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

Corbett, Paula (1991) A pilot study to evaluate the writing skills of French immersion students at the grade nine level in Newfoundland and Labrador. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

[English] PDF (Migrated (PDF/A Conversion) from original format: (application/pdf)) - Accepted Version Available under License - The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. Download (13MB) [English] PDF - Accepted Version Available under License - The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. (Original Version)

Abstract

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

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