Research

Research trajectory

My recent research work and my ongoing research plans combine the Educational Sciences and Applied Linguistics. This orientation follows up on an academic, professional and scientific training rooted in the field of Applied Linguistics (the didactics of foreign language acquisition). My Ph.D. focused on young learners’ foreign language acquisition and analyzed film as a mediation tool to optimize foreign language teaching and learning by creating a meaningful encounter between the child and the language.

Since 2005, when I joined the ICAR Laboratory, my research work has focused on Classroom Oral Interactions, firstly in the French institutional context of teaching and learning foreign languages, and lately in bilingual and immersion institutional contexts abroad. These recent studies, within a Vygotskian theoretical framework, build upon my initial studies, and adopt the sociocognitive perspective developed by my colleagues Peter Griggs and Rita Carol in the wake of Pierre Bange’s research.

Research interests

Classroom Oral interactions in monolingual and multilingual contexts

  • Analysis of Language interactions within a sociocognitive framework
  • Oral class discourse: towards acquisition of content and language in immersion contexts
  • Professional gestures in classroom teaching

Applied linguistics – Image and mediation

  • Linguistic and semiotic potentials of the image used as a mediation tool
  • Semiotic and didactic studies of class video recordings as methodological tools

Professional discourse – Developing a professional identity during Teacher Training

  • The teacher training thesis as a research object
  • Analysis of professional discourse in its interaction with knowledge
  • International/intercultural exchanges and self-analysis in the development of a teacher professional identity

Research coordination

Coordinator of Work Package 4 « Interdisciplinary Education and Training »
ASLAN LABEX (LABoratory of Excellence) in Advanced Studies on Language Complexity

The ASLAN Project is funded at a rate of over 1 million euros a year and involves two (social science) research laboratories ICAR and DDL of the University of Lyon 2.

ASLAN Labex aims at the development of a new type of linguistics able to treat linguistic phenomena in all of their complexity, within an integrative and multidimensional approach.

Coordination responsibilities of Work Package 4 include :

  • dealing with information and communication between the 5 Work Packages and the different research teams of the two laboratories engaged in the project;
  • coordinating the teams with the goal of developing innovative education and training programmes built on the research outcomes of ASLAN Project.

« Learning school subjects in a second language » ADILE Project within the Work Package 3 « From the individual to interaction » funded by ASLAN LABEX. P. Griggs, R. Carol & N. Blanc. Since 2011.

The ADILE project « Learning school subjects in a second language » started in 2011 and aims at working on teaching and learning issues within immersion contexts, to analyse the combined acquisition of knowledge and language in various contexts.

We aim at :

  • building a large corpus (of classroom filming sessions, interviews and classroom production) in both primary and secondary education, in various school subjects taught in different languages
  • analysing classroom discourse (including multimodality) through conversational analysis methodology, in order to better understand the process of acquisition from a sociocognitive perspective
  • creating a collaborative international network between teachers and researchers

« Talking and writing about Science within academic and professional Discourse »
2008 – 2011. A. Rabatel & N. Blanc. Project funded by Lyon1 University IUFM

Co-organisation of a monthly seminar in 2009/2010

Co-organisation of a two-day international Workshop « The relationship to knowledge in academic and professional discourse » Lyon1 University IUFM in June 2010.

« Acquisition, Interaction and culture in Foreign Language Classes »
2005 – 2008.P. Griggs.Project funded by Lyon1 University IUFM

Co-organisation (with P. Griggs) of a two-day international Workshop « Second Language acquisition and content learning » Lyon1 University IUFM in October 2008.

Member of the French Doctoral School in Algeria (EDAF) since 2008.

Organisation of seminars on research methodology for Master’s students in June 2008 and May 2009, Souk-Ahras, Algeria.

Research supervisor for Master’s Degrees

Co-organisation (with P. Lambert) of a two-week Doctoral Workshop at the Lyon 2 University, May 2010.

Scientific committees

January 2012. Journal TransFormations, number 7. « L’usage des dispositifs de formation » Astier, P., Faulx, D. & Leclercq, G. (eds). Recherches en Education et Formation des Adultes. Lille 1 University.

January 2010. Journal Synergies France, number 6. « Verbe, grammaire et enseignement : la prescription et l’usage ».

July 2010. Stendhal University, Grenoble 3. Lidilem Laboratory. Cedill 2 International Conference for Young Researchers in Applied Linguistics.

July 2006. Stendhal University, Grenoble 3. Lidilem Laboratory. Cedill 1 International Conference for Young Researchers in Applied Linguistics.

Research Supervisor for Doctoral Students

Doctoral Students

MAZI Farid. Enquête sur l’agir professoral dans les activités d’expression orale : classes de première année secondaire – Analyse thématique et réflexive.

(Begun 2009) Ph.D. in Applied Lingusitics (French Didactic) – Annaba University in Algeria
co-directed with Latifa Kadi.

CHAHTA Halima. La vidéo au service du développement de la compétence socioculturelle en classe de FLE.

(Begun 2010) Ph.D. in Applied Lingusitics (French Didactic) – Alger University in Algeria
co-directed with Nabila Benhouhou.

Research Supervisor for Master Students

Master Degree at the Saint Etienne University

EMERAN Monika. 2011. L’impact du bilinguisme des enfants allophones sur leur apprentissage des langues étrangères : le cas des apprenants créolophones et hispanophones à St. Thomas aux Îles Vierges américaines.

Master Degree at the Lyon 2 University

MENDES SA Claudia. 2011. De la conceptualisation vers le bilinguisme chez les jeunes enfants : recherche sur l’enseignement immersif en maternelle.

FERRIER Anaïs. 2011. Interactions verbales entre pairs en contexte scolaire : gestion des aspects cognitivo-langagiers et socio-relationnels en situation de résolution de problème.

MAC PHERSON Sylvie. 2011. Étude sur l’acquisition des compétences communicatives en contexte d’apprentissage d’une langue étrangère à travers l’analyse d’interactions orales.

MAUHOURAT Delphine. 2011. Enseignement du Français et construction identitaire des ENAF.

BOUCHET Karine. 2011. Impact du milieu homoglotte et des méthodologies d’alternance sur le développement des compétences interculturelles des apprenants de FLE.

GODET Natacha. 2011. Gestion de l’étayage en situation de débat, pour un développement des compétences d’expression orale en FLE.

Master Degree at the Grenoble University

PLESSIS Maud. 2011. Enjeux de l’enseignement du FLE au Québec en situation plurilingue et interculturelle : le curriculum comme plan d’action à l’école primaire internationale allemande Alexander Von Humboldt.

FROHLIG Fabrice. 2010. Les domaines de cohérence fonctionnelle dans un dispositif d’accueil pour jeunes publics en Français Langue Etrangère : mise en place d’une procédure de remédiation à l’Alliance Française de Shanghaï.

SAUVETRE Violaine. 2009. Conception de matériel didactique pour l’initiation précoce au Français Langue Etrangère auprès d’enfants de moins de six ans à l’Alliance Française de Valladolid.