Transversal Skills and Learning French in the 4th Average Year: Transfer from the Arabic Language to the French Language

Abstract

This research raises the issue of the development of transversal skills in Algerian school programs, specifically those of the Arabic language and the French language. The two linguistic components constitute, in the Algerian educational system, one of the fundamental elements of the language-dominant cognitive foundation in the teaching/learning system. The Arabic language is the primary instrument that the learner must possess to access the different areas of learning. It is not only a teaching subject that conveys learning, but also a means of establishing and maintaining harmonious relationships with one's environment. As such, its mastery constitutes the basic transversal skill. The French language, because of its particular status, and its teaching at an early age, fulfills a particular function in Algerian schools. Consequently, the question of language transfers is at the heart of didactic and pedagogical articulations in the program and curricula design system. The analysis grids inspired by the Bloomian taxonomy concerning the cognitive categories for the study of learning objectives made it possible to highlight the dysfunctions in the cognitive transfer operations in the two languages, due to the choices made in the difference in the hierarchies inherent to the cognitive categories noted in the two programs.