Innovation in Language Learning

This paper tries to present the way in which applications can be integrated in the French class and the results of the project after a year. The project has been implemented throughout the 2015-2016 school year and the target group of this project was represented by a class of 32 students from Ion Luca Caragiale National College from Moreni, Romania, 11^th graders, 12 boys and 20 girls, with poor competences in French and a very low motivation for studying this language. As the initial test showed, the students’ level in  French was mostly A1, according to CEFR, and after I have applied a questionnaire to find out how motivated they were, I realized that they were not very interested in studying French. In order to develop the students’ competences and to increase their motivation for studying French I have integrated during the French class an app – Socrative. At the beginning this thing was seen very strange, as they were not used to use their smartphones during the classes, but they liked it. As an exit ticket quiz showed, after the first class 100% of the students liked this activity and wanted to use it during the French class. After three months, the students’ level of motivation and their involvement during the French class increased, and their competences in French improved. As a progress test showed, they managed to reach A1+ level after three months and an A2 level at the end of the school year, according to CEFR. The observation grids I have applied show that the students’ motivation and their involvement increased, and some questionnaires and a focus group revealed that the students love French and the French class now.

It is also notable the case of five students who after six months managed to pass a simulation of the DELF exam on the B1 level.