Reconnaissance des faux-amis en relation à la taille du vocabulaire et en réponse à un feedback

108 Pages·2010·1.82 MB·French

by  Bergeron, Natacha

UNIVERSITÉ DU QUÉBEC ÀMONTRÉAL

RECONNAISSANCE DES FAUX-AMIS EN RELATION À LA TAILLE DU VOCABULAIRE ET

EN RÉPONSE À UN FEEDBACK : UNE ÉTUDE EN SALLE DE CLASSE SECONDAIRE

MÉMOIRE

PRES ENTÉ

COMME EXIGENCE PARTIELLE

DE LA MAÎTRISE EN LINGUISTIQUE

PAR

NATACHA BERGERON

JUILLET 2006
UNIVERSITÉ DU QUÉBEC À MONTRÉAL

FAUX-AMIS AWARENESS IN RELATION TO VOCABULARY SIZE AND IN

RESPONSE TO INTERACTIVE FEEDBACK: A SECONDARy CLASSROOM

INVESTIGATION

THESIS

PRESENTED

AS A PARTIAL REQUIREMENT

FOR THE MASTER IN LINGUISTICS

BY

NATACHA BERGERON

JULY 2006
UNIVERSITÉ DU QUÉBEC À MONTRÉAL

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formulaire Autorisation de reproduire et de diffuser un travail de recherche de cycles
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ACKNOWLEDGEMEI\JTS
This study might not have been possible without the help of a number of people who
are dear to me. It is very important for me to thank them.
First and foremost the administration of the school where this study was conducted did
not only allow me to test learners, but also helped me getting accurate details regarding the
school. This allowed me to draw a clear picture of the learners who participated in this study
and how they stand compared to other learners from the province.
ln the course of my MA program, 1went through two pregnancies which did not make
things easy for me. The constant support of both my parents and my husband proved to a key
element in pursuing my studies. Later, my daughters Marieke and Romane became my
greatest motivation. As their mother, a great gift to them is to set an example by finishing what
1had set to do. With this MA thesis, 1feell have.
Finally, without Mr Tom Cobb, my director, this MA thesis wou Id never have been as it
is presented in the following pages. 1initially met him in a vocabulary acquisition class during
one of my MA classes, and his thorough knowledge in the field of vocabulary acquisition led
me to want to leam more and choose this particular topic. His undying support pushed me to
constantly go beyond what 1thought myself capable of doing, and this is something which was
not only useful with this study, but will follow me through life. 1sincerely thank him for the
endless hours he so willingly spent in helping me conduct this study.
TABLE OF COI~TENTS
LIST OF FIGURES
, vi
LIST OF TABLES
, . .. vii
LIST OF ABREVIATIONS
.. ................................................... ix
ABSTRACT ,
, x
RÉSUMÉ DE L'ÉTUDE , ,
,.,............ xi

INTRODUCTION
,
, .
CHAPTERI

THE QUESTIONS DIRECTING THE INVESTIGATION
,................. 5
1.1 The questions of the study
,.. 5
1.2 Elaboration of the questions
,.................... 5
1.3 Summary of the questions of the study
,................... 7
CHAPTER"

LITERATU RE REVIEW , ,
,..... .. ... .. ... .. .. 8
2,1 Role of the L1in vocabulary development
, ,... 8
2,2 Related languages ,.....................................
9
2.3 Definition of cognates and FA , , , , . . 10

2.4 Pedagogy and cognates ,...................................... 16

2.5 Cognates and FA within Quebec's specifie situation , , . . . . 19

2.6 Evolution of cognate status within learners , , , . . . . 19

2.7 Genderand ESL .. , , , ,. 20

2.8 Faux amis- ablind spotin the research , ,.................. 21

2.9 Chaptersurnmary ... ................................................ 22
J11
CHAPTER III

METHOO 24

3.1 Participants and context 24

3.1.1 The school 24

3.1.2 The participants .......................................... .. 26

3.1.3 Learners' ESL background prier to attending the school of the study . . . 26

3.1.4 The English program in the school of the study .................. .. 27

3.1.5 Outside the second language c1assroom ....................... .. 28

3.1.6 The participants' first language ................................ 29

3.2 The tools used for the conduct ofthis study ............................. 29

3.2.1 Timeframe ofevaluation forthe study ........................... 29

3.2.2 Comparing the participants ................................... 3D

3.2.3 The Vocabulary LevelsTest. ................................. 31

3.2.4 The first faux-amis test ...................................... 32

3.2.5 The handling of interactive feedback regarding faux-amis 33

3.2.6 The second faux-amis test .. ,.. ,.,.. , .. ,,., ,, ,.,,. .. 35

3.2.7 Written production analysis ................................... 36

3.2.8 The VocabProfile Instrument , ,.............. .. 36

3.2.9 Modifications to participants' written productions , . . . . . . . 39

3.3 Chapter8ummary , ,, , ,............... .. 39

CHAPTERIV

RE8ULT8 , ,........................................... 41

4.1 The Vocabulary Levels Test , .. , , , , , 42

4,2 The Faux Amis tests ,........... 43

4.3 Creating sub-sections within the FA results .. ............................ 44

4.4 The impact of interactive feedback on faux-amis awareness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

4.4.1 The first faux-amis test ,., , , ,........ 47

4.4.2 The second faux-amis test , , 48
IV
4.4.3 FA results pre and post interactive feedback ... ................. .. 49

4.5 The VocabProfile .. ................................................ 50

4.6 Predicting success with faux-amis .. , , , , . . . . . . 53

4.6.1 Predicting with the Vocabulary Levels Test. ...................... 53

4.6.2 Predicting with VocabProfile .................................. 54

4.7 Contextual variables in faux-amis awareness .. ,.......................... 55

4.7.1 Genderdifferences .,, ,............................ 56

4.7.2 Primary-school ESL instruction .. .............................. 56

4.8 Summary of the chapter ,, ,., , , ,.,.... 56

CHAPTERV

DISCUSSION .. , , ,, , , , ,.,.... 58

5.1 Summary ofthequestions ,.......................... 58

5.2 The Vocabulary Levels Test ,.................................... 59

5.2.1 The Vocabulary Levels Test: agood predictoroffaux-amis results? .... 61

5.2.2 Is there such a thing as a threshold? , . . .. 62

5.3 The VocabProfile , , ,. 63

5.3.1 Active vocabulary knowledge and cognates .. , , , , . . . . . 64

5.4 Passive and active vocabulary knowledge ,................. 65

5,5 The impact of interactive feedback on FA recognition skills . , . , .. , , . , , . . . 67

5.5.1 Teacher feedback regarding faux-amis awareness , , , . . .. 68

5.6 Does gender influence faux-amis awareness? , , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 69

5.7 Does prior primary school instruction influence faux-amis awareness? . . . . . . . .. 69

5.8 Chapter summary .. ,, , ,,., ,. 70

CONCLUSION , , , ,.. 71

APPENDIXA

THE VOCABULARY LEVELS TEST , , 74

APPENDIX B

FIRST FAUX-AMIS TEST. ,, ,, , , , ,,, ,................ 81
v
APPENDIXC
SECOND FAUX-AMIS TEST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 84
APPENDIX D
WRITTEN PRODUCTION -ORIGINAL VERSION 86
APPENDIXE
WRITTEN PRODUCTION -CORRECTED VERSION 87
REFERENCES .. . . . .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. .. .. . . . .. . .. . .. . . 88
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page
0.1 Sampling of alearner's written production . 2
2.1 Venn diagram representation of an absolute FA using the ward
lecture as an example . 14
2.2 Venn diagram representation of a partial FA using the word
professor as an example . 15
2.3 Venn diagram representation of a partial FA using the word date
as an example . 15
3.1 VocabProfile output screen . 39
LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
3.1 Distribution of the 104 participants . 26
3.2 Distribution of the 104 participants regarding 6th grade ESL
education . 27
3.3 Distribution of the participants who received interactive feedback
on FA . 35
4.1 Distribution of participants' results on the VLT . 43
4.2 Mean of the FA Test fram the 104 participants of the study . 43
4.3 Basic Linear Correlation between VLT Frequency Levels and total
of bath FA tests . 44
4.4 Distribution of the subsections from the FA tests . 44
4.5 VLT mean of the weak participants fram the FA tests """ .... 45
4.6 VLT mean of the average participants from the FA tests , . 45
4.7 VLT mean of the strong participants from the FA tests . 46
4.8 ANOVA in regards ta three groups from FA tests . 47
4.9 Correlation of the two FA tests regarding interactive feedback ... 48
4.10 Correlation of the two FA tests: cognates VS FA with weak
participants . 50