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Investigating lexical proficiency development over time – the case of Dutch-speaking learners of French in Brussels

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 November 2008

BRAM BULTÉ ,
ALEX HOUSEN ,
MICHEL PIERRARD  and
SISKA VAN DAELE
BRAM BULTÉ
Affiliation:
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
ALEX HOUSEN*
Affiliation:
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
MICHEL PIERRARD
Affiliation:
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
SISKA VAN DAELE
Affiliation:
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
*
Address for correspondence: Alex Housen, Department of Language and Literature – Centre for Linguistics, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium e-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

This article aims (a) to explore the operationalisation and definition of lexical L2 proficiency and related constructs with a view to identifying a set of measures that can adequately capture the dynamics of lexical L2 proficiency development over time, and (b) to shed more light on the development of lexical proficiency in French Foreign Language classes. After a discussion of theoretical, terminological and methodological issues in L2 vocabulary research, we present a longitudinal quantitative study of the lexical development of Dutch-speaking adolescents learning FFL in Dutch-medium schools in Brussels over a three-year period and compare these learners' lexical proficiency in French to native speaker benchmarks.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of French Language Studies , Volume 18 , Special Issue 3: Knowledge and use of the lexicon in French as a second language , November 2008 , pp. 277 - 298
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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