Drawing on Vygotsky's insights on the sociocultural origins of development, we examine the French homestay as a site for learning, with a focus on the dinner table. Based on audio recordings of mealtime interactions, interviews, and field notes, we present two case studies of French language learners and their host families. "Amelia"…

Focuses on variable /l/-deletion in the French definite articles, subject clitic pronouns, and in one frequent phono-lexical context. Considers whether the sociolinguistic patterns reported indicate ongoing linguistic change or whether the effects observed reveal attitudes to non-standard linguistic forms inculcated in speakers by normative French…

In the French verb phrase, negation is often marked twice, by a proclitic element (ne) and by a second negative (such as "pas" or "rien"). Until the seventeenth century, the first element was obligatory, while a second negative was optionally added for emphasis or precision. Subsequently, the second negatives lost their…

This volume is the result of a two-week session organized for 30 British teachers of French, aimed at the rediscovery of French culture and language. The teachers were exposed to French language and culture through a series of round tables with a representative of French business, government, politics, and the like, and through personal interviews…