TheSociolinguistic Competence of Immersion Students

Raymond Mougeon; Terry Nadasdi; Katherine Rehner

Published by Multilingual Matters 2010

TheSociolinguistic Competence of Immersion Students

Raymond Mougeon , Terry Nadasdi and Katherine Rehner

In the series Second Language Acquisition

https://doi.org/10.21832/9781847692405

Overview
Contents

About this book

This bookinvestigates the acquisition of sociolinguistic variation by immersion students who have learnt their second language primarily in an educational context. The student’s mastery of sociolinguistic competence is measured in relation to a range of phonetic, lexical and grammatical variants and to the factors that influence such mastery.

Author / Editor information

Mougeon Raymond :

Raymond Mougeon received a PhD in linguistics from McGill University. He received numerous research grants from Canadaâs Social Science and Humanities Research Council and the Ontario Ministry of Education. He has written extensively on topics such as the diachrony of variation in European French, variation in the spoken French of Franco-Ontarian students and immersion students and aspects of the ethno-linguistic vitality of Ontarioâs francophone community. He is current director of the Centre for Research on Language Contact on the Glendon campus of York University.Nadasdi Terry :

Terry Nadasdi obtained a PhD in French linguistics from the University of Toronto. His research focuses on grammatical variation in French-English language contact situations, e.g.: minority language speakers and learners of French as a second language. His research also involves the creation of online grammar checkers for English and French (e.g.: www.bonpatron.com). He is currently a Full Professor in the University of Albertaâs Linguistics Department.Rehner Katherine :

Katherine Rehner received a PhD in Second Language Education from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto. Her research and publications centre on the development of sociolinguistic competence by first and second language speakers of French and on the role of educational input in the development of such competence. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Linguistics and the Teaching and Learning programs in the Department of Language Studies at the University of Toronto, Mississauga.

Raymond Mougeon received a PhD in linguistics from McGill University. He received numerous research grants from Canadaâ??s Social Science and Humanities Research Council and the Ontario Ministry of Education. He has written extensively on topics such as the diachrony of variation in European French, variation in the spoken French of Franco-Ontarian students and immersion students and aspects of the ethno-linguistic vitality of Ontarioâ??s francophone community. He is current director of the Centre for Research on Language Contact on the Glendon campus of York University.

Terry Nadasdi obtained a PhD in French linguistics from the University of Toronto. His research focuses on grammatical variation in French-English language contact situations, e.g.: minority language speakers and learners of French as a second language. His research also involves the creation of online grammar checkers for English and French (e.g.: www.bonpatron.com). He is currently a Full Professor in the University of Albertaâ??s Linguistics Department.

Katherine Rehner received a PhD in Second Language Education from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto. Her research and publications centre on the development of sociolinguistic competence by first and second language speakers of French and on the role of educational input in the development of such competence. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Linguistics and the Teaching and Learning programs in the Department of Language Studies at the University of Toronto, Mississauga.

Reviews

Mougeon, Nadasdi and Relmler's study of immersion students' acquisition of native norms of spoken French ofters a fresh and stimulating contribution to the relatively under-researched field of sociolinguistic competence in an inunersion context. Where the volnme is particularly successful is in presenting the findings of a major research project whilst integrating a diversity of approaches to the phenomenon. As a result, the intended readership is broad: graduate students interested in sociolinguistic variation within the field of SLA, teachers of French as a second language keen to reflect on the factors which condition their students' learning of variation, and finally policy makers for whom it is important to be aware of the 'variable use oflanguage' (p. xi) if they are to develop pedagogical materials which take the acquisition of variation by learners into consideration.

Salikoko S. Mufwene, The Franck J. McLoraine Distinguished Service Professor of Linguistics and the College, University of Chicago.:

Here’s a very informative book in which variationist sociolinguistics is made relevant to second language teaching! Assuming correctly that native linguistic competence includes knowledge of how forms and structures vary under specific structural and pragmatic conditions, Mougeon, Nadasdi, and Rhener offer teachers of (Canadian) French as a second language (FL2) a book that they will find very useful. Covering a wide range of linguistic variables with the relevant patterns and rates of variation, it exhorts FL2 teachers to aim at producing speakers not of bookish French but of real, natural, non-monolithic French, i.e., speakers that are aware of both the structural and social principles that govern variable linguistic communication. This is a book that will also be invaluable to students of French variationist sociolinguistics, as it synthesizes years of fieldwork and insightful analyses from a long litany of scholars who have applied the Labovianist paradigm to Canadian French. The book is richly documented about French immersion students in Canada, including dozens of figures and tables that summarize the authors’ findings.

In previous studies, the team of Mougeon, Nadasdi, and Rehner has contributed greatly to our understanding of variation in second language learners' speech. The Sociolinguistic Competence of Immersion Students sets a new standard for researchers in the sociolinguistics of L2 speech and represents a major contribution to both second language acquisition and sociolinguistics.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Tables and Figures Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	vii
Preface Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	xi
Chapter 1. Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Chapter 2. Methodology Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	23
Chapter 3. Variation in L1 Spoken French Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	58
Chapter 4. Students’ Learning of Variation Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	91
Chapter 5. The Potential Benefits of Increased FL1 Input in an Educational Context Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	140
Chapter 6. Conclusion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	155
Appendix A: Semi-Directed Taped Interview Schedule – Including Reading Passages Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	170
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	208
References Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	214

Language: English
Publisher: Multilingual Matters
Pages
- Main content: 248
Keywords: Sociolinguistic Competence; Immersion education; Second Language Acquisition; SLA; sociolinguistic variation; second language learning; L2; acquisition of the native norms

eBook

Published: January 28, 2010
ISBN: 9781847692405