| dc.description.abstract | Currently, two trends of teaching and learning of French are coexisting inKenyan universities
and colleges offering French, namely General French and French for specific purposes (FSP).
The recent past has witnessed an increased student enrollment towards FSP. However, at the end
of their studies, learners are unable to communicate effectively in French, within their areas of
specialty. This is attributed to the non conformity with the outlined procedures designed for the
implementation of French for specific purposes in other countries such as France, which are not
strictly followed in Kenya. The objectives of the study were to: establish whether language
training needs are related to the area of specialty; evaluate the level of adequacy between the real
or expected language needs and the expressed language needs; establish if the language content
taught in FSP are consistent with the institutional goals and the learners' language needs;
investigate, by using the FSP glossary in the recommended manuals in France, the specialized
terms and expressions contained in the Kenyan syllabi offered to the FSP learner. The Systemic
Approach developed by Richterich and Chancerel (1977), provides insights on learner,
objectives, programme, resources and evaluation within the theoretical framework of this study.
The population comprised 4 strata: 2000 FSP learners, 40 former FSP learners, 46 trainers and
22 administrators of professional colleges in Kenya. From this population, 180 learners, 31
former learners, 30 trainers and 15 administrators were obtained by stratified sampling frames.
The study adopted a descriptive design. Data collection techniques included library research,
questionnaires and interviews. Data was analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively, through
content analysis and by calculating frequencies and percentages for comparative purposes. The
study revealed the following: learners are unable to clearly articulate their language needs.
Teachers are not equipped with skills to teach FSP. There is a disconnect between the learners'
language needs and the objectives of their respective learning institutions. The objectives of
learning institutions and the linguistic contents offered are unrelated. Learners and former
. learners of FSP encounter serious challenges in both written and spoken French. Finally, the
linguistic contents are deficient in domain-specific lexical terms. The study has recommended
that there is need to both sensitize and train relevant administrators and teachers on ways of
identifying and a.nalyzing learners' language needs . | en_US |
