Projet de promotion du bilinguisme officiel et développement des compétences bilingues chez les apprenants du sous- système francophone: cas des élèves de troisièmes du Lycée Bilingue d’Application (LBA) de Yaoundé

Abstract

This research entitled “project for the promotion of official bilingualism and the development of bilingual skills among learners in the French-speaking sub-system of the city of Yaoundé: the case of third year students at the bilingual application high school (LBA) in Yaoundé”, intervenes in a context of promotion of official languages in Cameroon. Indeed, this research is based on the observation that English is tending to become a global language which, in the near future, could be unavoidable. The issue of languages in education, and more specifically official bilingualism, is at the centre of the concerns of the various members of the educational, scientific and cultural community (UNESCO). The latter has been supporting States for several years in the promotion of their linguistic heritage (2011). Moreover, the observation made in the field shows that the practice of official bilingualism is not effective in schools because learners in the Francophone and Anglophone subsystems are barely able to understand and express themselves in both languages. It is from this observation that the problem of “low bilingual competence among learners in the French-speaking subsystem” stems. The objective of this study is to improve the development of bilingual skills among learners in the Francophone subsystem. Four theories have been mobilized to analyse this research problem, including the theory of innovation in pedagogy of Hieronymus Brüner (1960), the theory of constructivism and the learning by doing approach of Vygotsky, Piaget and John Dewey, the goal-setting theory of Edwin A. Locker and Gary Latham (1968), and the contingency theory of Fred Fiedler (1960). Methodologically, the research carried out is of a mixed type. The Yaoundé Bilingual Vocational High School (LBA) served as the setting for this study. The results of the said research are presented in the form of statistical diagrams relating to the identification of surveys, hypotheses, research. After analysis, 62.44% answered unfavourably (disagreed) on the question of the effectiveness of official bilingualism in secondary schools in relation to the skills of learners in the French-speaking subsystem. In terms of perspectives, the study proposes a Project for the creation of Bilingual Recreation Rooms in schools, the practice of training focused on disciplinary knowledge on teachers' skills and meaningful teaching activities for learners.