Comparing Oral and Written Proficiency Profiles : A Case Study on First-Year University Students Specializing in Languages

Details

Supervisors

Meunier, Fanny

Faculty

Faculté de philosophie, arts et lettres

Degree label

Master [120] en langues et lettres modernes, orientation germaniques, à finalité didactique

Abstract

This Master’s thesis was conducted within the field of second language acquisition, with the purpose of shedding light on the phenomenon of individual differences (IDs) that affect the oral and written competency of L2 learners. The literature to date had, unfortunately, not yet provided a clear-cut answer to this question. We therefore investigated the oral and written level of competence of first-year students specializing in languages, by means of a case study which combined quantitative and qualitative methods. Our analysis showed that the participants were more competent in the oral than in the written communicative mode. This was also confirmed by the analysis of six variables of IDs, which revealed that auditory learning styles, willingness to communicate, lack of anxiety, and extraversion can be viewed as positive influences on the oral level of competence of L2 learners. However, some limitations could be noted, such as the small sample size, as well as the complex and interrelated nature of IDs.