We initiated this project with the goal of bridging the gap between so-called communicative and plurilingual approaches to language teaching. More specifically, the objective of the study was to develop a model of crosslinguistic instruction consistent with the communicative framework used in additional language (Lx) classes. While maximizing on learners’ plurilingual repertoire, this model targets crosslinguistic awareness by means of inductive consciousness-raising, embedded in a four-stage didactic sequence, which endeavors to facilitate input- and output-based communicative practice in the target language.

The project called for a research design based on a developmental research methodology. The different developmental research phases took place in university language courses of German in Quebec (Canada) and French in Texas (USA).

The first prototype of our crosslinguistic-communicative model was developed based on principles of plurilingual as well as communicative approaches to language teaching. The prototype went through several rounds of field testing to ensure it adequately represented the particular teaching situation in the Lx classroom. For each field test, we collected and analyzed data, each time targeting various aspects of the model, and taking into account different viewpoints from actors in the educational field (learners, teachers, researchers, etc.). Data analysis was used to improve the prototype and ensure it met our objectives. The circular process of testing and validating was repeated until the final crosslinguistic-communicative model was endorsed by the research team.