Methodologies for Teaching Languages for Specific Purposes: The Case of the French Language in International Relations and Diplomacy

In this study, the central question is whether the Action paradigm is favorable to the learning of French in the field of International Relations and Diplomacy. In this context, we test the Action paradigm against the Communicative method through the results achieved by learners after teaching programmes carried through with each approach. Two questionnaires, one for Communicative method and the other for the Action paradigm, were built and submitted to a sample of sixty students, where thirty students attended underwent the Communicative method teaching and paradigm and an equal number for the Action paradigm teaching. The correction of the pre-tests provided the initial assessment of the knowledge (skills and different linguistic and sociocultural competences) of the two groups. The difference between the pre-test and the post-test in terms of marks achieved, differential achievement and mark distribution are conclusive. The Action paradigm yields overall average results of 82.16% against 76.72% for of the Communicative method. It thus favors in a statistically significant way the learning of French for specific purposes. Interestingly, its support was greater for aural and spoken tasks than for the written medium. This suggests that the use of different methods is still a commendable approach in the foreign language classroom.