In order to explore further the relation between support and challenges for the learners, I examine in the following section how the learners feel in the BFC. general terms, interaction in the BFC is based on a tension that has been described by the interviewees with terms such as 'easy' and 'difficult'.
On November 1999 (see Appendix C), some learners described their learning in the BFC as 'hard and easy':
C: Well, in English, we've known it since we were a little kid. And we know English, cause it's us first, ... it's the language we speak, but when you're in second[ary] school, and you're doing new languages, it's more hardest. But you've progressed in English, so you can progress in your second language.
I: Right, OK. Do you want to say more about this, Camille? C; Errm. / think it's hard and [italics added]
I; Aha! So, you say it's hard and easy. What would you say if you look at these statements? What would you say then, if you say it's hard and easy?
C: Errm.
I; What about the first sentence 'Learning about the tropical rainforest in French is ...'? C;C
I; So, learning about the tropical rainforest in French is more difficult than in English. C; Yeah. Yes, cause I haven't really done the tropical rainforest in English, so I'm finding it, err, more difficult in French, cause I've never really done it in English. So, it's harder for me as well in French.
1; Right, OK. So, it's maybe ... is it two things then - is it both learning about the tropical rainforest, first, and then learning in French, ...?
C: Yeah.
I: ... so, you ... so, it's twice as hard really. Did you say that? C; Yeah.
I; Right, OK. What about the second sentence? C: I put A.
1; So, 2A would be 'Learning about the tropical rainforest in French is ... A - more interesting than in English.'
C; Yeah.
As a starting activity for this interview I had given the learners a series of statements that they had to complete with other statements. My aim was to find out through this activity how learner perceptions of the BFC as 'hard' or 'easy' combined with 'interesting' and 'boring.' Camille comes up with the following two statements:
• 'Learning about the tropical rainforest in French is more difficult than in English.'
• 'Learning about the tropical rainforest in French is more interesting than in English.'
Camille mentions before that she thinks learning in the BFC is 'hard and easy.' On the surface, this statement does not make any sense as Camille describes her learning in the BFC in contrasting terms in one single statement. In order to make sense of this statement, I combine it with her completed statements: Learning in French is more difficult than in English. This is obvious as the learners have to learn about the tropical rainforest or any other topics that are part of the BFC curriculum through French. Camille also says that 'Learning in French [...] is more interesting than in English.' Relating this statement to the previous statement 'It's both hard and easy.' learning in the BFC is 'easy' because it is interesting. In order to be 'interesting', learning content through French is however not sufficient and could be demotivating for the learners. This does not seem to be the case. Camille explains why learning in French is 'interesting' in the following excerpt taken from the same interview:
C: French, because, 1 mean, like I said, I don't really know much about the tropical rainforest, but I think it's more interesting in French, because you get to do more, like, in English, I already know most of the words in English, and when you're learning French it's harder, but, 1 find, 1 mean hard work, and you're getting to progress on it I think it is ... and you find, errm, it's more interesting than your first language.
According to Camille, learning in French about the tropical rainforest is 'more interesting in French, because you get to do more.' She goes on to explain this by adding that 'it's hard work, and you're getting to progress on it.' According to Camille, getting 'to do more' is hard work. At the same time, she progresses both in French and understanding the eco-system of the tropical rainforest. What Camille's statements fail to explain is how she progresses in her learning. She does not simply progress because she is learning through French, a foreign language that she has only started learning since September. She is able to progress both in French and in
her geographical understanding of the tropical rainforest, because 'she gets to do more.' I understand 'getting to do more' as Camille referring to the support that she gets in her learning through French. Relating both support and challenges to the earlier somewhat contradictory statement 'It's hard and easy.' allows to make sense of this statement: The support that Camille gets makes the learning At the same time, learning through French is 'hard,' because it is a challenge to the learners.
In order to explore the tension between support and challenges further, I examine other statements where the learners talk about their learning in the BFC in
contradictory terms.
When asked about understanding and using French in the BFC, the learners describe their feelings as follows in the interview conducted on February 2000 (see Appendix C):
Right, so, do you find this ... is this normal now or do you find this difficult?
M: A bit of both. Sometimes I find it quite hard when you have to use like long words and then long words sometimes mean short words [in English]. And it gets a bit conmsing. I: Right, OK. Do you find ... are you afraid of speaking French? For instance when I was questioning you at the end of the lesson in French.
C: Sometimes, because if you get something wrong, you get all really embarrassed if you said it wrong.
I; Well, do you think it is really that bad if you say something wrong? C;No.
M; No, cause you ... at least you're having a try. [...]
The learners answer again in a manner that reveals a certain tension. Learning in the BFC classroom is 'normal' and 'difficult.' It is 'a bit of both' because using a foreign language can get 'a bit confusing.' This confusion may lead to the learners making mistakes which may in turn lead to the learners getting 'all really embarrassed if you said it wrong.' Again, the issue of support is crucial here. The learners are working mainly through a foreign language. In order to be able to work tiirough a foreign language, the learners have to use the foreign language. Using the foreign language may lead to confusion. This or challenge is not per se
bad, but it is part of the learning in the BFC classroom. At the same time, the confusion is to be minimised through the support that the teacher is able to provide tiie learners with. order to explore the issue of support and challenges further, I return to the jungle-metaphor that some interviewees have used to describe the BFC classroom. In the interview of March 2000 (see Appendix C), some learners described how they feel in the BFC classroom:
A: Learning in French Foundation Course is like sometimes being in a jungle where [everyone] is learning and trying to talk French and it sounds like a bunch of animals, but it can be fun.
I; What do you think about this, you two? [to Carole and Marie] Is it like being in a jungle?
M; Yeah, it is a cause like ... like, there's so many things hanging around and, you have to like when you put a sentence together or you translate things you have to, it's like; 'Do you have to put that in or do you have to take that out or ...?'
A: Yeah, when everybody's talking, like French all the time, hhhhhhh, everybody talking French, ...
I; Is being, again, being in a jungle is it good fun or is it scary? A; It's
J: It's like all over. One time you gonna be scared and another time you can be excited. M: It's like walking across the door, ain't it? It isn't really safe.
One learner sums up her perceptions of learning in the BFC with 'one time you gonna be scared and another time you can be excited.' This argument is taken up by Marie who refers back to one of the first interviews (conducted on November
1999) where Jeanne describes her learning by referring to a room-metaphor with 'it's like walking across the door. [...] It isn't really safe.' Again, it becomes clear that the learners are in a learning environment which is potentially unsafe. It is the teacher's role to create the safe environment for learning. 'Safe' does however not imply order to learn in the BFC classroom, the learners have to be able to feel 'excited' about their learning (in opposition to 'scared'). 'Excited' in this context means that the learners have to be given the opportunity 'to walk across the door' feeling that they can explore this other person's room. During the interview conducted on 22"" March 2000 (see Appendix C), 1 further explored with the learners through the jungle-metaphor their feelings in the jungle. They explain their feelings as follows: