THE RELATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF THREE FRENCH TEXTBOOK METHODS ON SELECTED OUTCOMES IN FRENCH

Abstract

The purpose of this study was two-folds (1) to investigate the relative effectiveness of three textbook methods of teaching French on the achievement, motivational and attitudinal levels of selected secondary school students of French in Nigeria, and (2) to investigate whether there was a significant difference in performance between male and female students on the same variables. The sample was taken from a population of first year secondary school students located in Abeokuta, Ogun State of Nigeria. The three experimental intact classrooms were taken from three different schools that were newly established in 1960 and still bad no French programme at the time of this experiment (1982). A 3 x 2 pretest-posttest factorial design was used in this study. The pretest posttest analysis of variance and covariance applying the "F" test for the three independent samples was applied to analyze and compare the data. A further analysis was made by applying the Scheffe test of comparison to determine exactly which group significantly outperformed the others. It was found that (1) the group taught through "Methode I” Contacts achieved significantly higher posttest scores on the French achievement test and on the student assessment Questionnaire than the other two groups of students using "Methodes II and III” respectively, (2) on all three independent variables males outperformed Females but not significantly so, and (3) there was no significant difference between groups on the attitude and motivation measures. It was concluded that: "Methode I" (Contacts) was more effective in teaching elementary French to this particular sample (Class I) than "Methode II" (Practical French) or "Methode III" (France Afrique). The results of the present research have several implication for professionals in education, for students, for policy makers and for textbook writers. They suggest that quality textbook preparation can produce a significant effect in the cognitive and affective domains of language learning. Moreover, it is recommended that more textbooks be written and field tested by Nigerians or inhabitants whose desire it is to produce quality "methodes" for Nigerians. It is further recommended that this comparative study be carried out in various parts of the country in order to be able to generalize the findings.