Les sons! Les sons!: an instructional module for imparting the sounds of the French language to students in the elementary core French classroom

Pendergast, Marilyn A. (1987) Les sons! Les sons!: an instructional module for imparting the sounds of the French language to students in the elementary core French classroom. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

Because of the lack of appropriate instructional materials for teaching the sounds of the French language available for use in the elementary core French classroom, the purpose of this project was to dev':!lop a prototype teaching module for use in core French classes in Grade Four and Grade Five. The aims of the module were to teach the more difficult sounds of the French language to students at the beginning levels of French instruction, to improve pronunciation of the French language, and to interest and motivate students to learn to speak French correctly. -- The module presents some of the more difficult sounds of the French language to students in an informative, enjoyable manner, thus fostering an interest in the study of the French language. Included with the module are a teacher's guide, duplicating masters, cassette tapes, and flashcards. The student activities include comptines, songs, word games, and coloring sheets which are usually found enjoyable by most students at this grade level. -- To evaluate the effectiveness of this module, eight elementary classrooms were chosen to participate in the study. Two Grade Four and two Grade Five classrooms received a unit of instruction using the prepared materials. Two classrooms at each grade level did not receive instruct ion using the module. Pretest and posttest data were collected from all classrooms, and comparisons made. In addition, of the teachers selected to use the module, two had a strong background in French, and two a weak background. -- Gain scores were not calculated for the pretests and posttests. A two-way analysis of variance was performed on the posttest scores, and a t-test was done to analyze the data with respect to the effect of teacher fluency. The results of the analysis of data indicated that the students who used the module achieved significantly higher test scores than those who did not use the test module in both the oral and written posttests. There was no significant difference in outcomes due to teacher fluency. -- Affective outcomes of the module were sought by means of a student questionnaire. Eighty-two percent of students answering the questionnaire were favorably disposed towards the use of such materials. -- A teacher questionnaire sought opinions and suggestions for improvement. All teachers found the module useful, and three major suggestions were made for its improvement. -- It is concluded that the module is helpful and effective in teaching the sounds of the French language to elementary children and in increasing their enjoyment in learning the sounds of the French language. However, it is recommended that testing be carried out on a wider scale to determine whether similar results would be achieved by all elementary school children.

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