The affective benefits of a pre-sessional course at the start of study abroad IN EUROSLA Monographs Series 4 Social interaction

Jean-Marc Dewaele , Ruxandra Comanaru , Martine Faraco (1)

1 LPL - Laboratoire Parole et Langage

The present study focuses on the effect that a 2 to 4 week pre-sessional course at the Aix-Marseille University (Aix-en-Provence) had on Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA) and Willingness to Communicate (WTC) in the French as a foreign language of 93 learners of Western European, Eastern European and Asian origin. They were tested at the start and at the end of the course. They ranged from beginners to intermediate learners. Results showed a significant decrease in levels of FLA and a significant increase in WTC. Length of stay had no effect on FLA but was positively linked to difference in WTC. Level of proficiency had no effect on difference in FLA but had a positive effect on difference in WTC, with lower-intermediate learners showing the biggest increase in WTC. Students' cultural background had a marginal effect on FLA but a significant effect emerged for WTC at time 1, with the Asian group displaying the lowest mean. This group incidentally made the biggest gain in WTC.

Mots clés: pre-sessional course; Foreign Language Anxiety; Willingness To Communicate

Domaines: Linguistique

Jean-Marc Dewaele, Ruxandra Comanaru, Martine Faraco. The affective benefits of a pre-sessional course at the start of study abroad IN EUROSLA Monographs Series 4 Social interaction. Applied Linguistics, 2013, pp.95-114. ⟨hal-01486678⟩