An investigation on the nature of learners’ and teachers’ lived experiences regarding implicit and explicit methods in French grammar teaching: a South African perspective

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to explore, describe and analyse participants’ experiences, perceptions and beliefs regarding the use of implicit and explicit methods in the teaching of French grammar, and learners’ lived experiences in terms of being taught via these methods and approaches. The study adopted a qualitative exploratory and descriptive research design where semi-structured in-depth interviews were held with 19 purposively sampled participants at a well-known French language teaching institution. For the study’s theoretical framework, Vygotsky’s sociocultural learning principles/ tenets were referred to in order to show the links between, and effects of cultural artefacts and constructs on language learning and teaching. These principles/ tenets are: semiotic mediation, internalisation and inner speech development, and the zone of proximal development (ZPD). The findings revealed that students mostly learnt French for employment-related reasons and valued both implicit and explicit learning approaches. The challenges experienced includes poor social learning opportunities due to inadequate representation of French in South African media and society. However, participants were able to cope due to the institution’s culturally focused interventions.