Funded Research

Minority-language community involvement and second-language learning: Providing target language opportunities for Francophone future English teachers in Quebec City

By Kirsten M. Hummel, Université Laval

Overview

Executive Summary (PDF 31  KB)

Full Report (PDF 239 KB) 

While the percentage of English speakers was as high as 41% in 1851 in Quebec City, today it is estimated that only 2% of the population in the greater Quebec City area consists of native English speakers. There is also a general lack of awareness of the existence of English-language institutions (schools, resource centres) on the part of the local population. On the other hand, the local French-language university, Laval University, is strongly committed to training students to develop the necessary skills to teach English as a second language in primary and secondary schools, as well to teaching communicative English skills to students in a number of university programs.

This study sought to involve French native-speaking university students in interactive activities with native speakers in the English-speaking minority-language community in Quebec City. The principal objective was to observe the effects that regular interactions and collaborative activities with native speakers would have on students’ attitudes towards the target language and its community and on motivational variables, as well as the effect on their second-language skills, over one academic term.

Findings

Participants reported various beneficial effects on their English speaking skills, ranging from developing a greater awareness of their own shortcomings and greater confidence in speaking, to insights about the characteristics of a different language register that is appropriate for use with children. Participants also reported enjoying their experience and, for the most part, considered it to have expanded their view of the local English-speaking community. A few students whose contacts were essentially limited to toddlers or to the young children they tutored reported that they did not learn new information about the target language community. As for participants’ motivation to continue the experience, all manifested a desire to continue the same or a similar experience in the future. Finally, as an indication of their attitude and general evaluation of the value of the activity, all interviewees gave a resounding positive response when asked whether they would recommend the activity to their university peers enrolled in one of the English programs.

While the percentage of English speakers was as high as 41% in 1851 in Quebec City, today it is estimated that only 2% of the population in the greater Quebec City area consists of native English speakers. There is also a general lack of awareness of the existence of English-language institutions (schools, resource

Alors que le pourcentage d’anglophones atteignait 41 % en 1851 dans la Ville de Québec, on estime désormais à 2 % seulement la proportion d’anglophones natifs dans la population de la grande région urbaine de Québec. De plus, la population ne semble