In relation to general French language skills, improvements were
reported by almost all of the students. Only a tiny minority reported no
improvement. Substantial majorities in all groups felt that their oral skills
and confidence in speaking had improved a great deal. Specifically in relation
to gains in sociolinguistic skills, the students’ perceptions were solicited. There were five questions dealing with matters of style on both
pre-test and post-test questionnaires. The first item was meant to gauge
the relative importance students attached to command of formal aspects
of language in general. The students were asked to agree or disagree with
the following statement: “The important thing is to say what you want to
say not how you say it.” On the pre-test questionnaire, students were split
on the question. Just over half of the core French students and almost half
of immersion students agreed. On the post-visit questionnaire the students
are less divided: a majority in all groups agreed with the statement.