Actas da - Xunta de Galicia

Hugo Baetens Beardsmore
Table 5. Achievement Scores on Three Standardised Tests for Luxembourg and
Canadian Pupils
Luxembourg Standard Canada Standard
Deviation
Deviation
N= 179 N = 80
Total class contact
hours
1450 4450
Written comprehension
0/22
15.26 3.4 14.6 4.2
Auditory
comprehension 0/22
14.84 3.5 14.9 3.7
Cloze 0/41 21.3 4.3 19.9 4.3
The similarity in scores between the populations can be explained by
reference to differences in use of French. In Luxembourg pupils use the target
language outside the classroom, which is not the case in Canada
Another explanation could be found in the methodology used to bring pupils
up to high productive skills. Ministry of Education regulations clearly state that
oral skills represent the principle goal for the L3 in the primary syllabus. This
has led to the development of computer assisted materials, known as TEO
(Texte Oral Éditeur), which are used in primary classrooms with remarkable
results.
Teachers are encouraged to envisage oral skills as representing a goal in
themselves, with recommendations to be fairly tolerant about oral mistakes
(TEO Rapport 1995, 25). So as not to inhibit the child in communication the
teacher is encouraged to avoid interrupting the flow of oral communication.
How is this achieved? In the TEO programme children work in small groups
via peer tuition on the creation of their own stories which will later be presented
orally to the class. This is done on a computer where icons replace script, and
where the microphone registers production. The initial stage is the build up of
the story line with no interference from the teacher. The computer dispenses
with the need for any written support. Once the story has been completed it is
presented to the class. The author of each text controls for class comprehension
of content. By getting the author to control for comprehension there is
automatically less focus on structure and more on genuine communication
about the story (TEO Rapport 1995, 29). But this does not imply that focus on
structure is completely ignored. It is during this listening to the finished product
that suggestions, improvements and corrections may be given, usually by the
children themselves, less often by the teacher. Once the final text has been
agreed upon, the teacher, in the early stages, transcribes it into a written form,
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