Elans) ailows the kids to converse enough The opportunity is there but the
situations are too complex with difficult vocabulary" [p. 91. This teadus se&
to compensate for the complexity of the tasks by directing the dass. For example,
she noted, "1 worked on pg 5 of the workbook and changed the activity slightiy
because it was too difficult - 1 simply had [students] desaibe themseives using
ideas they generated off the b o a r d [p. 41. Although the program materials
encourage communication between students, this class appears to be teacher-
centred. Much communication in the dass happened through the teacher; much
action in the dass was guided by her; most opportunities to experiment with the
language happened through her; most language use in the dass was approved by
her. In this dass, the teacher was the focal point for ail language leaming. For

exarnple, when a student in the 150-minute group complained that she was tiring
student] made a comment
of this format, the teacher wrote in her journal, "mt
about finding the novelty wearing off a bit She fin& it difficult to concentrate
and is one of the weaker ones. If she would look at me more often she wouldn't
miss so much of the acting that 1 put into things" [p. 121. Students did not have
many opportunities to leam from each other without the teacher's influence.
Opportunities to learn independently were limited by the teacher's direction.
Possibly Mdvertently and contrary to her goal, this teacher has created a
teacher-centred classroom.
The teacher did consider the needs of her students. In some ways, she did
not limit herself to using oniy the Élans materials in the ways that were
recommended. For example, she wrote in her journal that "the game we played
yesterday involved reading orally and most of the pronunciation was not very
good. 1 decided to review the game as an oral reading ex. to work on some
phonics - probably not the correct Elans approach" [p. 91. Here, the teacher
recognized that her students were having difficulty with a particular aspect of
their laquage Leaming, so she tried to modify her program to take thw needs
into account. On at least three other occasions, she mentioned that she was trying
to help her students develop their reading skills [p. 8, p. 9, p. 101. The teacher
had also found that the students had only a limited vocabulary. In addition to
the occasion mentioned above, she noted in her journal at least two other t h e s

[p. 10, p. 101 that she might adjust her program to reinforce their vocabulary. She
also recognized that her shidents needed more review of grammatical concepts.
On two occasions [p. 9, p. 111, she mentioned in her j o d that she deveioped
tests to reinforce those points. It is dear that this teacher considered the needs of
her students and modified her program accordingly.
Although the teacher made changes or additions to the program due to
her studentsf needs, it is not evident that she made modifications to her classes
due to the program format. There are no major differences in her treatment of the
groups desuibed in her journal. in fact, the teacher noted that she could reuse
the lesson plans she developed for one group with another group. At the

beginning of the school year, when she taught only the cornpaison group, she
wrote, "I'm glad that 1 wiii have had a few days to get used to the program befote
starting [with the 150-minute gcoup]. My lessons wili be planneci for [that dass]
until of course it overtakes the 140-minute] group" [p. 31. From a statement iike

this, one would assume that this teacher would also use her lesson plans from the

150-minute graup with the 40-minute group when the intensive group overtakes
the cornparison group. She seemed to be indicating that the activities wouid not

change from one dass to the other. Based upon the (scant) evidence presented in
her journal, one is led to believe that the program format was having no effect on
how she implemented hei program.
3 2 2 2 The Teaches Use of English
The second issue that is apparent in the teadier's journal is her use of
English in dass. When h a entries for the 15Gminute group and %minute group
are compared, there is a large difference in the number of times the teacher
comments on her use of English There are two entries in which she admits to
using English with the 150-minute group, but there is at least four times that
number of simiiar entries for the %minute group.
In her journal, the teacher explained why she used English with the 150-
minute group. On the first occasion, she found that the students had difficulty
understanding a French text, so she switched to English to aid t h e 5
comprehension [p. 81. On the second occasion, she indicated that she used
English when the students were not partaking in the lesson and were lacking in
motivation to try to use the target language [p. 111. These incidents occurred
during this group's ninth and seventeenth (150-minute) sessions, on October 15
and October 27 respectively, which were about one-sixth and one-third into its
program. These entries also indicated that the teacher did not like to use English
to a great extent with these students.
In the entries for the 40-minute group, the teacher also expressed het
dislike of her use of English with this d a s . Reasons that she cited for this use of
English were similar to those given above: the lessons were moving too slowly
without it [p. 5; p. 111, the students were not trying to understand her French
lesson [p. 81, the students were restless [p. 131, and the students were having
difficulty understanding the French lesson [p. 321. On another occasion, she
wrote that the "[elxplanation of the test was done mostiy in English They
worked weil and 1 ciidn't help them once they were started" [p. 36). The teacher
also provided another expianation for her use of English that does not have
anything to do with the students, theh ability, or their motivation. in her entries
for November 18 to 20, she admits that she used quite a bit of "English today. It is
directly proportional to how tired 1 am" [p. 151.
In one journal enhy, the teacher expressed frustration at her need to use
English with the 40-minute group. On November 8, she wmte, "1 tried to speak
only French to them today, but it is really dificult for them. They reaily aren't at
the same level a s the [150-minutedass]. [...] It is almost as if they were at a
different grade level" [p. 131. It is important to remember that the students in the
150-minute group were about two-thirds through their program while those in
the 40-minute group were only about one-quarte through theirs.
The teacher seemed to understand the importance of using French in the
classroom. (See section 4.3.2 for a brief overview of other research findings
suggesting this importance.) When she commenteci on the progress made by the
150-minute dass, she expressed fear that the students would lose their French
over the following months. She wrote, ' n t they reaiiy need is immersion" [p.
181. One wonders why she did not &y to create more of an immersion
environment by restricting her use of English if she felt that it was so important to
her students' language acquisition process.
 The teacher did indicate one way in which she tried to restrict h a use of
English with the &minute group. She wrote, "Pve skipped some of the harder
exercises so that they don't get bogged down and I can avoid spealcing English
[p. 161. One is to assume that the studenh benefitted more from not dohg the
more difficult exercises than they would have had they done them whiie hearing
the teacher speak Enghsh, Despite what may seem to be a somewhat limiteci
exposure to spoken French in the dassrwm, the students in the 40-minute group
did eventuaiiy begin to speak the target language. The teacher reported that
"[tlhey are starting to use full sentencesf'[p. 271 on February 23-over haifway
through their program.
With regard to the overd effect of her use of English with the two groups,
the teacher expressed more concem for the 40-minute qoup. She wrote, "In 40
minutes 1 find 1 use English to get them on tradc and for explanation in order to
accornplish something in the time. With the [150-minute] group it didn't matter
if it took 40 minutes to get started and explain things slowly 'en francais' [sic]

because we stül had lots of time to get some work done" [p. 211. Based on these
qualitative findings, it seems that this teadier tried to adiieve =me sort of
balance between exposing her students to oral French and having them cornpiete
exercises from the course materials in the dlotted time.

3323. Impressions of the I0-Minute and 150-Minute Classes

The third major issue from the teacher's journal is how the teacher
describes her impressions of and experiences with the two classes. For the most
part, it seems to a reader of the teacher's journal that each dass stood in contrast
to the other. The following examples are taken from entries made on the same
day or on consecutive school days.
While teachurg the intensive and regular groups at the same aine, the
teacher's impressions of the 150-minute group were positive for the most part,
while those for the 4û-minute group were expressed largely in negative terms.
She wrote that the students in the 150-minute dass "are exated about going on to
a new book. We are moving much faster and they seem willing to give up their
games to work harder" [p. 151. However, the next day, she describeci the 40-
minute group as "still plodding along" [p. 161. Similarly, that dass is
"struggling along" [p. 161 while the students in the 150-minute group "are
working without any breaks now" [p. 161. Students in the intensive group had
"[tlwo marathon sessions. .. . [Wle covered a great deal. They were great" [p. 151,
but those in the 40-minute group "really find the program dificuit" [p. 151. It

seems that the intensive group adjusted to the Élans program more easily than
the 40-minute group. From the teacher's impressions, aptitude may be a factor in
the perceived success of one group oves another. About students in the 40-
minute group, she reported, 1 have a horrible feeling that they are regressing"
[p. 181 whereas she stated, 1 strongly believe that about 10 [students] of the 1150-
minute] group would be easily capable of going into LFI [late French immersion]
and handling it with relative ease" [p. 181.
Student motivation may be another reason for the contrasting impressions
the teacher had of each group. Of the 150-minute group, the teacher -te, "We
did lots today [...] ïhey are keen to keep going" [p. 17J. However, on the very
same day, she reported, Y don't see the same work habits in this 140-minute]

group" [p. 171. The teacher had another similar negative experience with the
reguiar group. "Last period on a Friday afternoon before a long weekend yu&.
They were OK because 1 bribed thern with the 'Chair Game' half h m of work =
10 min. of game" [p. 7J.However. the 150-minute dass continued to impress this

teacher. On the same day, she reported another positive experience with that
group. "1 canft believe the kids are stiil k e n ! We worked for about an hour and
a half [...] Only three kids asked to go to the washroom[.l 1 thought that they
might start to use the washroom a s an excuse to have a break. b u t so far no
problem" [p. 61. Whether it was due to motivation or aptitude, this teadier seems
to have had positive experiences with the intensive group and negative
impressions of the regular group.
It is unlikely that the respective reactions of each dass to this teacher were
a factor for these contrasting experiences. The supply teacher, who filied in
several times throughout that school year, reported experiences similar to those
recorded by the participating teacher- On two occasions, the supply teacher
commented that she had enjoyed the 150-minute dass but had found the 40-
minute class difficdt [p. 11, p. 151. On another occasion, the supply teacher had
enjoyed the intensive group so much, she shared her impressions with other
teachers at the school. The participating teacher noted that the supply teacher
had "said that they worked realiy hard and that they were great. One of the other
Core French teachers overheard mer] raving about this class. She said that it
must be a first for a Supply Teacher to be enthusiastic about teachïng Core
French] not to mention 160 min. [The 40-minute group] on the other hand was
diffïdt. [The supply teacher] reaiiy finds them hard to motivate" [p. 171. Based
on a i l of these entries, the 150-minute group seems in general to be "good" and
the 40-bute group to be "bad" from a teacher's perspective.
One may speculate that negative student behaviour in a particular dass
couid have been the reason for such a stark contrast between the two classes. The
participating teadier only mentioned behavioural problems on a few occasions.
Perhaps surprisingly, the teacher mentioned more problems with certain
students in the "good intensive group than in the "bad" regular group.
According to the teacher's journal, the negative behaviours of certain students in
the intensive group did not seem to have an adverse effect on the performance of
the group as a whole. Fewer specific behavioural problems in the 40-minute
group are mentioned in the journal; however, the teacher does not have the
impression that this dass was performllig weli. Therefore, it appears that
behavioural factors for the contrasts can be iniled out.
A more iikely reason for such great contrasts is the way in which they

appear in the journal. The teacher's conhasthg impressions appear on the same
day or on consecutive days. Conditions affecting the students (for example, the
weather, the teacher's energy level, special events, etc.) on these days may have
been similar; however, program conditions at the same üme were quite different.
The contrast between the two groups is apparent only on days when the teacher
had both classes. The teacher based her cornparisons of the two g r o u p on times
when they were at different points in th& respective programs. The students in
the 150-minute group had almost always been further ahead in the2 program
than those in the 40-minute group; therefore, it shouid be expected that they
would perform better than their regular counterparts. The iduence of her daily
positive impressions of the "advanced" intensive group m a y have made the
 107

teacher feel that the slow but steady progress of the regular group was poorer
than it actuaily was.
Although the teacher had quite a bit of praise for the 150-minute group
(beginning aLmost from the start of that program), she recorded a fair number of
positive impressions of the 40-minute group. After the completion of the
intensive program, the teacher began to make note of good work quaiity and
overail good behaviour in the 40-minute dass. In fact, there are about 20 jounial
enhies made between January and June that îndicate that this group had begun
to perform weli. At this time, these students were about halfway through their
program-a point at which they could have been expected to show appropriate
dassroom behaviours and satisfactory French skilis. The teacher had almost as
many positive experiences with the 40-minute dass as she did with the 150-
minute clas. However, her positive experiences with the 40-rninute dass were
distributed over ten months and, therefore, to the reader, did not seem to be
equivalent to the daily positive experiences the teacher had with the compact

grOUP.
In summary, the contrasts between the two groups that c a n be seen in the

teacher's journal are not as great as they fkst appear to be. Entries about the two
groups made on the same or consecutive days seem to indicate that the 150-
minute group was performing very well and that the 40-minute group was
making very little p r o p s . However, when one considers comments the teadter
made during the entire length of each program, there is little ciifference between
the two groups in the overail number of positive comments about the students'
behaviour and work quality.
 3.2.2.4. Favourable Attitudes towud the 150-Minute Program
Format
The fourth recurring issue evident in the teacher's journal is the positive
feelings about the experimental program format. As this teacher volunteered to
participate in this case study, it is perhaps not surprishg that she was exated by
the experimental dass formats. First, she expressed apprehension about her
ability to "survive" a 150-minutelong dass. After a particularly challenging 40-
minute dass, she wrote, "ï'm exhausted after 40 min. of acting out the general
meanhg - 1 can imagine what it will be like after 160 min" [p. 31. However, & a
successful first session with the Wû-minute group, she wrote in her journal, "I'm
actually looking forward to the [150-minute] dass tomorrow" [p. 51. Her
enthusiasm for this group must have carried on throughout the program, as she
stated, "1 feel very satisfied with the whole experience and 1 would do it again"

[P 201-
Interestingly, the teacher notes in her journal that she is not the only one
who has had positive feelings about the 150-minute group; the parents and the
students also showed some enthusiasm for this particular program format.
During parent-teacher interviews, some parents of studenb in the &minute
cornparison group had wished "their kids could have been in the 1150-minute]
group and why didn't they have a choice?!" [p. 161. These parents seern to feel
that their children are missing out on something speüal. The students, too, may
have felt that belonging to the 150-minute group was something special. Before
the beginning of the experimental program, one student did something unusuai.
The teacher noted she "received a letter from a child in the [15û-minute] group
[...] saying how much she was looking forward to her French classes that will

begin in October. We must have done a realiy good job presenting the study to
the kids" [p. 21. Positive feeiings among the students about the 150-minute
format continued thtoughout the program. A few days d e r the completion of
that expesimental program, the teacher noted, "I've been stopped in the hall by
several students from [the 150-minute ciass]. They are stiil smiling and positive
about the experience" [p. 201.
In general, as evidenced by entries in the teacher's journal, the teacher, the
students in the 150-minute group, and th& parents seem to have a high degree of
enthusiasm for the special experimental program format.
3.2.2.5. The Loss of Teaching T h e
The fifth issue arising from the teacherfs journal is the number of
interruptions to her French dasses. The teacher expressed her concern about
interruptions, because she noted that the Élans program discouraged
interruptions. Some interruptions such as conducting tesüng for the Carleton
case study were necessary and unavoidable, and the teacher managed to work
her lessons very weli around these scheduled disruptions. These were
d ail of her French dasses. Nevertheles, she seemed
interruptions that o c ~ e in
to have to deal with an unusuaily high nurnber of interruptions.
Experienced teachers like the one partiupating in this study may be used
to dealing with interruptions and cancellations; however, some of the
dismptions to this teacher's d a s e s seemed more lü<e intentional intrusions. For
example, she wrote, "More the end of dass, 1 was intemipted three thes! The
science teacher came and used the last 5 min of the class to talk about homework
that the kids had not done for ha. There is an impression that it is only core
French so its [sic] OK to interrupt and pull kids out of class for various things"
[p. 41. Another incident made it appear that her French classes had an unusually
high number of these intrusions On December 6, the teafher wrote that a student
in the 150-minute group "came badc today after being away 5 days. This
translates to 20 [&minute] periods which is equal to about a month of French. . . .
Many other teachers wanted her for various things, testing etc. and naturally it
was French that they felt she could sacrifice. 1 said 'no' and it was not the way to
make friends and influence people" [p. 17.
The teacher did not so much mind the distraction from French that these
interruptions imposed as she regretted the lost dass t i m c i n particular with the
40-minute group. For exampie, the teacher noted that this group "was 10 min
late from the gya By the time I got them settled down 1had half an h o u left" [p.

71. This dass, held in the late afternoon, seemed to have a disproportionate
number of interruptions or canceilations. Class time for this group was lost for
various reasow induding an assembly [p. 351, a Valentine's Day dance [p. 261,
winter activity day meetings [p. 241, and a canceliation of school due to extreme
heat [p. 421. The teacher condudes with exasperation that she "completed one
less unit of work with [the40-minute group] than the other two groups. The main
reason for this 1 am sure is that the afternoon classes really suffer from
interruptions (assernblies etc.) Forty minutes [...] is a total waste of time and
finally the kids are not as motivated in the afternoon" [p. 431. Interruptions
seemed to annoy the teacher and take her students away from precious class
the.
 3.2.2.6. Summary of Teacher J o d Data

There are five major issues that arise from a carefd reading of the teacher's
journal. The first issue deals with the way in which the participating teacher
implemented the course materials. She seems to have worked through the Élans
textbook and workbwk page by page. This can give one the impression that she
is merely coverulg the rnatetiaL rather than considering the linguistic aims of the
activities and the principles of their communicative/experientiai orientation.
She does, however, consider the students' needs by focusing on certain skills or
structural concepts for which they require additional practice. Through her
disLike for srnail group and pair work, she has created a teacher-directed
learning environment- Although the communicative orientation of the Élans
materials is intended to have the students communkate with one another, most
activities in the dassroom are channded through this teacher. It appears that the
teacher has been consistent in her approach and in her use of activities with the
different groups. In other words, she did not vary her basic lesson plans due to
the length of the dass.
The second issue of note is that the teacher was concerned about her use of
English. in her journal, she recorded more instances of concern for her use of
English with the 40-minute group than with the 150-minute group. She
remarked that she only used English to her students' advantage or to her own
benefit Nonetheless, this use of Engiish-espeüdy with the 40-minute dass-
dismayed the teadier. She felt that she was using much more English with the 4û-
minute group than with the 150-minute group. However, she was making her
cornparisons when the two classes were at different points in their respective
programs.
The third and fourth issues are related; they both pertain to favourable
attitudes toward the intensive program format. First, it seems that the teacher
always commented on the 150-minute group in positive terms while the remarks
about the %minute group were cast in a negative light. These teacher attitudes
m a y have been noticeable to the students on those dasses. Nevertheles, after the
completion of the 150-minute program and after the halfway point of the regular
format, the teacher began to make positive comments on the &minute dass. It
may have been in comparing the two groups on a daily basis-where one group
was further ahead in its program than the other-that the teacher felt there was
one "good group and one " b a d group. Finally, it is nonetheless important to
note that the participating teacher, the students and their parents seemed to feel
that there was something special about the intensive program format.

And last, the fifth issue emerging f'rom the teacher's journal is the loss of
class time due to interruptions. The teacher generaliy felt that there were too
many interruptions to her core French dasses. It appears that her 40-minutedass
suffered more lost class time than her 150-minute class due to the need to tend to
administrative details on a daily basis.
3.23. Ciassroom Obmation Data
The third source of qualitative data is from classroom observation. In
Mardi 1994 1 was able to observe one dass period of the 40-minute group and
two dass periods of the 80-minute group. Due to the nature of their respective
programs, the 40-minute group was ahead of the 80-minute group, and it was not
working on the activities that had been specificaily videotaped and transcribed
for this study. Because the 150-minute group had already completed their
program by this tirne, 1 do not have dassroom observation notes for it. This
section briefly outlines some general observations 1 made while observing the
teacher in action
The 40-minute group was scheduled for the end of the school day from
2:20 to 3:W p s i . On that particuiat day, the tacher began the dass at 225 by
asking for the date in French. She then referred (in French) to the students'
"points" and the reason why they would not be counted the foliowing day. (The
"points" referred to a reward system used by this teacher since the beginning of
the school year whereby student accumulated credits for participation, good
work and proper behaviour in order to eam prizes at the end of a certain period
of tirne.) The teacher tried to lead the students in a general French discussion on
the foiiowing day's special school event. About ten minutes into the scheduled
period, one student required reprimanding, because he was being overly active
and takative which had distracted some students. The teacher changed the
subject by reintroducing the theme of the new unit and by asking students to
provide examples in French.
At 254, students began an activity in their workbook. A student read the
instructions aloud and other students read individual questions aloud in tum.
The class did the exercise together-that is, as a group, students progressed
through the questions at the same tirne-but each student wrote their own
responses to the personal questions in the workbook exercise. Two students
asked the teacher questions (one in English, the other in French) about the
exercise, and the teacher explaineci or led the students to a possible response in
French. She even commenteci that she found it "un peu stupide" that there was
virtually no difference between two questions posed in the exercise. During this
activity, the disruptive student was again warned about his behaviour. The
teacher told him (in French) to speak in French if he wished to speak. 1 suspect
this takative boy was a weaker French student and that the teacher had hoped to

prevent him from distracthg his dassmates by requiting him to speak in French-
At 2:50, the dass was interrupted by a few general announcements over the
school's public address system. After the announcements, the teacher asked the
students to taiiy their points and to dose their books. The teacher then began a
mostly one-sided discussion in EngLish about the points system, scoring points
and winning prizes with their point totals. These dassroom management details
lasted until the end of the period.
The length of time spent on various procedures in this dass bears noting.
On that particular day, five minutes out of the total of 40 minutes offer no
opportunities at ail for French input or output. The teadier spent about nine
minutes getting the students "warmed up" - getüng them prepared for the
lesson by having them begin communicating in French. About 16 minutes were
spent on a communicative written exercise. This activity was carried out alrnost
entirely in French. Oniy a smaii amount of dass time was spent on disciplinary
actions. Finaily, administrative or dassroom management procedures took up
ten minutes of dass time that day.
Although the 80-minute group is not induded in my study (due to
technical difficuities with the video-recording of that dass and the subsequent
impossibility of the intended trzmsmption of the lesson), some observations from
this group make interesting points of cornparison with the &minute group.
The longer dass time of this program format aliowed this group to cover
several communicative/expeiiential activities from the workbook or textbook as
well as a short teacher-led grammatical lesson during both periods that 1
observed. As with the 40-minute class, students usuaily read the activity
instructions and/or questions. Except in one instance of pair work, students
completed the adivity as a dass. When students had difficulty understanding
what was expected of them, the teacher provided an appropriate explanation by
means of a short demonstration or bnef transiation.
More Engiish was used with the 80-minute group than with the %minute
group on the days that 1 observed those dasses. At times, the teacher seemed to
let English slip out; at other times, she seemed to use English words or phrases
deliberately. Students knew they were supposed to speak in French, but when
they were hesitant to express themselves, the teacher encouraged them to say
what they could in French whiie giving them the option to speak in English In
cases where students had difficulty speaking in French, the teacher would assist
them in completing an acceptable French sentence.
As was the case with the 40-minute group, students in this group were
involved in the lesson They participated in the activities; they raised their hands
to offer answers; they asked questions, and they offered cornments. The teacher
had to take disciplïnary action on three occasions in oniy one of the two ciasses
that 1 observed.

In the 80-minute group, both dasses that 1 observeci started iate or began
with administrative details before the general warm-up. The first 11 minutes of
one class and the first seven minutes of the other were spent on these things
before progressing to the formal lesson. In both dasses, the formal part of the
lesson ended earlier than the end of the period. The teacher instructed students
to collect the books 16 minutes before the beil in one class and six minutes in the
other. On both occasions, the teacher continued with an appropriate French-
language game and/or administrative detaüs.
Although the experimental, (IO-minute group was not part of the focus of
my study, 1 have induded these obsevations because they reveal conditions in a
dassroom with a lengthened format and they may approximate the dassroom
situation of the intensive, 150-minute group for which 1 have no first-hand
dassroom observation data.
3.23.1. S u m n u g of Clasmom Observation Data
In summary, there are more similarities than differences between the 40-
minute and 80-minute groups. In both dasses, the teacher seerns to have a good
rapport with the students, and the students are, in general, responsive to her
lessons. The general procedure for doing an activity in the workbook or
textbook is that a student would read the instructions or a question and the
teacher wouid provide any necessary explanations for them to complete that
task. The students w o d d complete their own answers while the teacher lead the
class through the activity, often by writing mode1 answers on the blackboard.
Although students made comments or asked questions, both classes were
teacher-centred. The teacher did a great deal of t a l h g in both dasses; she
directed the discussions and she expected students to foliow dong.
The lessons for both groups that 1 observed had a communicative/
experiential focus. However, more English was used in the 80-minute dass than
in the 40-minute c l w on the days that 1 observed. It is not dear why this would

be the case as the students in both groups seemed to be more or less academicaily
equal. With regards to behaviour, both groups required the same amount of
disciplinhg or warning.
Finaily, both groups lost tirne at the beginning and end of each dass. This
time was usually spent dealing with administrative or dassroom management
items.
3.2.4. Summary of Qualitative Findings

With the three sources of qualitative data-the interview with the teacher,
the teacher's journal, and my observation of her classes-there is a possibility for
triangulation of data. An issue from one source may emerge from the other
sources to give it greater credence. Five main issues have surfaced; some
appeared in all three qualitative sources, others in one or two sources. The major
findings are briefly describeci below.
One issue that 1 noted in ail three sources was the way in which the teacher

implemented the course materials Although the Élans program was created for
a communicative/experiential approach, the teacher seemed to have abandoned
an important element. This teacher did not like to have the students work in
srnaIl groups or with a partner. Consequently, students were not communicaüng
with one another a s much a s they could have during class time; their

opportunities to create French output were diminished. This teacher seemed to

adopt a traditional teacher-directed approach in her lessons. AU students
completed their work through her. In this way, the teacher codd control the
accuracy of the language used in the dass.
, her journal, and from my dassroom observation, 1
During her i n t e ~ e win
noticed that the teacher used English to some extent in her dasses despite her
expressed belief that the best way to l e m a second language was to be immersed
in it. She was disturbed by her use of English, but she admitted that she used it

to aid students' comprehension and facilitate the completion of the lesson. In her
journal, the teacher expressed concem that she was using too much English with
the 40-minute dass; however, 1 am unsure whether this usage was considerably
higher than in the 150-minute dass. The quantitative data do not confirm the
teacher's impression.
Another concem for this teacher was the loss of dass üme she experienced
due to interruptions and administrative details. in her journal and from my own
observation, it was apparent that a fair amount of time was spent each day on
taking care of matters that did not necessady pertain directiy to the leaming of
French. Interruptions for a variety of reasons reduced the overall time that
students had ta receive French input and produce French output. The teacher
felt that the loss of dass time due to interruptions and administrative details was
greatest in the &minute dass as she was not able to complete as many units in
the course book as she was with her other classes.
A major issue arising from her interview and from her journal was her
consistency in leçson planxüng- Not o d y did she seem to foilow the course book
(if not the teacher's manual) closely, she does not seem to have vaned her

teaching activities (which rnight Iead to the use of different teaching strategies) in
the different groups. Regardes of their format, the lessons for one group were
very similar to the lessons this teacher used in the other groups.
Another important issue emerged only from the teacher's j o u d . There
seemed to be a great deal of favourable attitudes expressed toward the intensive
group format. The teacher praised the 150-minute dass, but at the same tirne,
found Little to comxnend in the 40-minute dass. Through my analysis of her
journal, however, 1 noticed that the teacher did begin to comment positively on
the cornparison group once the intensive group had completed its program.
Nonetheless, the teacher may have indirectly cornmunicated her continuous
pleasure with the 150-minute group and initial disappointment with the 40-
minute group to the students in those d a s e s . The teacher was not the only
person to display favourable attitudes toward the 150-minute group. Before the
intensive program began and after ik completion, students expressed exatement
about being part of that particular dass. The parents of students in other classes
had expressed dismay that their diildren could not have been placed in the
intensive group. It seems as if people felt there was something special about the
150-minute program format.
The five issues outLineci here wiil be dealt with in the following chapter
where 1 discuss the answers to my research questions and try to explain the
reasons for my results.
3.3. Summary of Findings

The quantitative data allowed me to compare the frequency of certain

teadung strategies in one group with those in the other. The tables also
presented the percentage that each teadiing strategy represented relative to all
teaching strategies used in each group. 1 was also able to compare the types of
student utterance produced in each group. Relative percentages for these
student utterances were also shown in table form. The analysis revealed that
there were no signincant Merences in the number of teadiing strategies or types
of student utterance used in the two groups. This cornparison showed that both
classes received similar treatments through the same teaching strategies and that
similar types of student utterances were produced in both dasses.
The qualitative data that are related to the findings above deal with the
type of teadiing and lesson planning in both dasses. The findings suggest that
both groups were taught with a teacher-directed approach. Little pair work and
small group work was done in either dass. Exercises were taken up on the
blackboard as a dass. This type of teaching produced only a few opportunities
for individual expression. The teacher indicated that she was consistent in her
lesson planning; she did not change her lessons when the program format
changed. These findings indicate that there was no difference in the treatments
(and, therefore, probably in the teaching strategies) given to the two groups.
One major contradiction between the qualitative data and the quantitative
data concerns the teacher's use of English. The qualitative data suggest that the

teacher used English to a greater extent with the reguiar, 40-minute group than
with the intensive, 150-minute group. The quantitative data, on the other M d ,
indicate an almost identical use of Engiish by the teacher in both program
formats. The qualitative data are based on the participating teacher's own
observations noted throughout the "year" (Le. the respective program formats) in
her journal. The quantitative findings corne from my trawcripts of videotapes of
a series of activities from one part of a unit.
 121

When the findings from the quantitative data are taken together with those
from the qualitative sources, the overail findings (with the possible exception of
the teacher's use of English) strongly suggest that there was no ciifference in the
teadiing strategies used in the two classes.
 Chapter 4

Discussion
in this chapter, 1 answer my two original research questions and discuss
possible reasons for the findings. 1 also try to offer an explanation for the
differences in outcomes on post-tests between the two groups in the original
Lapkin, Harley and Hart (1995) case study. Finally, 1 discuss the limitations of
my shidy, its implications for theory and practice, and directions for future
research.
4.1. Interpretation of Findings
In this section, 1 return to my two original research questions. 1 first
answer each question before sumxnarizing the quantitative and qualitative
findings that provide evidence for my responses.
In Chapter 1,I posed two questions which guided the research for my case
study:

(1) Do different formats of a program (Le. its compactness) affect the

teaching strategies employed by this particular second language teacher?

(2) If yes, could the variations in teaching strategies selected for

observation be responsible for different linguistic or attitudinal outcomes?
To answer the first question, 1 selected a number of teaching strategies to

focus my research. In order to obtain quantitative data, I statisticdy compared

tallies of each of these teadiing strategies in two ciasses with different formats. 1
also Looked at possible variations in student utterances to see whether students
produced more output in one program format or the other. The analysis
revealed that the totals obained for each strategy were not statisticaliy different
from one another. Not one signifïcant difference was found in the teaching

strategies or types of student utterance between the two program formats. These
results indicate that there are no variations in the teachïng strategies employed
by this second language teacher in the different program fonnats.
Nonetheless, the quantitative data above provide only one source of
information that can be used to answer my first research question. One must also
consider the qualitative data that 1 gathered from an interview with the teacher,
the teacher's journal, and from my observation of some of her classes. The
journal, which outlined the dassroom events each day, provided the teacher with
the best opportunity to indicate potential variations in her teaching strategies
with the two groups. In her journal. the teacher did not make note of her use of
questions, induding the icind of questions (i.e. information or display) or their
nature (Le. extended or limited), or with which group they were used. Her
journal notes also did not indicate whether she felt she did more or less
translation (either partial or full) or correction or repetition or made more or
fewer comprehension checks, or asides with one group than the other. She made
no indication in her journal that she began more words or phrases for students in
one dass than the other or that she gave more or less direct encouragement to
students in the different program formats to participate oraily in French. Enghsh,
or b o t . languages. (It should also be noted that this teacher did not indicate a
use of any particular practice techniques or activities such as compositions, doze
passages, dictées, or reading with one group but not the other.)
One impression that the teacher mentioned several times in her joumai
 124

dealt with her use of English The teacher indicated that she felt she had to use
English often with the students in the &minute dass. She believed that these
students were not grasping her lessons in French and that they were not able to
produce as much French as the students in the 150-minute group. The teacher
was concerned that she was using fat more English with the regular program
group than with the intensive program format group. (My quantitative results
contradicted this qualitative finding; however, I cannot say which set of data, if
any, should be considered more reliable.)
There is no dear mention in the teacher's journal that the students in one
class produced more utterances of any kind than the students in the other dass.
Becaw students did not work extensively in small groups or with partners - as
indicated by the journal, interview, my classroom observation, and the
videotapes -- one must exclude the possibility that students produced much
French output other than that which was intended for the whole dass and
recorded on videotape.
The overall qualitative data suggest that neither the teacher's use of
strategies nor the types of student utterances differed between program formats.
This is not surprising considering that the teacher had written in her journal that
she would use the same lessons with the 150-minute group that she had already
conducted with the 40-minute group. Although this indicates that she had not
intended to change her teaching activities or techniqpes, using the same activities
may lead to the use of similar teaching strategies For example, the teacher had
indicated in her interview and in her journal that she did not like to use group
work or pair work activities because she had found that students wasted their
time by not speaking French. Had this teacher tried to use more group work or
pair work activities with one dass, she may have found herself using more
disciplinary actions or more direct encouragement to use French or more
comprehension checks or more commands. Similarly, had the teacher used
different activities with one group, the students' use of French, i.e. number of
student utterances in French, may have increased or decreased. In 0th- words, I
believe that changing the teaching activity potentiaily alters the teaching
strategies that a particular teacher rnay use because the context in the dassroom
is different. In her journal, the participating teacher did not mention any
instances where she made a conscious effort to Vary her teaching strategies
between the two program formats.
Based on these qualitative and quantitative findings, it is dear that there
was no significant variation in teaching strategies for the different formats in this
case study with the possible exception of the teacher's use of English
Becaw the answer to my first research question was negative, rny second
question camot be answered. As no strategies were found to be used more in
one dass than the other, there are no leads to investigate a possible relationship
between frequent usage of a particular teaching strategy and variations in
linguistic or attitudinal outcornes.
4.2. A Possible Explmation for the Results

As suggested by Carroll (1990) and Stem (1985) and shown by Carroll

(1994),Canady and Rettig (1993), Turner et al. (1993), and Jorgensen (1993),
differences in a program's format may lead to the use of more and better teaching
approaches. This suggestion implies that there would be differences in Me
 126

teaching done in dasses of different lengths. One might, therefore, expect a

teacher to use different teaciring activities and/or different teaching strategies. (1
have already stated my belief that a variation in teadung acüvities could lead to
the use of different teaching strategies.) However, the evidence from m y case
study indicates that this teacher altered neither her teaching activities nor-more
pertinent to my thesis research-her teaching strategies.
1 asked myself, after others have demonstrated that differences in program

format can lead to variations in teaching, why did this teacher not change her
stsategies. The data from the teacher's journal and her interview indicated that
this teacher was "fairly consistent" in planning her Lessons for the different
groups. Why wodd she deiiberately try to foilow the same lesson plans for such
different program formats? 1 believe the answer to this question lies in brief
comments that she made durùig the interview and in her journal.

The teacher wrote, Y may give them the odd homework assignment. S U
ask [the principal researcher] if it will mess up the study" [p. 141. During the
recorded interview done in Toronto, the teacher discussed how she adapted the
Élans materials by not foilowing the recommended procedure in the teacher's
manual. She added quiddy that "1 don? think [this] is going to mess up the
study". These comments suggest that this teacher was concemeci about affecting
the study by being inconsistent. One 0th- comment may explain her concem. 1
had asked her if she had changed her teaching for the different groups when 1
conducted her initial interview (for which 1 do not have a recorded, verbatim
version). According to my reconstructed notes, her response was 7 do the same
things. This is an experiment, so we have to do the same thing in each group. Or
at least as dosely as possible as time dlows'. The teacher appeaa to have
believed that she should not alter the treatments she was giving to the different
groups out of fear that she would adverseiy affect the study.
1 believe that this teacher deliberately did not Vary her teaching strategies

because she thought she was not supposed to do anything differently with her
classes. The researchers, in fact, had anticipated variations in "pedagogical
approach", "teaching style" or "teaching strategies" in each model (Lapkin,
Harley and Hart, 1995, 7-8); however, the teacher had never been explicitly told
that she could or should change her teaching strategies with the various program
formats. Based on the research ated above, 1 had always assumed that she would
alter her strategies without being told that she could do so. Nevertheless, as
stated in her interview, this teacher was trying to aid the researchers in theû
conducting of the case study by being consistent in her teadiing.
4.3. Possible Explanations for Differences in Group Outcornes

The intent of my case study was to research variations in teaching

strategies that could occur in different program formats. If there had been such
variations, my intent was to try to identify which teaching strategies might
reasonably account for the difierences in achievement scores on post-tests
administered to the two groups. Regardles of the fact that significant differences
were not fomd in the teadiing strategies the particïpating teacher employed in
each class, 1 must nevertheless try to account for other factors that could have
influenced the leaming outcomes.
In this section, 1 outhne six factors whidi could be responsible for the
differenca in outcomes between the two groups. First, I suggest that the teacher
may have vaned teaching strategies that 1 did not observe. Second, I examine the
teacher's use of English in eadi of the hvo core French progam formats. Third,
the unexpected loss of dass time in one program format could have affected
those participants' second language learning and, cowequently, their
achievement scores. Fourth, possible differences in the composition of the
groups vis-à-vis the partïapants' level of general ability rnight be a factor
responsible for differences in outcomes- Fifth, the higher scores achieved in the
intensive format may be due to a reactivity problem in the experimental group.
(The expression "reactivity problem" refers to unintended effects afising from
participants' reactions to the presence of researchers or to the ongoing research
itself rather than to the experimental controls. The Hawthorne effect is one such
reactivity problem in which the participants' knowledge that they are in an
experiment causes them to modify their behaviour. Çee Welch and Stemhagen,
1991; Diaper, 1990; etc. for a complete discussion.) Finally, 1 consider the
intensive nature of the half-day program as a factor contributing to the
differences in outcomes.
Each one of these factors is an attempt to explain the difrences in group
test scores in the absence of variations in t e a d h g strategies between the two
formats.
4.3.1. The Effect of the Variation of OUia Teaching Strategies

My findings indicate that there were no significan-tdifferences in the a d

teaching strategies and the number of occurrences of these strategies between the
two program formats. Despite the similarity of the interaction in the two classes,
there were differences in the learning outcomes between the two groups. If
teaching strategies play an important role in student adiievement, it could be
possible that the teadter varied teaching strategies that 1 did not examine. For
example, the teacher may have used "paraphrasing" of student utterances or
"choral repetition" of a reading passage. The use of teadiing strategies like these
with only one dass might conceivably be a factor contributing to the different
leaming outcornes of the two groups.
4.3.2 The Effect of the Teachds Use of Engïish
The use of English by the teacher - or the la& of it - could have had an
effect on the students' adiievement scores on post-tests of their French skilis.
Many researchers underline the importance of the use of the target
language in the classroom. Swain (1985) believes that students require
appropriate target language input before they are able to produce acceptable
output. It is also through th& output in the second language that they are able
to acquire it. Wong-Fillmore (1985,35) writes that "the amount of exposure to the
new language that students get varies enomously, dependuig on whether they
take advantage of oppominities to interact with the teacher. How well they learn
[the target language] m a y weU depend on theK ability to make the most of
limited input." By providing more (and better) target language input, teachers
are perhaps aeating more opportunities for second language learning. The use
of the LI- in this case, English - may actuaiiy hinder the students' progresS.
A number of studies provide evidence to support these theories.

Ln an evaluation of the teaching of French in the primary schools in Britain,

Burstail (1970) distinguished between "highly fluentf8and "les fluent" dasses.
Highly fluent classes tended to offer students "greater opportunities for
individual practice in speaking French and allowed a i I members of the dass [to
take] an active part in the French lesson" (Burstail, 1970, p. 77) as well as have
teachers who used "no En@& at ail" (Burstall, 1970, p. 78). Less fluent ciasses,
on the other hand, were those which provided students with little opportunity to
practice speaking French except in large group situations and where English was
"occasionally" or "frequently" spoken by b o t . the teacher and the students
(Burstall, 1970, p. 78). Visiting inspectors frequently rated the highly fluent
classes more highly than the l e s fluent classes.
In a comparative study of foreign language programs in eight different
countries, Carroll (1975) investigated the factors affecting students' levels of
achievement in French. Each of the programs was characterized by short daily
periods of French instruction (similar to the most common format of core French
programs in Canadian primary schools). Carroll found that the teacher's use of
the target language was an important factor idiuencing the students' French
proficiency. (The teacherfs profiaency in French was a h a contributing factor;
however, Carroll determined that the amount of instructional t h e was the most
important factor influencing student levels of achievement.) in a continuation of
Carroll's (1975) study, Wolf (1977)did a further examination of the data from the
United States. Based on a regtession analysis of teacher variables, Wolf
concluded that the percentage of dassroom activities in French had a positive
correlation to sbdent achievement on tests of French reading and listening
comprehension whereas the frequency of speaking English in class had a
negative influence on students' achievement.
Research findings like those above m a y encourage teachers and
curriculum developers to consider the use of the target language in the French
class. With the aim of improving students' communicative ability in French,
members of the National Core French Study recommended that French be the
preferred medium of interaction between the teacher and the students in core
French classes across Canada Cfremblay, Duplantie and Huot, 1990). The teacher
m u t encourage students to speak French by spealaing French with them.
As outlined in the previous chapter, my quantitative findings did not
indicate a significant difference in the teacher's use of English (and, converseiy,
of French) between the two program formats. in fact, the number of English
utterances in each group and their respective percentages were almost identical.
However, a review of the qualitative data suggests a difference in this teacher's
use of English between the two groups. Entries in the teacher's journal indicate
that the teacher was concemed about her seemingly frequent use of Engiish with
the #minute group.
With regard to the teacher's use of English, my quantitative findings
contradict my qualitative data. The quantitative data were derived from tafies
of codings from the transcripts of a videotaped lesson based on various activities
from a unit in the course materials. As this lesson had been (for all practical
purposes) randomly chosen, it could be considered to be representative of this
teacher's typical lessons and reflect the usual classroom interaction. The
qualitative data corne from the teacher's journal in which she recorded her
impressions and experiences throughout the entire length of each program
format. If her observations of her usage of English with the 4û-minute dass are as
accurate as they are consistent, her use of English may have regularly exceeded
 132

the 3.80% of total utterances that I calculated for this group based on the
transcripts.
The teacher in this study felt that she had to resort to using more English
with the regular group than with the intensive group. nie teacher seemed to
believe that her students in the regular dass needed greater support in English to
help them progress in French. In turn, students may have been more reluctant to
express themselves in French during the course and, thus, may not have
developed their skills as fully as might have been possible (Wong-Fillmore, 1985;
Swain, 1985; Burstaii, 1970). Results from the pst-tests show that the gains made
by thiç groüp on the tests of reading and writing skilis were significantly lower
than those made by the half-day dass (Lapkin, Harley & Hart, 1995).
Because the lower adiievement outcomes of the regular program format
group are consistent with the findings of Burstd (1970), Carroii (1975)and Wolf
(1977)described above, 1 suspect that this teacher did use more English with the
40-minute dass when her lessons were not being videotaped. However, whether
the teacher's possible greater use of English with the &minute group adverseiy

affected its test results or that her possible lesser use of Engiish with the 150-
minute group inaeased the achievement scores cannot be determined here.
Although my quantitative data did not indicate a difference in the
teacher's use of English between the two groups, the qualitative data do not
allow me to condude that the teacher's use of Engiish was not a factor in the
ciifferences in achievement outcomes between the two program formats.
4.3.3. The Effect of the b s s of Class Time
Interruptions to the &minute dass may account for outcomes lower than
those adueved by the 150-minute group, because they represent time away from
the learning task and diminished opportunities for students to receive and
produce French input and output.
Each group received approximately 120 hours of core French instruction
in its respective program format. m e control group received minutes a day
for the duration of the school year, while the intensive group received 150
minutes every day for about t e . weeks.) However, the amount of time actuaily
spent on tasks appropriate to the course objectives may have varied significantly
between the two groups. Each group rnay have had the same amount of core
French instruction from an administrative perspective only, yet in real terms, one
group m a y have spent more time on French learning tasks than the other.
As noted in the previous drapter, the teacher made reference in her jounial

to nurnerous interruptions dishubing her 40-minute dass. These interruptions,

whether brief or prolonged, were enough to make the teacher note them in her
journal. She indicated that she felt interruptions were a detriment to the students
in that particular dass. When totaiied over the course of the year, these
interruptions may have amounted to a substantid l o s of dass time. The result
may have been that this cornparison group did not receive as much real core
French instruction as the intensive group. Evidence of a loss of instructional
time is noted in the teacher's journal. She indicated that she completed one less
unit of work in the Élans program with the &minute group than with the 150-
minute class.
Research in second language acquisition (see, for example, Stem, 1992;
Cummins & Swain, 1986; Krashen, 1985;Krashen, 1982;and Krashen, 1981 among
others) indicates that the length of the expoçure (as weli as its intensity) to the
target language in formal instruction is a factor in developing second language
proficiency. The interruptions to the 40-minute dass diminished the intensity
and deaeased the students' overaii exposure to French as compared to the 1
M

minute group which experienced (from indications in the teacher's journal)

fewer interruptions. Therefore, it is reasonable to suggest üiat the deaeased time
on task in the control group m a y account for its lower achïevement outcornes on
tests performed after the completion of the program.
4.3.4. The Effect of Differences in G m p Composition

In their study, Lapkin, Harley and Hart (1995) suggestecl that there were
differences between the two groups. Although partiapants were assigneci to a
group on a random basis (while allowing for flexibility in scheduling certain
classes), the groups did not obtain similar scores on the Canadian Achievernent
Test before their respective experimental treatments began.
Mean CAT scores were lowest for students in the 40-minute group and

highest for students in the 150-minute gtoup. These results "were simply not
due to a few exceptionally gifted students in the half-day" dass (Lapkin, Harley
& Hart, 1995, 18). These researchers were concerned that this finding indicated

that participants placed in the intensive group were, on the whole. better
students from the outset. For that reason. they controiied for differences in their
statistical analyses where possible. Nonetheless, they were able to condude that
students in the 150-minuteg o u p did better, on average, on tests evaluaüng the
skilis of reading and writing in Fr&
Although these results were adjusted for differences of English language
proficiency between the two groups, the dasses were different perhaps in
another way. Entries in the teacher's journal indicate that the students in the 150-
minute group may have been more motivated or had better attitudes about their
dass than those in the @minute group. The teacher began to praise the students'

good work and theh positive behaviour ("keenness") almost from the beginning
of their program. The teacher did not begin to praise the students in the 40-
minute group until much later-at about the halfway point-in their program.
Even the supply teacher commented on how good the students in the half-day
group were. The amount of praise heaped on the students in the intensive group
may have helped motivate them and encourage them to concentrate more on
their lessons as weil as given them a more positive self-image as speakers of
French. (The possibility of the regular and supply teachers as weii as the
partiupating students being influenced by the Hawthorne effect is discussed in
the following subsection on Reactivity Problems.)
This evidence may suggest that students in the 150-minute group had
better attitudes toward learnhg French or were more positive about their
learning context than those in the 40-minute group. Many researchers have
pointed out the role of attitude in successful second language acquisition. In a
survey of research on attitude and language learning, Krashen (1982) states that
motivation and self-image (dong with low anxiety) are powerful affective factors
related to successfui second language acquisition. In one study of learning
French as a second language in Canada, Naiman, Frohlich, Stern and Todesco
(1978) found that students' general attitude toward learning that language in th&

partïcular situation was the greatest predictor of their success. Burstall (1970)
 136

reports similar findings for primas, and secondary level students of French in
Britaui. Lapkin, Harley and Hart (1995) had students in the 150-minute group
complete a questionnaire on their experience with the longer format- A majority
of students in the 150-minute group responded that they liked "having more
time each day to learn French". More than 60 percent of the students in this
group responded "No" to the statement "1 don't think I'm leaming French any
better in the longer periods". These findings indicate that students in the half-
day dass were favourable to the intensive format. Their positive attitude to the
class along with the encouraging praise from the teacher may have motivated
these students to try hardes and do well in t . French learning. This factor may
have contributed to the differences in gains this dass made on French reading
and writing tests over the Wminute dass.
The composition of the 40-minute and 150-minute groups appears to be
different in two ways. Fust, the students in the intensive group were better than
those in the regular group based on their CAT scores. Second, evidence suggests
that students in the half-day group may have received more encouragement and,
thus, had a more positive attitude and been more motivated than those in the 40-

minute group. These two differences could account, to some degree, for the
differences in achievement outcomes between the two goups.
4.3.5. The Effect of Reactivity Roblems
Another possible explanation for the higher achievement scores and better
attitudinai outcomes in the two experimental groups in the Lapkin, Harley and
Hart (1995) study is that those students were infiuenced by some sort of subject
reactivity.
 Elmes, Kantowitz and Roediger (1992) emphasize that "just telling
someone that he or she is in [an experimental study] may cause reactivity
problemç" (p. 204). Parents of aii partiapants in the Carleton case study had
given their consent for their chiid to participate; thesefore, ail students were
aware that they were part of a research project. It may be that the higher

achieving participants in the case study were hfiuenced by what psychologists

call the Hawthorne effect. This psychological phenornenon refers to the
unintended influence exerted by the presence of researchers and participants'
knowledge that they are being obsewed (Elmes, Kantowitz & Roediger, 1992;
Welch & Stemhagen, 1991). Researchers try to control for a number of
experimental variables, yet it is difficult to control for modifications that
participants make to their own behaviour due to the experimental procedure. In
my case study, 1 have focused on the dassroom kacher's strategies as a potential
variable to explain gains made by certain groups; Lapkin, Harley and H
art (1995)
considered the program format as another variable. However, as Welch and
Sternhagen point out (1991),"it seems unlikely that the only effects of evaluation
upon a system would result from actions initiated by, and subject to, the direct
control of an evaluator. . . . in much the same way, it seems likely that the
presence or existence of program evaluation would exert influence upon a
system even if an evaluation report was never prepared" (p. 121). Elmes,
Kantowitz and Roediger (1992) explain the Hawthorne effect more simply by
stating that "experiments may not only examine behavior, they may also produce
it" (p. 204).
The participants, their parents, and the participating teacher were
 138

certainly aware of the research being conducted. (Students in aii groups were
reminded of the research when tests were done periodicaily during dass time by
Carleton Board of Education staff.) However, it is not only the knowledge that
they are being observed that perhaps made the students in the experimental
groups obtain better outcomes. In her journal, the teacher noted, "It just
occuned to me that one reason [the 150-minute groupl is so keen is that they feel
special since they are part of a study" [p. 151. She may be correct. Diaper (1990)
explains that "[alpart from an awareness of being in an experiment and special
treatment or attention, other reasons [for the Hawthorne effect] are change in
routine or novelty, enthusiasm in trying something new, inaeased motivation
attributed to a number of causes such as prestige ftom being selected and the
elaboration the people who feel they are especiaily selected to show an effect
tend to do so, . . . improved morale together with the development of an esprit de
corps" (p. 262). %me students in the experimental program formats may fit one
or more of these explanatiow. As noted in the teacher's jounial, some parents
had tried to get their diildren enrolied in the 150-minute dass. Actions and
comments like this would have perhaps made that program format seem, in the
eyes of the students, desirable and members of that dass seem special. Students
already enrolled in the "desirable" program format could have consequently felt
special. The teacher's journal noted that at least one student had expressed
excitement about starting the 150-minute dass. The teacher's positive attitudes
about the 150-minutedass may have rubbed off on the students in this group. By
the end of the year-as noted in the teacher's journal-these students were stiil
positive about their experïence. These students may have developed a certain
esprit de corps or feeling of belonging to a special team which could have
improved their attitudes about the program.
Furthemore, Weber and Cook (1972) (in Elmes, Kantowitz and Roediger,
1992) suggest that some participants in a study might adopt a "good-subject
role". With an understanding of the reasons for the study, partiapants taking
this role may "do anything necesJary to validate the experimental hypothesis"

(Ehes, Kantowitz and Roediger, 1992, p. 207). The aims of the CarIeton case
study had been explained to the students and theh parents. Students in the
experimental program formats who had high achievement and better attitudinal
outcomes may have deliberatdy made more of an effort and taken more interest
in their core French class. This may be especiaily true-as noted in the teacher's
journal-as ai least one student in the 150-minute group had expressed exatement
about this format before her program began and some parents felt that the aims of
the case study were worthy of their attention. By working harder, some of the
high achieving students may have been fulfilling their own and thek parents'
expectations of the outcomes of the study as wdl as what they perceived the
expectations of the researchers to be.
The Hawthorne effect and the potentiaily ensuing good-subject role are
reactivity problems that are difficult for researchers to control. (See Adair,
Sharpe and Huynh, 1989 and Adair, Sharpe and Huynh, 1988 for a discussion of

this difficulty.) However, Diaper (1990) suggests that the idluence of the
Hawthorne effect may be diminished if a i i participants-inciuding those in the
conhol or comparison group-could be subjected to an "enthusiastic
involvement" (p. 266). In other words, if aU participants felt equally that they
were part of a special treatment, the Hawthorne effect on one group could cancel
out that influence on the other groups. Neither Lapkin, Harley and Hart (1995)
nor the Carleton Board of Education personnel nor 1 made a deliberate effort to
lessen the Hawthorne effect in this way. Furthemore and perhaps more
importantly, the participating teacher did not seem to b ~ theg stucients of the
40-minute cornparison group into "enthusiastic involvement". In her journal, the
teacher mentioned that on the fist day of the 40-minute program she had
explained to the students thaï "they were part of a study about Core French and
that it would be very exuting" [p. 11. However, as noted in my qualitative
findings, her seemingly negative attitudes towards this particular program
format (e.g. "Forty minutes . . . is a total waste of time" [p. 431) could have
permeated that dass and made the students feel that they were not part of
something special.
In short, it is likely that the students in the 150-minute group were
influenced by a reactivity problem known as the Hawthome effect Students in
this group knew that they were being observed and that there were expedations

that they might outperform the5 counterparts in the regular 40-minute program.
The teacher, the supply teacher, and the participants' parents showed great
interest in the students in the intensive group. In addition to this awareness, the
Hawthorne effect may have been increased by the participants' feelings of being
special due to their indusion in a novel program. Although the Hawthorne
effect a h o s t certainly played some role (at least with some students, if not aU) in
the higher learning outcomes and better attitudinal outcomes in the 150-minute
group, it is impossible to determine the extent to which this is bue.
 4.3.6. The Effect of the Intensive Program Format

A final possible explanation for the ciifferences in outcornes between the

two groups is the program format of the classes. The intensive format could
provide the dass with an experience or put the students into a certain frame of
mind that the regular format does not.
Stem (1985) reports evidence which suggests that intensive program
formats featuring longer daily amounts of instructional time over a short period
of time are more effective than program formats offering shorter instructional
periods held over a longer time span. As mentioned earlier, Carroll (1990) feels
that such intensive programs provide more quality learning time than regular
programs. He believes that students are subjected to fewer distractions and that,
as a consequence, they can concentrate more on leaming the material in compact
programs.
Reports from schools wheie compact programs have been implemented
support Carroll's (1990) theory. Morris et al- (1993)indicate that students are
more focused in dass since the introduction of a compact timetable at one high
school in British Columbia. On questionnaires administered after the initial year
of introduction of a similar compact timetable at another high school, 90% of
students responded that they "leam more effectively" and that they "better
remember the material taught" as compared to their experience with a reguiar,
year-long timetable (Lindsay,1993). Seventy-five percent of teachers at this same
school agreed with the statement that they now "teach more effectiveiyf', and 79%
said that they now "have more quaiïty instructional üme" (Lindsay, 1993).
Similar results are reported by the teacher involved in my case study. The
teacher wrote in her journal that "[tlhere is much more immediate reinforcement
for grammar concepts and new vocabulary in the longer t h e period. Less
review is necessary. In 40 min there isn't enough time to reinforce what has been
introduced and part of the next 40 min. period is taken up with reteaching and
review" [p. 101. These observations indicate that the intensive program format
may have a positive effect on her teaching, if not the learning of French by the
students in that group. On a survey of student views, over 60% of students in the
intensive class agreed with the statement Y remember more of what I've learned
day to day now that we spend more time on French" (Lapkin, Harley & Hart,
1995) while only 2570 disagreed with it.

With the teacher believing that she was teadiing more effectively and
students feeling that they were retaining more in the 150-minute dass, it is
perhaps not surpnsing that students in this group made greater gains on the
French skills post-tests than students in the regular 40-minute group. The

intensive format must, therefore, be considered a probable factor in the

differences in outcomes between the two groups.
4.3.7. Summary of Possible Explanations for Differences in Group
Outcomes
In this section, 1 have outlined several factors that might account for the
differences in outcomes between the intensive group and the regular dass.
1 have suggested that variations in the teaching done in each program

format may have had an effect on the outcomes. Differences in the teacher's use
of English with the two groups or variations in her use of teaching strategies not
examined for this study could have had an impact on students' achievement
outcomes.
Factors specific to the two fomiats have been addresseci. The intensive
nature of the half-day format may have assisted students in making significant
gains over their peers in the regular program on post-tests of their French
reading and writing skills. Students in the 40-minute dass may have suffered
from the loss of dass time from interruptions.
Differences in the students themselves shodd also be considered when
attempting to explain the differences in outcomes. There is evidence that
participants in the 150-minute group were better students than those in the 40-
minute group. Also, students in the experimental intensive group m a y have
benefitted from a reactivity problem known as the Hawthorne effect.
1 have not been able to determine which of the six factors that 1 have

discussed is responsible for the differences in achievement outcomes behven the

two groups. It iç possible that more than one of these factors c m account for the
differences. Of course, factors that 1 have not considered codd be responsible or
play a role in these differences as wd.
4.4. Shortcomings and Limitations of the Shidy

As with any type of research, my study had certain shortcomings and

limitations which affect the generalizability of the findings. The shortcomings
and Limitations of this study are discussed below in terms of (1) the sale of the
research and (2) the extent of the quantitative research.
The findings are based on a small-scale study of the teaching strategies
used by one teacher in two ciasses of different program formats. It is impossiile
to generalize the results of my research, because data from a greater number of
teachers may provide vastly different findings. Rather than being representative
of a great many or a i i teachers, the data obtained from the teacher in this study
may represent one extreme of a range of possible findings from vazious
individual teachers. Owing to the case study nature of th& reseawch, my research
question was not "Do teachers vary the5 teaching strategies in different program
formats of core French?" but rather "Does this teacher Vary her teachîng
strategies in different program formats of cote French?" If a simiIar study were
to be repeated, a greater number of teachers would have to be obsenred in order
to improve the generalizability of the results.
Another shortcoming arising from the smaii scale of this study is that only
limited observation was done of the teacher. One lesson of about 150 minutes in
length was obsemed and videotaped for each of the group formats. Data from
these observation periods may not necessarily be whoiiy representative of the
teachùig strategies used by this teacher in each of the group formats over a longer
term. For example, 1discovered a contradiction between the qualitative data and
the quantitative data regarding the teacher's use of English. The teacher's journal
was a source of qualitative data providing her own observations and impressions
throughout the entire length of both program formats. The quantitative data
were based on the coding of transcripts of a videotaped lesson lasting less than
three hours. The short (videotaped) observation period may limit the reliability
of the findings. if such a contradiction between my sources of data could exist
for the teacher's use of Engiish, there codd be more such contradictions for other
teachhg strategies. These possible contradictions may not be apparent due to

the relatively short period of quantitative data gathering- If this study were to be
repeated, more observation of classes should be done. Perhaps as much as 20 to
30 hours of (videotaped) observation in each program format - about ten times
the amount done in my case study - could be done to reveal potentially
profound differences and be "a more reliable assessrnent of the instructionai
characteristics of the dassrooms" (Tumbd, 1998, p. 39).
45. Implications for Th- and Ractiœ

The findings of this study suggest some general implications for theory
and practice.
The findings reveal theie were no significant variations in the teaching
strategies used in the two dasses. 1 can condude from this that these teaching
strategies were not a factor in the differences in achievement outcomes in the two
program formats. However, the fïndings do not indicate that teaching strategies
could not have an effect on achievement outcomes. More study wiii have to be
done to prove or disprove the role that teadiing strategies play in affecthg
achievement outcomes.
Because, in this case study, no confirmed variations in teaching strategies
were found between the regular and intensive groups, 1 could not begin to
explore which particular strategies might have had a marked effect on the 150-
minute group's overaii higher achievement on reading and writing post-tests.
My study does not provide evidence of greater benefits of certain teaching
strategies. Therefore, 1 cannot presaibe the use of certain teaching strategies over
other ones. Before any such recommendation codd be made, more study would
have to be done.

The contradiction between the quantitative findings and the qualitative

data regarding the teacher's use of Engiish highlights the importance of obtaining
data from a variety of sources. 1 cannot judge the superiority of one type of data
(quantitative versus qualitative) over another for this study. However, my
research underscores the importance of attempting to "tnangulate" data from a
variety of sources (Johnson, 1992).

From a more pracücal perspective, my study perhaps has the potential of

raising core French teachers' awareness of the types of input and interaction
possibly occurring in their own classrooms. This, in turn, may lead these
teachers to reflect on their own teaching practices and use of teaching strategies,
and may entice some to begin a form of "action research" (Johnson & Chen, 1992)
in their own core French dassrooms. These practitioners could generate more
hypotheses about the role that teachers and their teaching strategies play in
second language education, much like Wong-Fillmore (1985) did in her study.
Inquiry Lüce this could contribute to the teachers' own development, their
students' improvement, and our understanding of the second language
acquisition process.
46. Diriections for Future Research

As 1 have aiready stated, more study would have to be done to further

investigate the theoretical and practical implications above. Ways to repeat this
study and suggestions for other studies are discussed in this section.
There is value in repeating this study; however, 1 would recommend
several major modifications. The limitations of the study inherent in its size have
already been diçcussed above. This study should be done on a larger s a l e with
a greater number of partiapating teachers. Data from other core French teachers
would provide us with a more accurate picture of the various teaching strategies
being used in dassrooms aaoss Ontario. Such a procedure need not be diffidt
if individual teachers were to conduct their own action research as suggested in
the previous section.
I would also recommend that teachers be very familïar with the course
materials More parficipating in a sImilar study in the future. The teacher in my
study selected the course materials herself based on their experiential-
communicative orientation; however, aside from receiving some training with
them, she did not use them with students before beginning the study. Both the
materials and the approach were relatively new to this teacher. Her faith in the
course materials was expressed in her strict adherence to completing the
textbook exeruses as outlined in the teacher's guide. By following the teacher's
guide so dosely, this teacher used the same lesson plans for each group. If this
teacher had had more experience with these course materials and their
organization of content prior to the study, she may have been able to be more
creative or adventurous with her lesson planning. When they have greater
experience with the course materials and their expectations, 1 believe teachers
would be more likely to Vary their teaching activities and techniques between the
different program formats and thereby create the context for the more varieci use
of teaching strategies.
Another recommendation to improve this study if it were to be conducted
again would be to expliutly ask the participating teachers to Vary their lessons
for each format. The teacher participating in my study had b e n given release
time from her board in order to allow her to prepare lessons for the different
program formats. It was believed that she would prepare different lessons for
each group; however, that belief tumed out to be a faise assumption of the
researchers working on the project. The partiapating teacher stated in her
interview that she felt she should not create different lessons for each group due
to her belief that it was necessary to be consistent behveen her ciasses during the
study. Nevertheles, she also indicated in the interview that she was willing to
change her activities and techniques if asked to do so for another study. This is
an important recommendation, because 1 believe that teachers are bound to use
different teadUng strategies if they Vary th& lessons by using different teaching
activities or techniques. By aeating new contexts (through the use of different
teadiing activities and techniques) in the different program formats, 1believe our
chances of observing variations in teaching strategies inaeases.
My final recommendation for the improvement of future studies related to
this one is to attempt to eliminate the Hawthorne effect. It seerns that the students
in the 150-minute group in this study felt that they were part of something
special. Conversely, the students in the regular format group may have felt lefi
out of the excitement of the study. In future studies, it wouid be important for
researchers to minhize the effects of reactivity factors Iike this. 1 recommend
that the researchers and parücipating teadiers try to make students in ail groups
feel that they are involved and contributhg to the whole study. Students'
enthusiasm must be kept equally high in all groups by making them feel that
they are playing a valuable role in an exciting resarch project
In summary, 1 have made four recommendations for ameiiorating some of
the conditions of this shidy. First, research üke this should be conducted with a
greater number of participating teahers. A larger-scale study would allow for
the generaiizabiiity of the findings. Çecond, teachers experienced in using the
course materials should be used as participants. These teachers might possibly
be more apt to Vary their teadiing activities and techniques for the diffesent
groups. Third, participating teachers should be asked to Vary their lessons for
each program format. By dwging the teaching contact, the teachers may have to
vary their teaching strategies. Finally, teachers shouid make their students feel
enthusiastically involved in the research process.
From my observations of the instruction during this study, 1 have become
more interested in the teaching done in communicative-experiential core French
classes. In my study, the participating teacher was fairly new to the comrnunicative-

experiential approach in language teaching. By foiiowing the procedures

o u t h e d in the teacher's manual for the course, this teacher beiieved she had
closely adhered to the phiiosophy behind commu~cative-experientialteadung.
However, her use of English, her encouragement of students to respond in
English if necessary, and her translation between French and English might
suggest that she did not follow the approach as dosely as she could have. From
this observation, 1 suggest two directions for future related research. First, the
communicative orientation of language classes and the teachers' perceptions of
their implementation of it should be explored more. Second, when experienced
practitioners step away front a certain approach momentarily during a lesson,
they should be asked for their rationale.
The National Core French Study proposed the implementation of a
communicative-experiential syllabus within a multidimensional curriculum
 150

(LeBlanc, 1990; Tremblay, Duplantie & H u o ~ ,1990). The communicative

orientation of different language dassrooms has been investigated for quite some
time now (see Spada k Fr6hüdi, 1995; Frohlich, Spada & Allen, 1985; M e n ,
Frohlich & Spada, 1984 for detds). Through the application of the COLT
(Communicative Orientation of Language Teadung) Observation Scheme,
classroom tesearchers are able to identify the extent to which the tasks and
interaction in a certain classroom are communicative. To their credit, core
French teachers and textbook publishers in Canada have graduaiiy adopted a
communicative and/or experiential approach in their work. However, my own
experience tells me that some teachers believe their teaching follows the
communicative approach when, in fact, it could be more communicative.
As a direction for future research, 1 suggest that teachers be surveyed on

their understanding of the communicative approach They could also be asked

how communicative they believe their own language teadiing to be. Researchers
codd observe these teachers' classes in order to make them aware of the degree
to which their language teachtig fits the communicative approach. Such a study
would encourage teachers to reflect on their teaching and could possibly prompt
alterations to pre-service programs at faculties of education and improvements
to inservice training workshops. In fact, in order to explore French teachers'
understanding about a communicative-experientia~curriculum, Lewis (1998)
interviewed nine teachers prior to and during their introduction of such a
curriculum to the5 primary- and secondary-level classes. She recommended
that teachers work collaboratively to examine their work and to better manage
the professional and personal diallenges facing them during such a process. She
 151

aiso States that more documentation of teadiers' knowledge of and experiences

with the cornmunicative-experientiai curriculum must be made for research
purposes.
A second direction for further research arises from my first suggestion.

The evidence from my study indicates that teachers may use strategies that are
not considered to be the most communicative in nature- Researchers should ask
experienced practitioners what prompts them to do this. When the t e a k s stray
from the communicative approach, they could record their reasons in a journal.
Researchers could analyze these reasons for validity while, at the same t h e 8
gaining greater insight into what goes on in second language dassrooms. In this
way, practitioners and researchers can engage in a mutually benefiaal dialogue.
My study indicates that more research into the process of second language
teaching is required in order to better understand the product of second
language learning.
4.7. Conduding Remarks

My study has provided a snapshot of the interaction in two particular

language classes undergoing slightly different conditions. It also offers a
glimpse into the actions of one Grade 7 core French teacher. My findings
indicate that the obsewed teaching strategies do not change automatically when
the format of the dass changes. (My qualitative findings suggest that there was
not any variation in this teacher's use of praaice techniques or activities between
the two classes.) There were indications from previous research that these
teadiing strategies codd possibly diange if the teacher made a conscious effort
to Vary her use of them in the different program formats.
 1 cannot prescrîbe certain teadiing strategies. My observations have
merely provided a description of the teaching strategies of a particular teacher
working in two different program formats. The value of the selected teaching
strategies for second language learning has not been proven. The la& of
evidence suggests that there k a need for more process-product research to ünk
various teadiing practices with leaniing outcornes.
It is my hope that continued research will make core French instruction

more effective. Continued research in and improvements to core French

instruction could erase the image of these programs being the poorer cousin of
immersion programs. With greater understanding of the factors involved in
student achievement in second language learning, core French programs couid
one day be an equaiiy respected alternative to immersion programs in Canada.
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