2014
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/ , info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess
Dominique Démocrite-Louisy, « Un enseignement bilingue peut-il être une réponse à l'échec scolaire ? Le cas de la Collectivité de Saint-Martin Dominique DÉMOCRITE-LOUISY Lycée Polyvalent de Saint-Martin », HAL-SHS : linguistique, ID : 10670/1.305nyn
The objective of the research is to show that the importance of the school failure identified with the collectivity of Saint-Martin (French Antilles) is linked to the lack of the French language proficiency. English is historically and culturally the vehicular language of the collectivity of Saint-Martin. It is mostly used in everyday life; however, French remains the official language. From pre-school, communicating in French becomes mandatory. Failure in school could therefore be linked to this particular situation. Hence why, the learning of French as a secondary language would be more pertinent, and a bilingual teaching system could be an alternative. The theoretical framework comprises of Vygotsky’s work on development of the mother tongue and the learning of a foreign languages; Delory-Momberger's work on socialization of the child as constituent of his identity through his relationships within is family as with school; and Bautier's research about family as the foundation of the first tentative steps towards language. ATSEMs are generally from the island thus are English speakers and also express themselves in creole and for others in Spanish. The big majority of teachers being essentially francophone, these ATSEM take on in an informal way other functions not part of their missions. In Saint-Martin, more than anywhere else, working together seems unavoidable. The method is based on observations centered on pre-schools, where French speaking teachers and English speaking ATSEM participate on pupils' education. Surveys, interviews along with reports analysis and school results enabled this research. Our conclusions tend towards a bilingual teaching, coherent with the historical, cultural and political environment of the Collectivity.