Raisons du choix
In today's world, learning has become an essential need for everyone, with some learning languages for pleasure and others out of necessity At the Thanh Hoa School of Medicine, French language instruction, alongside English, is a mandatory subject Our ultimate educational goal is to enable students to communicate fluently in French To achieve this, we focus on developing four key skills: listening comprehension, reading comprehension, speaking, and writing However, reading comprehension is prioritized in our curriculum To address this focus, we are conducting research titled "Teaching and Learning Reading Comprehension for A1 Level Students at the Thanh Hoa School of Medicine."
We share the belief that there is no universal reading technique applicable to everyone, every text, and every situation; rather, there are specific techniques tailored to different reading contexts Understanding a text requires readers to draw on their existing knowledge to engage with new information, acting as keen observers who identify clues to grasp meaning Additionally, readers must connect disparate elements within the text Thus, accessing a text's meaning necessitates a holistic comprehension that relies on an understanding of linguistic codes (morphology, syntax, lexicon) as well as text and intertextual functioning (the organization of sentences, the text's purpose, and its relationship to other texts).
Understanding the code of a language is sometimes insufficient for comprehending a text fully Readers must possess skills to grasp semantic structures, have knowledge of referential content, and recognize textual genres Additionally, to understand a text effectively, readers should be equipped to identify the patterns of both form and content Texts vary in organization based on their function, purpose, and medium, and recognizing the type of text will guide readers in their approach.
Formal text structures refer to the organization of the elements within a text For instance, narrative structures can be found in short stories, novels, and even news articles, while descriptive structures are common in travel guides and literary texts Understanding these content structures is closely tied to the cultural competence of the reader A text is not deciphered solely based on its constituent units but also through the reader's background knowledge and experiences, often referred to as the reader's "encyclopedia."
According to Daniel Dubois, written communication encompasses activities that analyze received information in terms of functional equivalence classes, linking new information with previously acquired data stored in long-term memory Understanding models are closely tied to the theoretical representation of the forms and content of long-term memory Daniel Coste views this activity as constructing the meaning of a text by seeking significant signal indicators Thus, understanding a written document is inherently linked to reading However, in the context of teaching French as a foreign language (FLE), research has historically focused on the mastery of linguistic code, often overlooking the deeper aspects of comprehension While comprehension has been acknowledged, there has been a lack of in-depth studies to develop learning strategies that enhance our approaches to understanding text meaning A holistic approach to text is essential, as grasping a text requires more than just understanding individual words; meaning is not merely a sum of signifieds It is now recognized that one can understand a text even without comprehending every single word or detail, prompting the need for this research.
Objectifs de recherche
The goal of teaching reading comprehension is to guide learners progressively towards understanding written documents and various texts The primary aim is not immediate comprehension but the gradual acquisition of reading strategies, which, over time, will inspire learners to engage with French articles As they develop these methods, learners will adapt and advance in authentic reading comprehension situations Additionally, the phases of reading comprehension should be practiced through frequent activities to encourage learners to develop reflexes that enhance understanding.
Our research aims to explore two main aspects: first, we will examine the challenges that students face in understanding texts, both in general and specifically in written formats Secondly, we will focus on the key factors that influence and facilitate comprehension during the reading of texts in a foreign language.
As a French teacher, we emphasize the importance of effective strategies to enhance text comprehension for students Based on our observations and research objectives, this study aims to address the following questions:
- Quelles sont les difficultés que rencontrent les étudiants de l’université de médecine de Thanh Hoa dans l’activité de compréhension de l’écrit?
- Quels paramètres faut-il mettre place pour faciliter la compréhension écrite des étudiants?
Les hypothèses à ces questions principales sont les suivantes :
-Les difficultés que nous avons rencontrées chez la plupart de nos apprenants adultes débutants, au moment d’accéder au sens d’un texte écrit en langue étrangère sont nombreuses :
Students often rely on dictionaries to translate unfamiliar words when encountering new texts, which can hinder their understanding This approach not only wastes time but also distorts the content, making it difficult for learners to differentiate between essential and secondary information Consequently, they struggle to grasp the overall meaning of the text and tend to stick to direct quotations rather than reformulating ideas in their own words The root of these challenges lies in a linear reading approach that focuses on accumulating meanings without considering the text's broader context To enhance comprehension in French as a Foreign Language (FLE) classes, it is essential to encourage active discovery through appropriate techniques Additionally, students often lack the skills to plan their reading strategies and to recognize the specific genre and type of text, which are crucial for effective understanding.
- Pour résoudre ces difficultés, il faut appliquer un jeu de mesures appropriées à chaque étape d’apprentissage Par exemple :
To effectively engage learners, it is essential to utilize a diverse range of texts that match their proficiency levels This includes postcards, invitations, messages, telegrams, advertisements, catalogs, brochures, friendly and formal letters, newspaper and magazine excerpts, emails, user manuals, travel programs, menus, and narrative excerpts Incorporating such varied materials not only enhances comprehension but also enriches the learning experience.
-Le professeur doit tenir compte des préoccupations et des centres d’intérêt des apprenants et des spécificités des types de texte
5 Méthodologie de recherche et corpus :
To successfully accomplish this task, we will employ linguistic corpus methodologies for the construction and analysis of the corpus The quantitative and qualitative results from this analysis will enable us to propose effective teaching and learning strategies for writing tailored to our audience.
We implement the textual and discourse analysis theories proposed by Jean-Michel Adam and Michel Charolles, among other linguists from the textual grammar school Our aim is to analyze and develop strategies and exercises that enhance the learning experience of written comprehension in our school.
En ce qui concerne le corpus, nous avons réalisé une enquête par questionnaire sur les pratiques de compréhension et les difficultés chez les étudiants et leurs professeurs
Notre recherche est divisée en trois chapitres
The first chapter focuses on the theoretical foundations of reading comprehension in French as a Foreign Language (FLE), emphasizing the concepts of reading comprehension skills This presentation aims to lead to a flexible textual approach to teaching reading in FLE.
In the second part of this chapter, we will explore key concepts related to text, including the textual structure of dominant text types such as descriptive, narrative, informative, explanatory, and argumentative We will also address the notion of textual coherence, highlighting essential elements like the main theme and thematic progression The second chapter focuses on the composition and analysis of the corpus Given that our learners have an imperfect mastery of decoding procedures, our efforts are directed towards identifying the sources of difficulties encountered by our learners, allowing us to pinpoint the specific areas that require our pedagogical intervention.
Building on the findings and analyses from the questionnaire surveys conducted with our students in Chapter II, Chapter III will present strategies for educators to implement in reading comprehension classes to enhance this activity effectively.
CHAPITRE I: DIDACTIQUE DE LA COMPRÉHENSION ÉCRITE EN FLE 1.1 Notion sur la compétence de la compréhension écrite
Studies on reading comprehension of texts written in a foreign language generally agree on how learners construct meaning Several definitions of this concept can be noted, including one from the Dictionary of Language Didactics, which defines written comprehension as the action of identifying letters and assembling them to understand the connection between what is written and what is said, or the act of visually scanning the text to grasp its content.
D’aprốs Sophie Moirand ô comprendre, c’est produire de la signification à partir des donnộes du texte mais elles reconstruisent d’aprốs ce qu’on connaợt dộjà ằ (30, p.130)
Daniel Coste, aligning with Sophie Moirand's perspective, defines comprehension as an activity that primarily involves constructing meaning from the significant cues perceived within a text Active reading generates meaning as much as it reveals it, creating a dynamic interplay between production and reception.
In his 1976 book "Ô Lire: du texte au sens," Daniel Dubois defined reading comprehension as the combination of activities that facilitate the analysis of information, connecting new data with previously acquired knowledge stored in long-term memory He emphasized that comprehension models are closely associated with the theoretical representation of both the forms and contents of long-term memory.
Several linguists offer various definitions of reading comprehension, yet a common thread emerges among them: reading comprehension encompasses activities aimed at identifying the meaning of a text This process involves relating linguistic knowledge to other forms of knowledge and coordinating pre-existing knowledge with information provided by the text.
Gaonac’h and Fayol (2003: 12) define comprehension as a complex activity that involves problem-solving, during which the reader gradually constructs a representation of the information.