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Article published In: Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education
Vol. 8:1 (2020) ► pp.107–136

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Comparing the ‘phrasicon’ of teenagers in immersive and non-immersive settings

Does input quantity impact range and accuracy?

 | Université catholique de Louvain
Published online: 31 March 2020
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https://doi.org/10.1075/jicb.18010.bul
Abstract
Foreign language learners’ phraseological proficiency remains problematic, even at advanced levels (e.g., Meunier, F. (2012). Formulaic language and language teaching. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 321, 111–129. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar; Meunier, F., & Granger, S. (2008). Phraseology in foreign language learning and teaching. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar; (2008). Phraseology in learners’ dictionaries: What, where and how. In F. Meunier & S. Granger (Eds.), Phraseology in foreign language learning and teaching (pp. 185–202). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar). While the Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) method is believed to facilitate foreign language learning by fostering input, interaction, and output, little attention has been paid to the phraseological competence of CLIL learners. The present study aims to fill this gap as it is framed within an interdisciplinary project on CLIL in Belgium and specifically focuses on the phrasicon, i.e. the phraseological lexicon, of 5th year French-speaking secondary school learners of English in immersive (CLIL) and non-immersive (NON-CLIL) settings. The paper reports on (1) an analysis of the variety/range of the phrasicon and (2) an overview of phraseological accuracy. The analyses are based on a corpus of written productions of 180 learners. The findings of this study indicate higher frequency, range and accuracy in the phrasicon of CLIL learners.
Résumé
Il reste difficile pour les apprenants d’une langue étrangère – même pour ceux d’un niveau avancé – d’acquérir une bonne maitrise du vocabulaire phraséologique (ex: Meunier, F. (2012). Formulaic language and language teaching. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 321, 111–129. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar; Meunier, F., & Granger, S. (2008). Phraseology in foreign language learning and teaching. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar; (2008). Phraseology in learners’ dictionaries: What, where and how. In F. Meunier & S. Granger (Eds.), Phraseology in foreign language learning and teaching (pp. 185–202). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar). La méthode CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning)/EMILE (Enseignement de Matières par Intégration d’une Langue Etrangère) semble faciliter l’acquisition de la langue étrangère en augmentant l’apport langagier et en favorisant les interactions et la communication. Cependant, à ce jour, peu d’attention a été portée à la compétence phraséologique des apprenants en CLIL/EMILE. Cette étude a pour objectif de combler ce manque et s’inscrit dans un projet de recherche interdisciplinaire sur CLIL/EMILE en Belgique francophone. Elle se concentre spécifiquement sur l’acquisition du vocabulaire phraséologique par des élèves francophones de 5ème secondaire qui apprennent l’anglais via l’enseignement CLIL/EMILE ou l’enseignement traditionnel (NON-CLIL). L’étude comprend (1) une analyse de la variété/étendue de leur vocabulaire phraséologique et (2) une analyse de leurs erreurs phraséologiques. Les analyses sont basées sur un corpus de 180 productions écrites. Les résultats de l’étude montrent que les élèves qui suivent l’enseignement CLIL/EMILE produisent un vocabulaire phraséologique plus varié et font moins d’erreurs que les élèves qui suivent l’enseignement traditionnel.
Article outline
  • 1.Theoretical background
    • 1.1CLIL as a specific learning context
    • 1.2Phraseological language
    • 1.3Learner Corpus Research of the learner ‘phrasicon’
    • 1.4Phraseological knowledge of CLIL learners
    • 1.5The notion of emergence
  • 2.Method
    • 2.1Research questions and hypotheses
    • 2.2Data and participants
    • 2.3Extraction and classification of phraseological units
  • 3.Results
    • 3.1Range
      • 3.1.1Global trends
      • 3.1.2Frequency: Comparison CLIL/NON-CLIL
      • 3.1.3Variety: Comparison CLIL/NON-CLIL
        • 3.1.3.1Lexical collocations
        • 3.1.3.2Grammatical collocations
        • 3.1.3.3Phrasal verbs
    • 3.2Accuracy
      • 3.2.1Global trends
      • 3.2.2Frequency: Comparison CLIL/NON-CLIL
      • 3.2.3Grammaticality vs acceptability errors
  • 4.Discussion and implications
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
References (69)
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