Premium
Beyond the Language Classroom: A Study of Communicative Abilities in Adult Immigrants Following Intensive Instruction
Author(s) -
d'ANGLEJAN ALISON,
PAINCHAUD GISELE,
RENAUD CLAUDE
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
tesol quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.737
H-Index - 91
eISSN - 1545-7249
pISSN - 0039-8322
DOI - 10.2307/3586540
Subject(s) - psychology , communicative language teaching , linguistics , immigration , language education , pedagogy , history , philosophy , archaeology
The study reported in this article examined the ability of adult immigrants to communicate in an interview situation as they were completing a 30‐week, 900‐hour second language program and then 6 months later. Foreign Service Institute (FSI)‐type interviews were carried out with two cohorts of learners of varying levels of ability. The first cohort was comprised of immigrants from Southeast Asia; the second included Poles and Latin Americans. Multivariate statistical comparisons of the FSI levels at the time of the first and second interviews showed significant gains for both cohorts. However, the two cohorts differed on the subtests which contributed to those gains. Progress by Cohort 1 was mainly attributable to vocabulary gains, while gains in vocabulary, grammar, and comprehension contributed significantly to the progress made by Cohort 2. Descriptive analyses of results for subjects who progressed, regressed, or remained stable over the 6‐month period showed a greater tendency to progress among lower level subjects than among more advanced subjects.