L’enseignement de la distinction entre le passé composé et l’imparfait en français langue seconde
Second language (L2) acquisition researchers report that acquiring the perfective-imperfective distinction poses significant challenges to L2 learners. Previous research has focused on identifying the causes of this problem as well as investigating the differential effects of teaching methods. This study uncovers teachers’s knowledge and comprehension of the distinction between passé composé and imparfait and analyzes the teaching material they use in their classrooms. The Aspect Hypothesis has already been identified as the principal cause of L2 learners’ reported difficulties. By analysing data obtained from teacher interviews and from their teaching materials, the present study sets out to address these hypotheses. Nine teachers of French as a second language participated in a semi-structured interview and discussed the teaching material they used to teach the passé composé and imparfait distinction. The obtained results show that teachers rely on textbooks to explain and teach the distinction between passé composé and imparfait. Although teachers were aware of the difficulties associated with the acquisition of the target forms, they used exercises that did not facilitate the learners’ task. In fact, the provided exercises barely focused on the meaning and use of the forms in question and heavily focused on their formal properties. An analysis of the input to which the learners were exposed indicates the predominance of typical input.
Imparfait Imparfait Aspect hypothesis French second language Grammar teaching