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//-->The use of English by Polish students duringFrench lessonsUżycie języka angielskiego przez polskich uczniów podczas kursujęzyka francuskiegoJoanna DudaUniwersytet ŁódzkiAbstractMost studies concerning interference focus on the role of the native language(L1) in second language (L2) acquisition or production. However, an analysis ofthis aspect [interference] reveals that learners tend to use other languages thathave previously been acquired (i.e. L2, L3,…) as sources for building forms inthe target language (i.e. L3, L4,…) (Dewaele, 1998; Williams & Hammarberg,1998). The aim of this paper is to examine the actual role of English during theFrench course, and this involves presenting the results of a study conductedamong a group of Polish students who learnt French in a language school. Thestudy was carried out to obtain information about the way in which partici-pants use their competence in English (all of them acquired English at a B2 orhigher level) to speak/learn French. The article will include examples of Frenchwords/expressions which are based on the use of English.Key words:the acquisition of French as L3, interference, the role of Englishduring the French course.AbstraktWiększość badań dotyczących zjawiska interferencji koncentruje się naprocesie przyswajania i produkcji zachodzącym pomiędzy językiem ojczy-stym a nauczanym językiem obcym. Jednakże kursanci czerpią wiedzętakże z innych poprzednio przyswojonych języków (np. J2, J3,…) po to,by budować poprawne formy w języku docelowym (np. J3, J4,…) (Dewa-ele, 1998; Williams & Hammarberg, 1998). Celem niniejszego artykułujest odpowiedź na pytanie jaką rolę pełni język angielski podczas kursujęzyka francuskiego. W artykule zostaną przedstawione wyniki badaniapilotażowego przeprowadzonego w grupie polskich studentów uczącychsię języka francuskiego w szkole językowej. Badanie ma na celu sprawdze-nie wpływu znajomości języka angielskiego na proces nauki języka fran-cuskiego (jako J3) i na wypowiedzi w języku francuskim. Artykuł zawierarównież przykłady użycia języka francuskiego wynikające z interferencjiz języka angielskiego.Słowa kluczowe:nauka języka francuskiego jako J3, interferencja, rola języ-ka angielskiego w akwizycji języka francuskiego.BackgroundNowadays our reality is mainly dominated by new technologies and the po-ssibility of getting information. It has been said that the process of globa-lization is spreading fast, even in poorer countries. The world is changingand so are our lives.Before the period of transformation in Poland (1989), the knowled-ge of English was not obligatory to get a job or achieve success. Highereducation, i.e. a university degree was enough to have a job. After 1989,the act of changing from the People’s Republic of Poland to the PolishThird Republic took place. During the next 20 years’ time Poland jo-ined NATO (1999) and the European Union (2004). All the changes inthe political system have left their imprint on the field of foreign andsecond language learning. Good command of English has become a di-stinctive factor in major recruitment processes — an obligatory quali-fication for people dreaming of a well-paid job and those who want tosucceed. Furthermore, according to the new ordinance of The Ministryof National Education, as of the 2013/2014 academic year all studentsare obliged to take an exam in English not only after high school (ma-196Joanna Dudatura exam) but also at the end of primary school and lower secondaryschool1. It is not surprising, then, that a command of English is treatedas a norm today.The analysis of the labour market pushes the young generation to im-prove or develop their abilities, skills and knowledge. Many of them startto learn one or a greater number of foreign languages. Therefore, this paperaims at presenting the influence of English on French as a third languagefrom the perspective of Polish students and their needs.The aim of the studyThe subject of language learning strategies (LLS) and interference from themother tongue to the second acquired language and vice-versa seems tobe a thoroughly discussed issue in the field of second language productionand acquisition. Researchers still examine the influence between L1→L2and L2→L1 as the concepts of interference and strategy remain ambigu-ous (Guion, 2005; Fledge, 1991, 2005; Lord, 2008). However, light is nowbeing shed on another concept, also connected with LLS, that is the actualrole of L2 fluency in learning L3. Researchers who focus on this phenome-non (Cenoz, 2003; Dewaele, 1998; Hammarberg, 2001; Letica & Mardešić,2007; Williams & Hammarberg, 1998) faced the challenge of revisiting andreinvestigating an account of previous research findings and are trying tofind the answers to the following questions: firstly, in which areas of lan-guage system and, secondly, to what extent does cross-linguistic influence(CLI) take place in third or additional language acquisition (L3/Ln Acqu-isition).Inspired by the works on the influence of previously acquired langu-ages on the target one, I decided to conduct a study on a group of Polishstudents who had already been learning English when they started to le-arn French. I attempt to find out whether their fluency in English servesas a “scaffolding” or rather whether it is an obstacle to create proper forms1 rozporządzenie MEN z dnia 20 sierpnia 2010 r. zmieniające rozporządzenie w sprawie wa-runków i sposobu oceniania, klasyfikowania i promowania uczniów i słuchaczy oraz przeprowa-dzania egzaminów i sprawdzianów w szkołach publicznych oraz z Uzasadnienia podpisu (Dz. U.Nr 156, poz. 1046).The use of English by Polish students during French lessons197in French. I would also like to establish the actual role of English in theFrench class.Subjects in the study groupThe study was conducted during the winter term of the academic year2013/2014 among a group of Polish students in a language school. Thecourse included 58 hours of French in the form of two 80-minute les-sons twice a week, from October 2013 to February 2014. The studygroup consisted of 8 participants aged 18-36, who at the beginning ofthe study were classified as pré-intermédiaire (according to CEFR, A2level). During the study, participants completed the material equiva-lent to the A2 level. The whole course includes 116 hours of French andlasts 2 semesters. The objectives of the course included acquisition anddevelopment of language skills such as listening, speaking, reading andwriting, as well as the basic use of lexico-grammatical structures typi-cal of French.Before conducting the planned study, the level of English was verifiedaccording to either Cambridge certificates held by students or the stu-dents’ participation in a school-based or an academic course of English.Half of the participants had acquired English at a C1 level, one of themwas proficient (C2 level) in this language and the remaining three repre-sented a B2+ level.Motivation for learning French was also checked. In a questionna-ire, the participants had four possible answers. The first two were con-nected with their expectations of a better job and earnings thanks tothe knowledge of French. The third one was correlated with their workor study environment; here they had to decide if the decision to learnFrench had been their own choice or whether they were forced to parti-cipate in the course by their superiors. The fourth referred to learningFrench for pleasure. The results show that almost everyone (seven an-swers out of eight participants) derived pleasure from learning French.Half of them claimed that they wished to have a better job and higherearnings. No one from that group claimed to have been forced to parti-cipate in the course.198Joanna DudaMethod and research toolsThe data has been assembled with the use of qualitative methods, such asa questionnaire and a personal interview, created by the author. An im-portant part of the results has also been collected by means of tests whichwere prepared by the author at the end of every lesson and then at theend of a unit. The qualitative methods were applied to obtain informationabout students’ motivation, needs and future aims. The answers show howthe participants used their fluency in English to learn French, and withregard to which areas of the language system they found their knowledgeof English helpful.The process of learning a foreign language varied according to par-ticipants. Since the actual role of English fluency in French acquisitionwas to be established, I decided to employ action research. This kind ofresearch is characterized by the diagnosis of a situation in which the re-searcher finds himself or herself in; he/she also tries to identify any pro-blems, resolve them and improve the process of learning. According toStringer, participatory action research is a very effective method due tothe connections between the study on the one hand, and participants’way of life and their work on the other (1996: 16). A similar point of viewwas presented when the use of this method was only in its beginning. Itscreator, Lewin, wrote in his book: “The research needed for social practicecan best be characterized as research for social management or socialengineering. It is a type of action-research, a comparative research on theconditions and effects of various forms of social action, and research le-ading to social action. Research that produces nothing but books will notsuffice” (Lewin, 1946, reproduced in Lewin, 1948: 202-203). Interestin-gly, although this quotation dates back to the times since when plenty ofnew methods have appeared, the idea still seems to be valuable (Harmer,2008; Łuniewska, 2012).results and discussionAt the end of the first semester, the analysis of the data was made. I gro-uped all of the results into four categories: phonological interference, or-thographic interference, lexical interference and grammatical interference.The use of English by Polish students during French lessons199
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