Reading in a foreign language: Strategic variation between readers of differing proficiency

For university language students who are required to deal with literary texts for linguistic or literary purposes, there is hardly any transitional stage between short adapted expository texts, read in the early stages of language learning, and complex literary texts, encountered at university in the literature class. Language readers must then make a substantial mental effort to understand texts intended for a native readership. In challenging reading mode, the quality of reading depends on the efficiency of problem-solving operations, including evaluative and executive strategies, put into place in order to attempt to fill in the comprehension gaps present in complex texts. Although reading strategies used by foreign language learners have been identified and categorised by research, the conditions of their use and their relationships are still unclear. Moreover, to my knowledge, no empirical investigation has focused specifically on comprehension monitoring in the context of foreign language literary texts. Literature instruction would benefit from such a study. Using verbal reports to elicit data, this study proposes to examine how proficient and less proficient university students of French, at intermediate level of instruction, implement problem-solving strategies when reading literary texts. Strategies such as guessing at words, consulting a dictionary, and translating mentally, are studied in relation to their contribution to the overall monitoring cycle. The results obtained indicate that proficient and less proficient readers tend to use the same strategies but with different purposes. The study demonstrates that the major difference between the two groups of respondents resides in ability some readers have to integrate meaning and construct text in a cohesive and synthetic fashion

Flexibility and Interaction at a Distance: A Mixed-Model Environment For Language Learning

This article reports on the process of design and development of two language courses for university students at beginning levels of competence. Following a preliminary experience in a low-tech environment for distance language learning and teaching, and a thorough review of the available literature, we identified two major challenges that would need to be addressed in our design: (1) a necessity to build sufficient flexibility into the materials to cater to a variety of learners' styles, interests and skill levels, therefore sustaining learners' motivation; and (2) a need to design materials that would present the necessary requisites of authenticity and interactivity identified in the examined literature, in spite of the reduced opportunities for face-to-face communication. In response to these considerations, we designed and developed learning materials and tasks to be distributed on CD-ROM, complemented by a WebCT component for added interactivity and task authenticity. Although only part of the original design was implemented, and further research is needed to assess the impact of our environment on learning outcomes, the results of preliminary evaluations are encouraging

French migration to Australia in the post WWII period: Benevolent tolerance and cautious collaboration

The main objective of this study is to consider the diplomatic relations between France and Australia in the three decades following World War II with a view to documenting the events that contributed to the development of French migration to Australia. This period is significant in the context of the history of the French in Australia because in the thirty years that followed the war, more French migrants arrived in Australia than at any other time in the history of the French presence in this country. The few studies that have been concerned with French migration to Australia have not examined in great detail the events that took place during this time. In order to shed light on the diplomatic relations between France and Australia relative to the question of French migration, I have analysed archival materials, including formerly classified Commonwealth and diplomatic correspondence recently released by the National Archives of Australia. Before presenting an account of the events that shaped post World War II migration from France, this article will outline the state of the research on the French in Australia and provide an overview of the development of the French community in Australia from the days of settlement to the earlY 1970S

More than a sea change? Post-World War II French migration to South Australia. [abstract].

The proposed paper seeks to examine the contextual reasons as well as the personal motivations that spurred the French to migrate and settle in South Australia in the 1950s and 1960s. This study constitutes the second stage of the investigation of post-Word War II French migration to South Australia up to the early 1970s, this time from a qualitative perspective. A quantitative study carried out in 2003-2004 produced original demographic and socio-economic data about the French migrants settling in South Australia (see Bouvet & Boudet-Griffin, 2005), however, it did not provide information about the migration process as experienced by individuals

Foreign Language reading as cultural problem-solving: The intercultural stance of the reader. [abstract].

The purpose of this project is to continue my investigation of the Foreign Language (FL) reader’s problem-solving behaviour. Having examined the conditions of implementation of reading strategies associated with lexical and syntactical difficulties, I now propose to study how Anglo-Australian university language students deal with unfamiliar cultural events featured in written texts in French. The main objective of the project I propose to undertake in the context of Language and Intercultural Communication research is therefore to gain an understanding of the nature of the strategies implemented by FL readers to identify and attempt to overcome cultural unfamiliarity featured in written texts. A corollary objective is to observe how FL linguistic proficiency may influence the perception and apprehension of cultural difficulties

French Migration to South Australia (1955-1971): What Alien Registration documents can tell us

The present article investigates the demographic characteristics of French migrants to South Australia in the 1950s and 1960s. These two decades are of particular interest because during this period French migration to Australia was strongly influenced by the implementation of a series of assisted passage schemes. As a result, the number of settler arrivals to Australia reached unprecedented heights during this period. This study, based on original data collected at the National Archives of Australia, provides an opportunity to identify migratory and settlement trends and measure the scope of assisted migration. In order to establish the historical context of the present investigation, the paper gives an overview of the composition and development of the French community in Australia from the days of settlement to the 1970s

An Investigation of Foreign Language Students' Conceptualisations of Literary Reading.

This study investigates how first-year post-secondary students conceptualise and judge their strategic behaviour in relation to reading foreign language literary texts. The questionnaire used to collect data is structured around four important metacognitive aspects of reading: what readers believe they are able to do (Confidence), how readers conceive efficient reading in a foreign language (Effectiveness) and what readers believe makes reading difficult (Difficulty), as well as how readers believe they are able to overcome reading difficulties (Repair). In addition to providing information on conceptualisations of key areas of reading, a contrastive investigation of self-assessed proficient readers and sef-assessed less proficient readers is carried out in order to elicit possible differences between the two groups. The results obtained show that the large majority of students are able to envision reading as a cohesive and constructive activity. Most of them report they are able to incorporate bottom-up and top-down strategic behaviour in their conceptions of foreign language reading. However, students appear to be mostly concerned with lexical difficulties which are naturally perceived by them as the major impediment to reading comprehension. As for possible conceptual differences between self-assessed proficient and less proficient students, results suggest that they are minimal. In fact, the only area where a significant discrepancy between the two groups appears is confidence

Early French Migration to South Australia: Preliminary Findings on French Vignerons

The French in Australia form a small group of immigrants in terms of overall migration figures: the 1996 census records 16 000 French-born, while there were 240 000 Italian-born, 126 000 Greek-born and 120 000 German-born respectively, giving an idea of the relative size of the current French-born Australian population. The French community is undoubtedly a small one; however, as Annie Stuer affirms, "[the French] have contributed more to the history and the development of Australia than is popularly known". Although the French impact on Australia is far from insignificant, little has been written from an academic perspective about the French cultural and economic contribution to Australia. The purpose of this chapter is to contribute to broadening the body of research on the French presence in Australia, presenting the initial findings of an investigation in progress of early French vignerons in South Australia

Migrants’ Belongings: preliminary considerations of Greek and Italian migrants’ travel trunks in the post-Second World War period of settlement to South Australia

The Migrants’ Belongings project, while considering both the scholarly work of the past and more contemporary trends, aims to take migration studies one step further by investigating the significance of belongings brought in the travel trunks of Greek and Italian migrants when they settled in Australia after the Second World War. The project seeks to understand, in the context of displacement, movement and loss, what objects were of particular relevance in reshaping the lives and the identities of these migrants, with particular reference to those objects carried by trunk, rather than by suitcase. This article, the first in a series relating to the Migrants’ Belongings project, aims to situate the project within the wider literature of post-Second World War Italian and Greek migration to Australia. It will consider the use and representation of migrants’ belongings, drawing on methodologies and findings from museology, material culture and identity studies. The project will reflect on the reasons why the “objects of migration”, and more specifically the contents of “migrant trunks”, have so far been largely neglected by scholars of history and migration studies. Finally, this article will highlight the project’s proposed methodology

Digital Education in the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences: Discipline Discussions

CC BY-NC-ND Flinders UniversityThe research reported here was undertaken by the Digital Education Working Group (DEWG) to achieve the following four objectives, in line with the CHASS Digital Education Action Plan: 1. To better understand the perspectives on, experiences with and plans for digital education across the College to inform further strategy or changes in the College’s approach to digital education. 2. To scope the professional learning and resourcing needs in a systematic and robust way to ensure adequate support is being provided. 3. To gather insights on current discipline-based models of learning and teaching to inform recommendations on the scholarship of teaching, particularly online teaching models. 4. To synthesise current good practice examples. The DEWG research team worked with eight discipline groups across CHASS in 2021: Archaeology, English, Geography, History, Indigenous Studies, Languages, Philosophy, and Screen and Media. This report serves as a high-level synthetic overview of the results of in-depth focus group interviews conducted with staff and makes recommendations about ways forward for digital education, with relevant stakeholders identified at College and University levels. Here, DEWG and the College’s executive leadership team hold responsibility for understanding, driving, improving and supporting the digital education strategies in the College. The report summarises key findings across several key areas