The Impact of French in Teaching and Learning English in Algeria : Case of Third Year License EFL Students at The University of Ghardaia

Abstract

The aim of this descriptive research is to shed light on the effect of using the French language in order to learn English. Also, to explore the students and teachers attitudes towardsthe use of this pedagogical tool. The present research work which is an investigation in the field of teaching and learning English in Algeria, is an attempt at analyzing the importance that Frenchhas in EFL classroom, especially at the university of Ghardaia. Three chapters constitutes the present research work. In the first chapter, we give an outlook of the linguistic situation in Algeria, by referring to the status of each present national and non national languages and their manifestation in the educational system. The first part is about a survey of the history of languages spoken in Algeria, then we deal with the current linguistic situation with its different languages and their origins and the educational system that Algerians live in. In the second chapter which is a practical part, it aims at collecting data, analysing and interpreting them. Twenty three 3rd year LMD students at the department of English situated at the university of Ghardaia, and eleven teachers from "Houichiti Mohamed" high school in Daya Ben Dahoua Ghardaia. One data collection method was used to gather information which is questionnaire submitted to both teachers and learners. Based on the results obtained previously, it was revealed that both learners and teachers agree on the use of French in learning English. In the third chapter, we apprehend the useful language in Algeria and the importance of eachlanguage as far as research media and technology are concerned. In conclusion, the current study showed that both teachers and learners have similar attitudes towards the use of French as a facilitator tool in learning the English language in general and acquiring many new words in particular. This proves the hypothesis formulated in this research.