Abstract:
Anaphora is a common phenomenon in discourses as well as an important research
issue in the applications of language structure. This study focuses on pronominal
anaphora for its pertinence in textual organization, consistency, and cohesion in the
French language. If the concept of anaphora in terms of linguistics is considered as a
positive phenomenon avoiding the redundancy of terms in a paragraph or a text, it
should be noted that the presence of an anaphor in a sentence, sometimes makes the
process of understanding difficult. Thus, pronominal anaphors can create ambiguities
when requesting the correct antecedent in a written text. Hence, identifying
expressions in a text that refer to the same entity is a crucial problem in the use of
pronominal anaphors. The relevance of pronominal anaphora in communication
cannot be underestimated in the teaching and learning of French as a foreign
language, which is why this study aims at finding solutions to the difficulties of the
students with the use of pronominal anaphors in written texts. For that, a test on the
use of pronominal anaphors was given to students and separate questionnaires were
given to both students and lecturers of the department of French Education at
University of Education Winneba, as tools to help collect data that led to attain the
objectives of this research. The findings and suggestions of our study emanate that the
reading of tests in French can help weak students to easily understand texts with the
use of pronominal anaphors. The use of online resources like Duolingo, Nathalie FLE,
Frantastique, Tandem, TV5 Monde, Bon travail and others can help to improve the
use of pronominal anaphors and thus, improve both written and oral communication
in French, as well as make easier the teaching and learning of French as a foreign
language in Ghana.
Description:
A thesis in the Department of French Education,
Faculty of Foreign Languages Education, submitted to the
School of Graduate Studies, in partial fulfilment
Of the requirements for the award of the degree of
Master of Philosophy
(French Education)
at the University of Education, Winneba
NOVEMBER, 2023