Abstract:

Multilingual pre-service teacher educators are continuously adopting new skills and strategies for teaching in a second language learning environment. The transitional period from student to teacher accompanies many challenges in French as Second Language (FSL) teaching and learning as official language policies in Canada continue to reproduce solutions based on the language-nation-state ideology. It is therefore vital for second language teacher candidates to continuously develop their linguistic repertoires. This international sociolinguistic research study, consisting of participants from Canada and France, examined and compared the conceptions of teacher candidates in the development of multilingual repertoires for themselves and in their FSL classes. In addition, it explored how new technologies (Google Groups and Adobe Connect) impacted the ways in which FSL teacher candidates engaged with representations of languages, literacy, identities, and classroom pedagogies. The various sociolinguistic patterns presented among these teacher candidates varied according to their cultural background, teaching environment, previous second language teaching and learning experiences, as well as their perceptions of what constitutes a professional educator.

This study integrated computer mediated communication (CMC) by providing a means for students in teacher education programs to share their ways of thinking about the professional second language educator, to analyse challenging scenarios in teaching FSL and to discuss classroom strategies in effective second language acquisition practices. Using Google Groups and Adobe Connect as platforms for both asynchronous and synchronous communication, this study used a reflective sociolinguistic multi-site ethnography and discourse analysis to report on the findings. The study draws conclusions on the technological challenges (support, accessibility, usability) associated with the initial setup and execution of an international research project using web technologies in education. It also incorporates the perceptions of teacher candidates using a virtual space to communicate, and the examination of the development of pre-service FSL teachers’ linguistic repertoires.

Keywords:

Computer mediated communication (CMC), multilingual pre-service teacher experiences, discourse analysis, Google Groups, Adobe Connect, asynchronous/synchronous communication.