Sophie Adamson
Elon University
French

Sophie Adamson (right) with French students at Elon University

Background

As an Assistant Professor of French at Elon University, I am interested in learning about students' perceptions of the usefulness of their foreign language.  This information will help inform our approaches to course offerings, pedagogy and more.

I began my research under the impression that the majority of my upper-level students were not transfering their advanced language skills across the curriculum to other non-French classes.  One way to approach this was to find out if students were using their French to tap into the vast French-language World Wide Web.

Research Questions

Do students use their foreign language "tool kit" when they conduct research for non-French courses?

More specifically, do they consult the French-language internet for information -- even when it is not related to French or Francophone studies?

(Example: http://www.lemonde.fr/)

Finally, what do these findings tell us about students' perceptions of the usefulness of their foreign language across the curriculum?

Implementation

Students were then asked to use the French-language web to conduct research for a current non-French course and report back about whether or not the information was useful.

In a final questionnaire, I asked students whether or not the experience of having conducted online research in French for a non-French course impacted their perception of the usefulness of this language skill across the curriculum.

I also asked if this assignment prompted them to continue doing research in French (for non-French related information) and/or whether they anticipated doing so in the future.

Results

Among these students (several of whom are in fact native French speakers), language levels, comfort levels, experience abroad and perceived fluency varied greatly which is typical of our upper-level French courses at Elon.

As I had anticipated...

• YES -- students' confidence, perceived competence and academic success in the course DOES effect students' perception of the usefulness of French.  The strongest students perceive French as very useful to know.
• YES -- only a small handful of students have spontaneously used the French-language web for other courses IF the topic related to international studies (examples cited: World Business, Global Studies, Foreign Policy...).

However...

• The strongest students were no more likely to have actually used the French-language Web for non-French / global courses than their peers.  As a whole, the students simply are not using the French-language web in other fields of study.  In their words, they "had never thought to" and/or "never needed to" use the French-language web.

In sum...

• Perceived usefulness of French does NOT impact whether or not they actually use their French for non-French / global courses.
• Further inquiry is required to find out WHY students are not using their French across the curriculum if it is not about confidence or competence.

Reflections

My initial findings -- that students are not spontaneously using the French-language web in other fields and that perceived usefulness does not motivate students to use their French across the curriculum -- require that I look more closely at possible underlying reasons WHY and how to turn this around.

• curriculum design?
• classroom pedagogy?
• lack of encouragement or examples university-wide?
• cultural or linguistic misconceptions?
• lack of developmental preparedness?
• other?

Significance

Today’s students are faced with a global economy and a shrinking world due to advances in communication, travel and technology. This makes the study of languages and cultures more essential than ever.

Understanding our students' perceptions and motivations is critical to our teaching, to student learning and to the success and sustainability of our language programs.

Subsequent Research

What can language instructors do to promote mindful skill transfer of foreign languages across the curriculum?