THE GRAMMAR IN THE FRENCH AS FOREIGN LANGUAGE COURSE BOOKS USED IN THE PRIMARY EDUCATION IN MACEDONIA

Abstract

Taking into consideration that the number of students learning French in the primary education in Macedonia continued falling in the past years and the fact that this reduced interest has direct implications on learning French in the upper education levels, we need to analyze the reasons for this situation. When asked about the reasons for not choosing French in the primary education process, and especially at university level, the students provided the complex French grammar as the most common reason. We believe that the very fact that the first thing the students associate with the French language is its grammar, points that apart from the contemporary methodological approaches recommended by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages since 2001, there is a high probability that the grammar in the French language course books does not have a communicative goal, but is instead taught in the traditional manner. This situation urged us to analyze the grammatical context in two French language text books, Le Mag and Vite which are used in the Macedonian primary education. Our analysis will primarily provide a broader picture of how the grammar is presented in those two course books and will inquire to what extent it corresponds with the CEFRL recommendations for development of communicative competences. Furthermore, we will analyze the grammatical approach present in the course books and grammar exercises proposed for its adoption.