Cultural Ambassadors: Monitors in Core-French Classes. Informal Series/48.

Beginning core-French students who had contact with part-time French monitors and students who did not were compared in five Canadian provinces in 1979-1980 as part of an evaluation of the Second Language Monitor Program. Twenty-eight schools and 56 classes were studied in Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia, along with 5 schools and 10 classes in Manitoba and Ontario. Half of the sample had monitors for the grades 5 through 9 French classes, which were primarily first or second-year studies. Each student was interviewed for about 30 minutes in both French and English, and a standardized test of French listening comprehension was administered to determine speaking and listening competence, cultural knowledge, quantity and quality of experiences in French class, and attitude toward learning French. Students who had monitor contact reported many more experiences in French class, and their experiences were judged of higher quality than those of control students. While monitors did not appear to provide experiences that increase competence in any conventional way, it is concluded that they add desirable and unique cultural elements. The English and French interview questionnaires and student background information questionnaire are appended, along with a checklist and instructions for interviewers and a classroom observation coding scheme. (SW)