Pratiques des langues d'enseignement en milieu universitaire haitien

This thesis on linguistic practices in the Haitian university environment reviews a problem that is causing a stir within the Haitian language landscape. Most students face enormous difficulties in being able to express themselves correctly in French. However, they stayed for more than 14 years in high school. So their schooling was carried out in theory in French, even if the realities of the classrooms seem to present a clear mobilization of Haitian Creole. In order to better analyze the nature of the main language interactions in the classroom, but also outside the university sphere, in addition to drawing inspiration from our strong field experiences of more than 20 years, including 15 years in the university environment, we mobilized two main tools. First, a class observation which allowed us to put the students in a situation of expressing themselves in French, the language most used in teaching materials. Then, we administered a survey questionnaire of about 37 items reviewing the didactic, linguistic and cultural aspects of language practices in the classroom. The results of our research show that French is a very popular language in academia. Its learning and practice are even considered a necessity, according to all of the respondents. Moreover, as a language of social advancement, its mastery is considered an asset for success at university. However, Creole, the mother tongue of all Haitians, is also highly appreciated by students, since it is the language in which they think. Classroom interactions with all actors are generally in this language, although students would advise teachers to encourage more practice of French in class. To overcome most of these difficulties, we have proposed better support in this research for students. The organization of activities such as the presentation of courses in French, by teachers, the creation of competitions or any other para-university activity that can stimulate student motivation will be an asset. Finally, this research conducted mainly at the Franco-Haitian University of Cap-Haitian has the merit of addressing a question that raises great debate and which has been very little addressed from this angle by researchers.