[2015] Construction identitaire et apprentissage de la langue étrangère à l’école primaire : chapitre d'ouvrage

In Bonnet-Falandry, F., Durrans, S. & Jones, M. (dirs.). (Se) Construire dans l’interlangue (pp. 91-104). Lille : Presses Universitaires du Septentrion

Primary school children are involved in a complex identity construction process which implies discovering their belonging to a social group, the development of the feeling of otherness and the development of a socialized language. However, early foreign language learning presents them at the same time with a different language and culture, consequently with the need to open up to others. Lessons aimed at raising awareness of the foreign culture were conducted so as to analyze how the two processes articulate at three stages of development, namely around 6, 9 and 11 years old. 

[2014] La construction de la compétence interculturelle dès l’école primaire : aspects didactiques : article de revue

In Rolland, Y. (dir.). Travaux et Documents n° 46, Mars 2014 (pp. 117-128). Université de La Réunion.

This article aims at defining the didactic framework within which the construction of intercultural competence can be promoted when learning language and culture. While reasserting the role of culture and of the social environment in the development of the learner, the characteristics of the pedagogical scenarios which allow the learner to self-construct significant representations will be defined around the notions of pupil implication and autonomy, of interactions and sociocognitive conflicts and of metacognitive self-questioning.

[2010] Rethinking early ESL Teaching in France. A cross-cultural approach : article de revue

European Journal of Language Policy 2.1 (2010) (pp. 57-72). Liverpool: Liverpool University Press.

In France, the extension of the teaching of a foreign language from the second year of primary school onwards ("cycle 2") seems to consist of a mere quantitative transposition of the contents defined for the last three years ("cycle 3"). The syllabuses seem to rely mostly on a cumulative and behaviourist process, where the emphasis is mainly placed on the children's ability to memorise. Moreover, this approach is based on the development of a "plurilingual competence", which puts forward the idea that languages "interrelate and interact" (CEFR; see Council of Europe 2001: 4 §1.3). This raises the question of the nature of what children 'know' at this early stage of cognitive development and language acquisition at school and how the young pupil can draw upon his knowledge and experience of language in order to achieve effective communication. 

This paper will analyse the introductory ESL cross-cultural sessions conducted in classes of CE1 and CE2 (second and third year of primary school). It will attempt to show the conceptual discrepancy between these two age groups through a four-point scale based on Bruner's theories of language acquisition. Thus, we will try to show that the differences identified between the two age groups question the construction of a cross-cultural competence as defined in the CEFR. It will be hypothesised that this definition, however relevant to the end years of primary schooling, is not appropriate for very young pupils.