The French National Skiing and Mountaineering School from August 2008 to June 2009. LNA - Language Needs Analysis of French mountain guides.
mobile in the European Alpine countries (Switzerland, France, Italy, Austria and Germany)
Context
the framework IFMGA standards certify with rock, alpine and ski mountaineering.
Theoretical background
English as a lingua franca
A triangulated methodology (Long, 2005) by junior and senior experts
learners
applied linguist
domain experts
target needs as well as learning needs
the aim is answering two questions
What are the language needs of French mountain guides?
In a context of international mobility, what type of “English” should be taught?
Data gathering
The questionnaire
Unstructured interviews
Novice guides’ level of proficiency
The 56 new entrants in the profession in France in 2009
submitting a questionnaire
observing the English oral exam.
37 questions composed of four parts
personal details (age, gender, mother tongue, foreign languages),
language biography (language training and travels)
use of English in the professional context and specification of the language skills used
an open question for personal comments
The exam focuses on four skills: listening, reading, spoken interaction and production
47 out of the 56 guides (83.9%) - English as their foreign language;
the others- Spanish, Italian or German
46 out of 47 (97.9%) were assessed as independent users (CEFRL, Council of Europe, 2001)
Suggestion
Results
50 French speakers; 2 native French and German speakers;
1 native English speaker
49 used English to interact professionally (92.4%) - Expanding Circle
oral skills to be used more than written ones
Language level
Basic users - language skills with the integration of safety instructions
Independent users - on tasks based on related target situations
Proficient users - American and British accent and cultural differences
Technical and communication skills