Les apprenants polonophones du français et la phonétique : représentations et auto-évaluation

The goal of the research was to determine whether learners of French are able to accurately assess the quality of their pronunciation. Study participants were Polish students of Applied Linguistics (n = 25). Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire containing items related to their beliefs about pronunciation, as well as to self-evaluate their pronunciation. Four basic components were taken into consideration: sounds, intonation, accentuation and liaisons. Next, the subjects were recorded while reading a text. Immediately after the completion of the recording, they were asked to assess one more time the quality of their pronunciation. The recordings were then submitted to three judges (experienced French teachers). Statistical analysis of the data showed that students tended to perceive their abilities in a less favourable light immediately after the recording. This decrease was found to be in concordance with the scores attributed by the judges, proving that students are able to correctly evaluate the quality of their pronunciation, but also that the context of self-assessment is a crucial factor.