Computergestützter Sprachunterricht

  • Angela CHAMBERS (Limerick, Irlande)
    L'apprentissage de l'écriture en langue seconde à l'aide d'un corpus spécialisé
    (Learning Second Language Written Expression with the Aid of a Specialised Corpus)
    2010, Vol. XV-2, pp. 9-20

    Originally created to provide data for linguistic research, corpora are increasingly attracting the attention of researchers in applied linguistics. This study raises and discusses a number of issues concerning the consultation of a specialised corpus of research articles in French by teachers and writers (in both cases non-native speakers of French), writing essays, theses and research articles. A one-million word corpus of research articles in French (Chambers & Le Baron 2007) will be used as an example. After examining issues relating to the creation of the corpus and giving a brief account of publications on the use of corpora as a resource for writing, pedagogic applications of the corpus will be discussed, taking the use of the first person plural, nous, as an example. This will enable us to assess the potential of specialised corpora in language learning and teaching in general and, more particularly, in the learning and teaching of writing.


  • Jacques CRINON (Créteil)
    Réviser à distance pour apprendre à écrire des textes narratifs
    (Distance Revision for Learning to Write Narrative Texts)
    2010, Vol. XV-2, pp. 85-99

    Students from nine to twelve years old corresponded by e-mail in order to revise adventure stories they had written. The protocol differentiated the two roles: tutors providing critical advice to their partners vs receptors-users of these criticisms. In this context, each participant produced and revised four texts during a school year. Comparing the two versions of the texts and the improvement of the writers' skills between the first and last texts highlighted the different impact of peer tutoring according to the role and the level of students. The protocol appears to have contributed, particularly among producers of criticism, to a better conceptualization of the genre and to a progressive appropriation of processes which are necessary to master writing.


  • Piet DESMET (Lille 3)
    Présentation. ELAO et production écrite : bilan et perspectives
    (Computer Assisted Language Learning and Written Expression: Overview and Prospects)
    2010, Vol. XV-2, pp. 5-8
  • Anne-Laure FOUCHER (Clermont-Ferrand)
    Clavardage, forum et macro-tâche pour l'apprentissage du FLE : quelle(s) articulation(s) possible(s) pour quels apports ?
    (Chats, face-to-face activities and macro-tasks in learning French as FL : the contribution of each of these means)
    2010, Vol. XV-2, pp. 155-172

    Ce texte est une contribution à la discussion des apports de la Communication Médiatisée par Ordinateur (CMO) à l'apprentissage de la langue étrangère. Nous appuyant sur la mise en place d'un dispositif mixte d'apprentissage du Français Langue Etrangère (FLE) en direction d'apprenants chypriotes de niveau A2, nous analysons plus particulièrement les potentialités de l'articulation pédagogique du présentiel, des clavardages et des forums pour la réalisation d'une macro-tâche écrite en langue étrangère. A partir des données issues des résultats de questionnaires administrés aux apprenants et aux tuteurs et de leurs interactions synchrones et asynchrones, nous détaillons comment l'accompagnement « mixte » est ressenti et mis en actes langagiers par les deux parties, tant sur le plan de la conduite de la macro-tâche que sur le plan des outils utilisés.


  • Jeannine GERBAULT (Bordeaux)
    TIC : panorama des espaces d'interaction et de rétroaction pour l'apprentissage de l'écriture en langue étrangère
    (ICT: A Panorama of Spaces of Interaction and Feedback for the Learning of Written Expression in a Foreign Language)
    2010, Vol. XV-2, pp. 37-52

    Today, the reflection about the potential of ICT for language learning and teaching unfolds in several directions. To the contribution of multimodality in learning environments is now added that of the new devices for communication and collaboration. We examine these contributions in a systematic manner in relation to the specific position of the foreign language (L2) writer as well as to his/her activity and production. After clarification of the concepts of writing and of learning how to write, and of our definitions of a few terms, I present the key concepts and factors that I believe should be taken into account in analyzing the ICT resources supporting the learning of L2 writing, then I present the devices themselves and their functionalities, in order to establish how they meet the criteria that have been outlined.


  • François MANGENOT (Grenoble)
    Un dispositif d'aide à la rédaction par incitations et socialisation
    (A Learning Environment as an Aid for Writing by Incitation and Socialisation)
    2010, Vol. XV-2, pp. 101-119

    This paper presents and evaluates, with a qualitative approach, a learning scenario based on an online piece of software and aimed at supporting Thai university students during their writing process in French as a foreign language. The scenario included software prompting aids, immediate access to texts of the same type (thus connecting reading and writing), and easy text sharing and commenting (peer feedback) through a LMS (Moodle). The paper analyses how far these three pedagogic principles were supported by the scenario, what were the limits of this support and how the scenario ought to be improved. The methodology consisted in cross-checking various data: software prompts, students' texts and comments, semi directive interviews.


  • Michel MARCOCCIA (Troyes)
    Les forums de discussion d'adolescents : pratiques d'écritures et compétences communicatives
    (Discussion Forums for Adolescents : Writing Practices and Communication Skills)
    2010, Vol. XV-2, pp. 139-154

    This paper deals with discussions within internet forums dedicated to teenagers. Its aim is to describe and analyze the adolescents' writing practices in these forums and the communicative competences which are implemented through these practices (essentially a relational competence), through a ethnographic, pragmatic and discourse analysis of 200 messages sent to Ados.fr, a very active French-speaking forum. This analysis will lead to the following question: are these extracurricural competences can be obstacles or resources in learning situations.


  • Brendan O'REGAN (Lille 3)
    From Spell, Grammar and Style Checkers to Writing Aids for English and French as a Foreign Language: Challenges and Opportunities
    2010, Vol. XV-2, pp. 67-84

    For spell and grammar checkers to be useful, they need to be geared towards language learners. In this paper, we focus on spelling, grammar and style checkers, which have been specifically designed for learners of French and English, some of them evolving towards real writing aids. We examine the features of the programs on the market which characterise this evolution towards real writing aids. This paper examines the capabilities of these writing tools when faced with a corpus of learner-written production and evaluates the opportunities these findings present us with as well as the challenges that lay ahead for an efficient integration within a foreign language learning environment focusing on written expression.


  • Ide O'SULLIVAN (Limerick, Irlande)
    Using corpora to enhance learners' academic writing skills in French
    2010, Vol. XV-2, pp. 21-35

    Reporting the work of others and appropriate reference to other texts is essential for academic writers. Acceptance into the academic discourse community is subject to mastery of citation techniques, yet students continue to struggle with such practices throughout their tertiary education, particularly non-native speakers of a language. Learners are often unaware of the mechanisms available to them for reporting, for instance, the relationship between reporting verbs and evaluation and, therefore, fail to locate their position in relation to the work of the cited author. This paper explores the use of academic text corpora in French as a means of enhancing language learners' academic writing skills, most notably as a means of enhancing their citation practices in French. It is argued that equipping L2 writers with such skills allows them to express an appropriate stance and put forth more convincing arguments. The conclusion suggests that corpus consultation literacy has an important role to play in the development of learners' written production and that academic text corpora are a valuable resource for access to the specialised language and textual organisation of academic discourse communities.


  • Christian OLLIVIER (La Réunion)
    Ecriture collaborative en ligne : une approche interactionnelle de la production écrite pour des apprenants acteurs sociaux et motivés
    (Collaborative Writing Online : An Interactional Approach to Written Production for Active and Motivated Social Learners)
    2010, Vol. XV-2, pp. 121-137

    The communication and collaboration tools that are available on the web 2.0 offer new opportunities for teaching and learning languages. We present here the results of two similar experiments on collaborative writing for the online encyclopedia Wikipedia. We show that working with Wikipedia initiates a real collaborative process between the students, the Wikipedian Community and the teacher and that this kind of task - which includes real social interactions - is a motivating factor for the learners. Based on these results we promote the implementation of real life tasks and of an "interactional approach".


  • Serge VERLINDE (Louvain, Belgique)
    La conception de didacticiels intégrés d'aide à la lecture, à la traduction et à la rédaction
    (The conception of Integrated Tutorial Software as an Aid for Reading, Translation and Writing)
    2010, Vol. XV-2, pp. 53-65

    The Base lexicale du français (BLF) website functions as a portal to numerous lexicographic resources for French. The structure of the interface is based on the potential needs of the users. However, the various options available may also confuse the user. Therefore, we have developed a new functionality which allows users to submit texts they either want to read or translate. After the texts have been analysed, they are presented to the user with an additional layer of relevant lexicographic information. This information appears in the form of a pop-up window for every word. In addition to these reading and translation assistants, the BLF also offers a writing assistant which differs considerably from traditional grammar checkers.