An Investigation of Teacher Practices for the Instruction of French as a Third Language among Spanish-Speaking Students

Oct 15, 2026

World Language instruction in the U.S. can no longer be aimed solely at monolingual English speakers learning a second language. This study focuses on secondary French teaching for bilingual or Heritage Spanish learners, where the role of third language (L3) instruction remains unclear. Using a survey of 100 Georgia French teachers and follow-up interviews with 10 respondents, the authors analyzed data qualitatively and found insufficient L3-specific pre-service training and limited research-based professional development for teaching French to Spanish-speaking students.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages24

Reading Time1 h 0 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Key words

Introduction

Literature Review

Bilingualism and Research on L3 Learners

The Factor Model

An Investigation of Teacher Practices for the Instruction of French as a Third Language among Spanish-Speaking Students Anna Surin North Forsyth High School & Valdosta State University Victoria Russell Valdosta State University Kelly F. Davidson Valdosta State University Abstract World Language (WL) instruction in the U.S. can no longer be aimed toward a monolingual English speaker acquiring a second language (L2). Secondary students who take WL courses may speak a variety of languages, bringing their home language and culture into the classroom. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language in the U.S. and many Hispanic students are enrolled in Georgia public schools, where this research study took place. However, it is presently unknown to what degree WL teachers are equipped to teach a third language (L3) to students who are bilingual or Heritage speakers of Spanish. The authors attempted to uncover secondary-level French teachers’ preparation and training with this unique population of learners. A survey was administered to 100 Georgia French teachers and follow-up interviews were conducted with 10 survey respondents. Data were analyzed qualitatively and the results indicated that French teachers do not receive sufficient training on L3 instruction as pre-service teachers nor do they have adequate professional development opportunities as in-service teachers to learn research-based strategies for teaching French as an L3 to Spanish-speaking students. Key words: French language instruction, bilingualism, heritage learners, multilingualism, teacher education. Introduction Currently, there is a growing number of bilingual students in the U.S. who engage in world language (WL) study at the secondary level. Unlike their monolingual peers, these students are engaging in the process of third language (L3) acquisition. Several scholars have asserted that multilingualism, or the ability to speak multiple languages, has a positive influence on the language acquisition process (Bild & Swain, 1989; Cenoz & Valencia, 1994; Muñoz, 2000). Furthermore, prior research suggests that bilingualism empowers students to succeed both in school and in life (Bialystok, 2001; Bild & Swain, 1989; Cenoz, 2000; Dewaele & Wei, 2012; Kharkhurin, 2010; Muñoz, 2000; Sanz, 2000). An Investigation of Teacher Practices for French as an L3 87 While research on multilingual and plurilingual language learning has been conducted in Asia (Duan, 2011; Feng & Adamson, 2015; Kärchner-Ober, 2012), Canada (Bild & Swain, 1989; Tavares, 2000; Tremblay, 2006), and Europe (Cenoz & Valencia, 1994; Rauch, Naumann, & Jude, 2011), studies on these populations of learners are lacking in U.S. contexts. This is may be due to the fact that the English language has historically served as a lingua franca, or common language of communication, for business and education among speakers of different languages in the U.S. and abroad. The U.S. ideology, with its prior colonial history, has traditionally required linguistic assimilation of all minority groups, supporting the value ofEnglish as a dominant language (Kloss, 1998) . One of the few studies conducted in the U.S. context (Thomas, 1988) compared English monolinguals to Spanish-English bilinguals for the acquisition of French at the university level. She found that bilingual Spanish-speaking students had greater metalinguistic awareness, which gave them an advantage over their monolingual peers. Despite the fact that research findings support the benefits of bilingualism on L3 learning (Bialystok, 2001; Cenoz, 2000; Muñoz, 2000; Sanz, 2000), many Spanish-speaking students continue to fail highschool WL courses (Georgia Department of Education, 2016). Therefore, secondarylevel WL teachers maybe in need of additional preparation and training for teaching bilingual students an L3 in order for them to better support this unique population of learners. The purpose of the present study was to examine Fr

FAQs

What research question drives the study?

The study examines how prepared French teachers are to teach a third language (L3) to students who are bilingual or Heritage speakers of Spanish.

How was data collected for the study?

The authors used a survey of 100 Georgia French teachers and conducted follow-up interviews with 10 survey respondents.

What do the results indicate about teacher training?

French teachers were found not to receive sufficient L3 instruction training as pre-service teachers, nor adequate professional development as in-service teachers for research-based L3 teaching strategies.

Oct 15, 2026

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