ERIC Number: EJ1437337
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024-Aug
Pages: 24
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0008-4506
EISSN: EISSN-1710-1131
Building French-as-a-Second-Language Teacher Candidates' Linguistic Confidence through Drama-Based Activities
Marika Kunnas; Gail Prasad; Taylor Boreland; Shayna Brissett-Foster
Canadian Modern Language Review, v80 n3 p224-247 2024
French-as-a-second-language (FSL) teacher candidates' French proficiency and confidence are key indicators of recruitment and retention of FSL teachers. This paper outlines a pilot project, the Conversation Club, that was used to address linguistic insecurity and proficiency in FSL teacher candidates at one university. The Conversation Club was a drop-in 1-hour session conducted over 5 weeks where participants conversed, played games, and participated in dramatic activities entirely in French. The findings from this pilot project demonstrate how linguistic confidence of FSL teacher candidates can be improved with only a few short sessions in French. Further, participants developed their pedagogical knowledge and skills through experiential learning by participating in activities that they could in turn implement in their FSL classrooms. Last, participants developed a social network of support. Findings support the benefit of implementing low-pressure, game-focused drop-in French-language support group within FSL teacher preparation programs to support FSL teachers' linguistic confidence and, potentially, FSL teacher retention. An outline of the club and suggestions for implementation are included in the appendices of this article.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Language Teachers, Second Language Learning, French, Pilot Projects, Experiential Learning, Teacher Education, Faculty Development, Social Networks, Game Based Learning, Self Efficacy
University of Toronto Press. 5201 Dufferin Street, Toronto, ON M3H 5T8, Canada. Tel: 416-667-7810; Fax: 800-221-9985; Fax: 416-667-7881; e-mail: journals@utpress.utoronco.ca; Web site: http://www.utpjournals.press/loi/cmlr
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada (Toronto)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A