Năng lực tiếng pháp của học sinh trung học phổ thông dưới tác động của một số nhân tố xã hội nghiên cứu trường hợp trường chuyên hà nội amsterdam và trường chu văn an tt tiếng anh

VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
GRUADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

NGUYEN THI THANH NGA

FRENCH COMPETENCE OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
INFLUENCED BY SOCIAL FACTORS: THE CASE STUDY IN
HANOI-AMSTERDAM HIGH SCHOOL FOR GIFTED
AND CHU VAN AN HIGH SCHOOL

Major
Major code:

Linguistics
9229020

DOCTORAL THESIS SUMMARY IN PHILOLOGY

HANOI - 2020


The work is completed in:
GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

Academic supervisor: Prof.Dr. Do Viet Hung

Reviewer 1: Prof. Nguyen Van Khang
Reviewer 2: Prof. Vu Van Đai
Reviewer 3: Assoc. Prof. Đinh Hong Van

The thesis is to be defended at the institutional level doctoral thesis
Reviewer Board at Graduate Academy of Social Sciences, Vietnam
Academy of Social Sciences
No. 477, Nguyen Trai street, Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi
At............................on...................................2020

The thesis can be found at:
- Vietnam National Library
- The Library of Graduate Academy of Social Sciences


INTRODUCTION
1. THE URGENCY OF RESEARCH ISSUES
1.1. Our party and state have implemented strong policies to promote foreign
language learning in schools. However, at present, according to the overall
assessment, the foreign language capacity of Vietnamese is limited.
Equipping themselves with a foreign language to meet integration trends and
to become a global citizen is still spontaneous. In addition to the issues of
policies and social needs, we believe that foreign language learning and its
effectiveness and quality depend on many factors, including social factors.
However, up to now, there has been almost no research on the influence of
social factors on the results of foreign language learning, and French
language learning of Vietnamese students.
1.2. Currently, English has become the global language and the number one
foreign language in the world, including Vietnam. This foreign language is
taught popularly in all schools and used widely in cultural and social life. Some
other foreign languages are also relatively developed in our country today like
German, Japanese, etc. However, this is not the case for French. Being one of
88 official members of the Francophone Community, however, French is
losing its position in our country, the quality and results of learning this foreign

language are not adequate. Up to now, there has been no comprehensive
research on factors affecting French competence (FC) of learners in general
and students in particular in Vietnam as well as in the world.
1.3. Reviewing the previous research, we found that there was relatively lots of
research mentioning the importance of foreign language learning, discussing
methods to teach each foreign language, and specific skills. In addition to that,
there were many studies on foreign language competence (FLC) in general
and FC in particular, however they all research for teaching methods or foreign
language assessment. Studying FLC in a relationship with social factors is
almost not available. In other words, there have been no works concerning the
role or impact of social factors on the development of FLC. It is an unfortunate
absence because the practice of teaching and learning foreign languages
confirms that social factors have a significant impact on the process of
formation and development of FLC of learners, especially in the context of
fierce competition among foreign languages today. Choosing the topic thesis
French competence of high school students influenced by social factors: the
case study in Hanoi-Amsterdam High School for Gifted and Chu Van An
High School is the author's wish to fill "the gap".
2. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AND TASKS
2.1. Research objectives

1


By studying actual FC of high school students in some specialized
schools in Hanoi and clarifying the impact of social factors on the
competence of these students, the thesis aims to help improve FC for students
and redefine the status of this foreign language in our education system as
well as in our social life. In addition to that, the findings of the thesis
contribute to making appropriate foreign language policies in Vietnam.

2.2. Research tasks
1/ To study theoretical model related to the thesis: Systematize theories
about socio-linguistics: linguistic competence (LC), communicative
competence (CC), linguistic variables, social variables and the relationship
between linguistic variables and social ones; The theory of a framework
describing LC: the Common European Framework of Reference for
languages and Vietnamese foreign language competence framework. 2/ To
investigate the reality of FC of specialized high school students and bilingual
high school students. 3/To figure out social factors impacting on LC of
specialized and bilingual high school students in Hanoi.
3. RESEARCH SUBJECTS AND SCOPE
3.1. Research subjects: Research subjects of the thesis are social factors
impacting on FC of specialized and bilingual high school students in Hanoi.
3.2. Research scope: Due to the limited capacity of the thesis, only 333
samples of students of bilingual and specialized French classes in HanoiAmsterdam High School for Gifted and Chu Van An High School are studied.
Other subjects in other schools will be investigatied in another study.
4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES
The thesis uses some methods such as data collection methods
(quantitative methods, qualitative methods), data analysis methods, Research
materials' desk review methods, statistical, compare, and contrast methods.
5.THE THESIS' CONTRIBUTIONS: It is the first thesis in Vietnam
studies linguistic competence in general and French competence in
particular from the perspective of sociolinguistics. The thesis has made
the following new points: Describe the reality of French competence of
high school students in specialized and bilingual classes in Hanoi; Figure
out social factors affecting high school students' French competence.
6. THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCES OF THE THESIS
6.1. Theoretical contributions: To contribute to the sociolinguistics an
additional study on factors impacting the FC in particular and FLC in general;
to test some hypotheses for the relationship between some social variables

(gender, age, family and social conditions, etc.) and linguistic variable (FLC).
6.2. Practical contribution: To provide the education sector and the French
training program an overall picture of the reality of FC of high school

2


students studying the 12 year-intensive French program; From the results of
the analysis of social factors affecting students' FC such as gender, age,
family, society, etc., the study provides educators and policymakers
additional evidence to make realistic teaching strategies and policies. It
makes the pivotal contribution in promoting the process of French teaching
and learning in particular and foreign language teaching and learning in
general in Vietnam to achieve the best outcomes. One more vital practical
contribution of the thesis is affirming the position of French in Vietnam in
real life. French is interested in not only educators, policymakers but also
researchers. Not only educators and policymakers but also scientific
researchers are interested in French.
6. Structure of the thesis
The thesis includes three chapters (excluding the introduction,
conclusion, list of the published works relating to the thesis, references, and
indexes) including Chapter 1: Literature review and theoretical background;
Chapter 2: Description of high school students' FC; Chapter 3: Social factors
affecting the FC of high school students.
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
1.1.1. Research situation of linguistic competence
1.1.1.1. International Research situation
Chomsky (1965) mentioned the concept of LC and accordingly, it is
also grammatical competence (GC). The author used the term LC to clarify
the difference between linguistic competence and linguistic performance and

he said that the research subject of linguistics is linguistic competence rather
than speech or linguistic behavior. Halliday (1970, 1972) also referred to LC
but he approached LC in a sociological semantic way. He argued that it was
necessary to put a language in its context to understand the functions of a
grammar structure fully. The council of Ministers of Education, Canada
(CMEC) (2013) also used the concept of LC and has a view that is close to
Chomsky's view. Besides, CMEC mentioned the assessment of LC and
suggested that it is necessary to base on the four basic skills of learning a
foreign language including listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Hymes
(1971) argued that knowledge of the language of a language is not limited to
grammar rules but requires knowledge of psychology and society. He called
it as CC. Widdowson shared the same views with Hymes. He believed that
the CC of a speaker includes both his/her understanding of the system of
grammar rules and the rules that enables a speaker to use them
inappropriately in certain social situations. Canale and Swain (1980), and
Savignon (1983) all mentioned CC and they shared relatively similar views
that CC includes GC, sociolinguistic competence (SLC), strategic

3


competence (SC), and discourse competence (DC). Bachman (1990) also
referred to CC and suggested that it comprised two main components:
organization competence (GC, DC); pragmatic competence (PC) including
(SLC and illocutionary competence). Rivers (1973) argued that the process of
language learning was the process lasting from practicing structures in a
controlled way to using language creatively in communication. Although he
did not directly mention to two concepts of LC and CC, he implicitly referred
to CC However, the author did not specify what elements included in
CC. According to The Common European Framework of Reference:

Learning, Teaching, and Assessing abbreviated to CEFR or CEF (2001), CC
includes 3 basic components which are as follows LC, SLC, and PC.
In this group of points of view, the authors have different interpretations
and approaches to CC. However, most of the authors share the same opinion
that CC encompasses LC. We temporarily consider this as a point of view of
modern school.
1.1.1.2. Research situation in Vietnam
Nguyen Van Khang (1999) agreed with Dell Hymes's views on the
categories of CC and also said that GC is a constituent element of CC. Do Ba
Quy (2005,2009) believed that the goal of language learning in general and
foreign language learning in particular is CC, not limited to GC and LC.
Because if the learners have only knowledge of the language, it is not enough
for them to communicate effectively. The author said that CC was made up of
three components including the knowledge competence about the world, LC,
and communicative SC. Du Ngoc Ngan (2016) said that the goal of forming
CC for learners was given top priority, even, a question is whether or not to pay
attention explicitly to grammar. Thua Thien Hue Department of Education and
Traning (2009) used the concept of CC to express communication skills:
listening- speaking-reading-writing. Meanwhile, The Ministry of Education
and Training (2009,2010) used both concepts of CC and LC.
Reviewing the research works of Vietnamese and foreign authors, we
believe that there are different points of view on LC and CC. In which, there
are two main following trends: (1) to consider LC and CC as two
independent, equivalent categories, none of two belongs to each other./ (2)LC
is one of the constituent elements of CC. Nevertheless, most of the views of
Vietnamese and foreign authors are inclined to the second one. This fact
shows that for foreign language teaching in general and French teaching in
particular, following the communication way is the most pivotal and core
task. Assessment of learners' FLC should follow that direction.
1.1.2. Works studying French competence

1.1.2.1. International research situation

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In the 1990s, The European Council issued the Common European
Framework of Reference (CEFR) to build LC assessment systems including
French. The Center for Canadian Language assessment- Centre des niveaux
de compétence linguistique canadiens (2006) studied the French language
program for immigrants. CMEC (2013) announced a research program on
LC for effective French language teaching. Most of these studies belong to
the language development policies of countries, areas, and regions.
Rouhollah Rahmatian (1996) studied FC acquisition of Iranian students. The
research direction is a comparison between French and Persian in some
specific elements such as phrases nouns, and verbs. It is a thesis on theories
of foreign language teaching and learning. Maarit Mutta (1999) studied
French vocabulary competence of Finnish students. The thesis studied how to
express ideas in writing for French learners. The author showed that the best
way to achieve French vocabulary competence is to learn in natural French
environments and French training places. Thus, being research on teaching
methodology, however, it also mentioned social factors affecting FC such as
the natural French environments and French training places.
1.1.2.2. Research situation in Vietnam.
Nguyen Phuong Nga (2012) studied the development of verbal
expression skills for bilingual students in Primary School. The author was
interested in how to find interest and motivation for speaking skills for
students in grades 4 and 5. Nguyen Viet Anh (2012) researched on testing
and evaluation French writing competence in the universities of foreign
languages in Vietnam. The author analyzed the current situation of
assessment of French writing competence of students in universities of

foreign languages and built a reference framework to evaluate writing
competence in the direction of writing competence development. Both
studies mentioned issues of French teaching and learning methods, Pedagogy.
Reviewing Vietnamese and international works shows that the topic of
FC has been interested in many authors. However, their studies mentioned
either macro issues or specific skills like writing speaking, grammar,
vocabulary, etc. No study researched on all four skills: listening-speakingreading-writing. The previous studies followed the direction of pedagogy and
method of teaching and evaluating etc. There has not been any research on
FC from the perspective of sociolinguistics. No study mentioned to social
factors affecting FC.
1.1.3. Research situation of assessing linguistic competence
1.1.3.1. Assessment of Vietnamese competence
Vu Thi Thanh Huong (2006) argued that to achieve the top goal of
teaching Vietnamese in schools, it is necessary to train students to master all

5


four skills including listening-speaking-reading-writing. Assessment of
Vietnamese competence in particular and LC, in general, should base on
these four basic skills. Nguyen Thi Hien (2014) believed that assessment of
students' Vietnamese competence does not mean that to judge whether the
children understand or misunderstand the meanings of words, be able to
distinguish compound words and reduplicative, able to create grammatical
combinations but to assess whether they can use that learned words in their
communication activities. Thus, in her opinion, to assess the competence of
students has to base on not only LC but also CC. Hoang Quoc (2015) argued
that LC can be approached from four basic skills and some of them can be
further divided into sub-skills such as listening comprehension without
speaking; listening comprehension and speaking; listening comprehension

and writing; speaking and writing. In his opinion, the assessment of students'
competence has to base on four skills: listening-speaking-reading-writing.
1.1.3.2.Assessment of foreign languages
Nguyen Phuong Nga (2012) argued that to assess FC, it is necessary to
focus on skills such as listening- speaking-reading-writing. Nguyen Mai
Huong (2013) and Pham Thu Ha (2017) stated that we should assess
students' English competence in four skills: listening-speaking-readingwriting. Vu Thi Thanh Huong also agreed that to study students' FLC, it is
necessary to base on four skills: listening- speaking- reading- writing. For her,
we can apply the same approach of assessment for teachers' FLC. The
Department of Education and Training of Thua Thien Hue (2009) asserted
that it is necessary to have a comprehensive assessment of communication
skills: listening-speaking-reading-writing and linguistic knowledge.The
Ministry of Education and Training (2009, 2010) discussed both categories of
LC and CC in the teaching content but to assess students' competence, there
is no separation but integration into main contents such as listening-speakingreading-writing- linguistic knowledge.
The research situation shows that some studies discusses concepts of LC
and CC while some studies only mentions how to assess competence.
It also shows that most studies are about English competence. In
addition, their approaches are teaching methodolody. Research on foreign
languages especially French from sociolinguistic approach are very rare.
1.1.4. Research situation of factors affecting foreign language competence
1.1.4.1. International research situation
There are many authors mention factors affecting language acquisition or
FLC for example: José - Luis Wofls (2001) referred to factors affecting
competence (learning orientation, attribute factors of success or failure, support
strategies - concentration and time management, motivation và emotional

6

factors, characteristics of adolescence. David Singleton (2003) presented the
age factor in acquiring the second language; Grzegors Markowski (2008)
studied the influence of age on young learners with attitudes in the process of
foreign language learning. Daniel Véronnique (2009) referred several factors in
acquiring a foreign language (learners's knowledge and skills, language
exposure, source and target languages, age at the critical time, context). These
authors only discusses or points out the relationship among these factors but
not clarify relationship beween these factors with learning results. Following
are research findings of other reseachers that have clarified the relationship
between social factors and learners' FLC.
Janet Atlan (1997, 2000) emphasized on learning strategy. It is considered
as factors affecting the process of foreign language perception of learners.
His study was based on a diagram of variables related to foreign language
learning by Naiman et al. (1978) and Skehan (1989). Accordingly, there are
five groups of variables including three independent groups of variables
(classes- facilities, learners and context), and two dependent groups of variables
(learning activities and results). The learner factor is expressed in differences in
cognition, emotion and social culture. The differences in emotion are expressed
in the following characteristics: individual (personality), attitude, motivation
and the difference in social culture are expressed in age, gender and previous
education. The contextual factor is expressed in the social context and language
practice. The social context is expressed in the following characteristics: the
achievement of effectiveness, the relationship with the target community, the
attitude to the target language, the social class. Language practice is done by
approaching native speakers in or outside classroom, using language to
communicate, and use language with negotiation. Two dependent variables
mentioned by the author are learning activities, and the learning results or the
learners' competence. Janet Atlan (2000) also considered whether the
application of this learning strategy was affected by Information technology
(IT) or communication. The author did not aim to study the influence of

technological factors on students' FLC but showed that IT affected the way
learners perform learning activities. Maarti Mutta (1999) argued that the best
way to achieve French vocabulary competence for Finnish students is to study
in a natural French environment or French training places. Jane Arnold (2006)
cited many experts' comments on language teaching when he mentioned the
emotional factor and its representative aspects such as motivation (Dörnyei
2001b, 2005; Lorenzo 2004); attitude (MacIntyre và Charos, 1996), selfrespect (de Andrés, 1999); collaborative learning (Casal, 2002); individual
differences (Oxford và Ehrman, 1993, Reid, 1995, Fonseca, 2005) and worries
(Horwitz, Horwitz et Cope, 1986, Rubio, 2004, Young, 1999). The author

7


pointed out two groups of emotional factors affecting foreign language learning
including negative factors (worries, inhibition, etc.,)/positive factors (selfrespect/confident; attitude/trust; learning method, etc.,). It is research on
learning methodology. The author added that factors outside the classroom
such as social factors and individual factors needed to be paid attention to.The
Common European Framework of Reference (the European Council, 2000)
also recognized the importance of emotional factors for foreign language
learning. Timuc Mirela (2016) was based on Daniel Véronique's theoretical
background of factors mentioned above, presented experiences of himself such
as children should learn foreign languages early, about at the age of seven. To
have opportunities to come to France for language experience and to contact
the local people play a pivotal role in improving one's French capacity.
Danielle Savard (2019) asserted that motivation and age play a vital role in
foreign language learning. The application of technology in the classroom such
as the provision of audio, video, graphics, etc. and other factors create the
dynamism and excitement for students. Besides, the author mentioned other
factors like the prestige of the language, gender, motivation, or personal factors.
In summary, almost no work studies social factors but most of the

previous works focus on factors of teaching methodology.
1.1.4.2. Research situation in Vietnam
Nguyen Van Khang (1999) evaluated LC of the learners from a
communication perspective and asserted that the "communication level of
each person depends on relationships such as family background, his or her
social experience, and real needs". Vu Thanh Huong (2013) showed factors
affecting students' foreign language learning such as lack of practice
opportunities, inappropriate teaching methods of teachers, crowed classes,
high tuition fees. Nguyen Lan Trung (2015) said that factors affecting foreign
language learners were age, gender, origin, culture, demand, family
background, financial conditions, social conditions, etc. Hoang Quoc (2015)
argued that family factors or family care facilitate students' learning and
living, and the educational environment has a significant influence on
students' LC. a new point shown by this author is that the gender factor has
an impact on LC. Specifically, for Vietnamese students with Chinese origin,
Vietnamese and Chinese competence of male students is better than female
ones. The author also mentioned age, but from a different perspective, due to
the influence of family factors, self- awareness of the mother tongue,
different ages have different FLC of different languages.
Some other studies do not directly mention the factors affecting foreign
language learning but indirectly through learning motivation.

8


Nguyen Phuong Nga (2012) believed that students' motivation was
affected by factors: classrooms, schools, life, society. However, the author
focused on four factors that determine the Vietnamese students' motivation
for foreign language learning as following teaching, age of learners,
education culture, and family. In the education innovation program that

considers the learners as the center, the Ministry of Education and Training
also focused on self- study factor of students. Bui Ngoc Quang (2016) argued
that three factors of self-study are awareness, attitude, and method. Studying
the Russian-English bilingual field, the author especially emphasized the
average number of hours of self-study in a day of students.
An overview of the studies of factors affecting FLC in general and FC in
particular shows that there are many international and Vietnamese authors
mentioning this issue. Nevertheless, most of works studies teaching
methodology factors. Those are the basic factors as follows learning
orientation, anxiety, success or failure, support strategies, concentration and
time management, learning motivation and emotional factors, gender, age,
origin, social class, attitude, living evironment, social condition, class
facitities, crowded classess, high tuition fees, etc. Thus these studies pointed
out social factors but not clear, and they did not follow the research direction
of sociolinguistics. These will be an vital theoretical frameworks that help the
thesis complete the direction of research on social factors affecting French
learning results of high school students.
1.2.
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
1.2.1. Theoretical issues of Sociolinguistics
1.2.1.1. The concepts of "Linguistics competence" and "communicative competence"
Chomsky's view: Chomsky (1957) argued that "LC is a inherent
biological potentiality of humanity; it is made up of a set of rules (grammar
knowlege) that allows individuals to creat countless linguistics formations".
From this perspective, he only mentioned ideal speakers/listeners in a
homogeneous language community, based on judments about grammaticality.
His view was criticized by applied linguist and sociolinguist such as Campbell
& Wales (1970) and Hymes (1972); Campbell & Wales's view: Campbell &
Wales (1970) claimed that Chomsky's view was relatively narrow and called it
as GC. Hymes (1972) and Campbell & Wales (1970) were the first people to

point out that the distinction between LC and linguistic performance did not
take into account the appropriateness of the social-cultural meaning of an
utterance in a situation and speech context in which it was used. From that
point, the authors proposed a broader concept as CC . CC includes the
following components (1) GC and (2) contextual competence or SLC; Hymes '
view: Hymes (1971) stated that knowledge of a language was not limited in

9


grammatical rules but also included psychological and social knowledge. He
gives the concept of CC with the implication there is only linguistic knowledge
but also knowledge of a set of code of sociolinguistics or contextual
competence and (2) GC or LC; Widdowson's view: he believed that CC of
speakers included both an understanding of the grammatical rule system to
create correct sentences, and an understanding of the rules that make it possible
for the speakers to use them appropriately to perform rhetoric behaviors in
certain social contexts. To clarify the concept of CC, Widdowson (1983) made
a distinction between competence and capacity. In this respect, he defined
competence as CC. That means knowledge of the rules of linguistics and
sociolinguistics. Capacity, usually means procedural or communicative
capacity, is understood as the ability to use knowledge as a means of creating
meaning in a language; Canale and Swain's view': Canale and Swain
(1980,1981) argued that GC was related to mastering linguistic codes including
knowledge of vocabulary as well as knowledge of morphology, syntax,
semantics, phonetics and orthographic rules. This competence enabled
speakers to use the knowledge and skills necessary for understanding and
expressing the meaning of utterances. Canale and swain defined "CC is a
synthesis of an underlying system of knowledge and skill needed for
communication." Innitially, Canale and Swain (1980) proposed a model of CC

with three main components: GC, SLC , SC. In the next version of that model,
authors had changed some factors from SLC into DC and proposed a model of
CC with four components:GC, SLC, SC, DC, Savignon's view: Savignon
(1972,1983) paid special attention to the ability aspect for the concept of CC.
The author described CC as "capacity to operate in a real communication
environment, that means in a dynamic exchange where LC has to adapt to all
linguistic and sub-linguistic data of one or many people engaging in
communication" (Savignon, 1972:8). The author put CC equivalent to
"language proficiency". Savignon did not give a specific concept or model of
CC, the author is mainly inclined to describe the properties of CC; he view of
Bachman and Palmer: Bachman (1990) proposed a new term that is
"communicative language ability" (CLA) instead of CC. CLA is a combination
of two concepts "CC" and "language proficiency" suggested by Savignon
(1972,1983). Bachman (1990) defined CLA is a concept including knowledge
or competence and the ability to use knowledge of communicative language
appropriately in a context. He suggested a model of CLA with three main
components: LC, SC, and physiological-psychological mechanism. Bachman
and Palmer (1996) used a term, which is a linguistic ability (LA). The model of
LC includes two components: linguistic knowledge and SC. This new model
has no difference from Bachman's (1990) but the term "competence" has been

10


replaced by "knowledge"; CEFR's View: This is a model that is intended for
assessment as well as for learning and teaching languages. Accordingly, CC is
only formed in the form of "knowledge" with three basic components: LC,
SLC, PC refers to the knowledge and ability to use linguistic resources to form
well-structured messages. LC includes basic factors of communication, SLC is
the knowledge and skill needed to use language appropriately in social

contexts. PC is a component related to learners' knowledge about principles
that the messages are expressed through three elements: DC, Functional
competence, and Planning competence. The difference in the theoretical
frameworks and the LC models offered by the researchers are not antagonistic
but complementary. The concepts of LC and CC have been improved and
clarified to adapt to its linguistic contexts. Therefore, many different terms are
coexisting with the term CC such as language proficiency, CLA, etc. The
definition all are aimed at knowledge and ability and skills in communication.
The thesis approaches this view of researchers, the description of students'FC
will be in the direction of CC description.
1.2.1.2. The concepts of "linguistic variables" and "social variables"
According to Nguyen Van Khang's opinion (2014), social variables are
variables with values expressed by social factors that need to be considered
when studying languages. Social variables are social factors such as age,
gender, jobs, social status (political, economic), eduacation, etc.; linguistic
variables are variables with values expressed by language, often considered
as a unit. Each linguistic variable may consist of one or more variants. Social
variables are considered as independent ones and linguistic variables are
dependent ones. Independent variables are variables used to explain for
dependent ones. In other words, social variables will affect linguistic
variables, which can lead to changes in languages whose manifestation is the
apprearance of variants. The thesis studies social factors affecting FC of high
school students, linguistic variables are defined as FC of students and social
variables are social factors such as individual, family, social- culture.
1.2.2. The concept of linguistic competence description framework
In our country, to assess FLC in general and FC in particular, the Ministry
of Education and Trainning uses the Common European Framework of
Reference and the Vietnamese framework of Foreign language Competence.
1.2.2.1. The European Reference Framework
The European Reference Framework (The Common European

Framework of Reference for Languages: learning, teaching, and
assessment). One of the goals of CEFR is standardized the second language
proficiency of learners. CEFR is a set of scales evaluated as the most
comprehensive and detailed set of scales of all foreign language proficiency scales

11


ever. CEFR has a reference framework with the 3-grade model of 6 levels: A (basis
user) (A1, A2); B (Independent user) (B1, B2); C (proficient user) (C1, C2)
1.2.2.2. The Vietnamese Framework of foreign language competence
The Vietnamese Framework of foreign language competence
(VFFLC) was issued in 2014 under the Circular No.01/2014/TT-BGDĐT of
The Ministry of Education and Training. Accordingly, VFFLC is built based
on reference, application of CEFR combined with the current situation, and
the real context of teaching, learning and using foreign languages in Vietnam.
VFFLC includes three grades (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced) and six
levels (from level 1 to level 6). These six levels are equivalent to levels from
A1 to C2 of the Common European Framework of Reference.
The conclusion of chapter 1
After studying the research on factors affecting students' foreign language
competence, the thesis identifies social factors which are suitable to the
research direction of sociolinguistics as follows: individual characteristics (age,
gender, motivation, attitude, personal experience and time to start learning
foreign languages); family characteristics (family with family member
speaking French, family communication, and the attitude and orientation of the
family); socio-cultural characteristics (communication with foreigners, IT
application, social conditions, job opportunities). Additionally, in chapter 1,
analysis of sociolinguistic theories related to the approaches of the thesis such
as LC, CC; linguistic variables, and social variables both clarifies the theories

of sociolinguistics and theoretical issues related to the thesis.
CHAPTER 2: DESCRIPTION OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS'
FRENCH COMPETENCE
2.1. DESCRIPTION OF THE SAMPLE
2.1.1. Individual characteristics.
The sample chosen was 333 high school students in bilingual and
specialized French classes in Hanoi-Amsterdam High School for Gifted and
Chu Van An High School. The sample ensures uniformity and similarity in
learning level as well as learning conditions and time. Male students (128
accounts for 38.4%). Female students (205 make up 61,6%).The statistics
show that most of the students have learned French from primary school,
accounting for 82.3%. The number of students who knew French before
entering grade 1 made up 15.6%. Two-thirds of the students surveyed said
that the choice of French was because of the family's orientation with 63.7%;
Favorite (26.4%); Job opportunities (30.3%); Compulsory subjects (11.4%);
Other reasons (Like music, movies, easy to learn, etc.) (18.3%)
2.1.2. Family characteristics

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According to the statistics, there are nearly 60% of students whose family
have french speaking people. For example: grandparents (19.2%); parents
(24,8%); siblings (30.8%) and others (25,3%). This shows a certain connection
between this language choice and the family situation. Most of the students
interviewed said that choosing French is family's orientation, in which most of
them from parents with 85.3%. The survey results show that the biggest reason,
accounting for 50.5% for families choose French for their children is because
French has "a low competition rate" compared to other foreign languages,
followed by to go to French to study. Other reasons such as favorite, family

with family members speaking French, etc. all have negligible proportions.
2.2. HIGH SCHOOLSTUDENTS' FRENCH COMPETENCEBASEDONSKILLS
2.2.1. Listening skills (listening comprehension)
In students' opinions, listening comprehension activities are relatively
limited. The rate of students choosing listening comprehension at a normal
level is the highest (48%). The second belongs to the relatively frequent level
(26,2%). The lowest is infrequent level (6.9%). 4/5 students said the biggest
difficulty is the native speakers' speaking speed, the second is a vocabulary
problem. Regarding the academic results, more than 50% of students
achieved the relatively good level. The number of students got average marks
ranking the second, counted for 33%. The level of excellence and weak are
not significant, respectively 3.3% and 4.8%. The statistics indicate that there
is no influence of age on listening competence. However, the rate of male
students achieves good and excellent level is much higher than that of female
students. The vast majority of students recognize that listening
comprehension is important and very important.
2.2.2 Speaking skills
The result of students' valuation about the communicative level as
follows: 39% is at a normal level; 26,4% is relatively infrequent and 16.8% is
infrequent. Most of the students said that French communication is the most
common in extracurricular activities, followed by ones in clubs and in break
time. This can be further explained by the results of the qualitative survey.
They mainly interact with Vietnamese teachers because there is no learning
class with experts at schools. Thus, there are 136/198 students whose family
members can speak French, have communicative activities in French in this
environment. Of which, the number of the students communicate with
siblings is the biggest, accounting for (58.1%), the second belongs to the rate
of the student communicating with parents (32.4%), and the rate of the
students who communicate with grandparents is not significant (15%). The
results of the qualitative survey contribute to further clarify this issue. The

statistics show that nearly 90% of the students participate in communicative

13


activities in French in society outside classrooms. The most popular places to
visit are the French cultural centers, then the places organizing events in
French, tourist destinations where there are many foreign visitors, or the
French Embassy, French agencies. The vast majority of students answered
that they communicated with people speaking French (74.8%), and the
smallest number is the students who communicate with people who work in
French agencies (16.7%). The number of students who actively communicate
with tourists is also relatively high, accounting for 50%. The surveyed
students all said that most of their results were relatively good, then, the
second was the average. There is not much difference in age, however, there
is a gender difference in the achieved score. The proportion of male students
with excellent and good grades is higher than that of female students.
2.2.1. Reading skills (Reading comprehension)
Regarding the level of comprehension for reading skills, most of the
students said that they understood most of the readings (53,5%), followed by
the number of the students said that they understood only one part of the
readings (29,1%). 16,2% of students said that they nearly fully understood
readings. Very few students said they understood only little of the readings.
Statistics show that there is no difference in age in terms of reading
comprehension, however, there is a difference in gender at the highest level
that nearly fully understands. The percentage of male students at this level is
higher than that of female students. Almost 50% of students said that they
read books, newspapers, and stories in French on the occasional level; 22.4%
of students thought they hardly did. and 16,2% admitted that they did with a
moderate level. The number of students who said they did not do this activity

is very small (9%), and the number of students said they read a lot is
negligible (1.5%). The majority of the students thought that the most difficult
task for reading comprehension is new words, then phrases (idioms, habitual
collocations, etc.). The percentage of female students facing difficulties in
new words and phrases is higher than that of male students, whereas, for
cultural difficulties, the percentage of male students is higher. The statistics
by age and gender both indicate that the percentage of the students choosing
the relatively good marks is the highest, accounting for 60%, whereas the
number of students to choose the good marks occupies approximately 20%.
The very small number belongs to the number of students choosing average
and excellent marks. The data by age shows that the higher class, the lower
the percentage of the students who get average marks, however, the
percentage of students in grade 12 who achieve excellent marks is the
highest. The data by age shows that there is an insignificant difference between
the proportion of male students choosing average marks and the female ones. It

14


is worth paying attention to that the rate of male students scoring at an excellent
level (5.5%) is much higher than that of female students (2.4%).
2.2.2. Writting skills
More than half of the students (53.8%) said that their French writing skills
were at normal level. The relatively frequent level and relatively infrequent
level is nearly equal to about 18%. The infrequent level has a low rate (6.9%)
and very frequent level is negligible (3%). The statistics show that the higher
class the students study the less the students write. The statistics also show that
the proportion of female students who write frequently is higher than the male
ones. The majority of the students said that the most difficult they have to face
is expression competence. It occupies more than 60%. and the next is

vocabulary, grammar, ideas and limited length. Accordingly, the difficulties by
age do not tend to increase or decrease. The surveyed data by age indicate that
female students tend to face more difficulties in all aspects, compared to the
male ones. Regarding the scores usually achieved, the percentage of the
students by age or gender, relatively good option is chosen most. The
percentage of students who score excellent or weak is very small. The statistics
by gender indicate that at all three levels: excellent, good and relatively good,
the percentage of male students is higher than the female ones.
2.3. GENERAL ASSESSMENT
The results of the survey show that the number of average scores with all
four skills is highest, from 55% to 60%. The proportion of the students who
said they often achieve relatively good scores is the highest, from 50% to 60%.
The results also indicate that the students achieving relatively good scores (7-8)
assessed themselves at a normal level.The number of excellent and good
students equivalent to the level of proficiency and relatively good occupies not
a high proportion. The above statistics are quite suitable for the information
collected from interviews with teachers. The statistics by age show that there is
no correlation between age with students' FC. There is a gender difference at
the highest scores. The rate of male students at a proficient and relatively good
level is higher than that of female students. This is especially correct to the
cases that have four skills at the proficient level. Similar results also achieved in
cases of excellent and good levels. The thesis' findings show that under almost
identical conditions, male students have better FC than female students have in
all four skills. This is considered as a new point of the thesis.
Analyzed data show that there are more than 50% of the students
achieve at least relatively good in all four skills, however, there is an
unbalance among those four skills. Reading comprehension skills are the best
while listening comprehension skills are the worst. Speaking and writing
skills are at an average level and there is an unclear difference between them.

15


The statistical results show that, out of 333 students, only 127 ones have B1
or higher certificates, accounting for 38.1%. This result is explained by the
fact that not many students in grades 10 and 11 have taken exams. Students
in grade 10 who are going to complete a high school program and will enroll
in Universities at home and abroad so they have to take more exams. For
example: grade 10 (29,8%); grade 11 (36,4%); grade12 (54,1%). Thus,
According to the statistics, 54.1% of grade 12 students, or in other words,
students finishing high school, achieves B1 Certificate or higher, meets output
standards required by the Ministry of Education and Training. Based on
quantitative and qualitative results, we find that students in French and
bilingual classes basically meet the objectives of the Ministry of Education and
Training in terms of FC They achieve level 3 of VFFLC and level B1 of CEFR.
The conclusion of chapter 2
The research results are consistent with the thesis hypothesis that the
actual competence of specialized French and bilingual high school students in
Hanoi meets the requirements of the Ministry of Education and Training.
These results are useful for policymakers and educators. It points out that
students who are in such a good and favorable social environment, their
French learning results will meet the requirements of the Ministry of
Education and Training and international standards. Hence, to improve the
FC of students in different regions, training systems, policymakers, and
educators have to pay special attention to factors of the social environment.
This is one of the pivotal issues determined by learners' FLC. Additionally,
FC of high school students is described through four basic skills in the
relationship with age, gender. This will help educators have useful
information. Then they can adjust teaching methods as well as have
appropriate approaches for each student. An overall assessment of

competence of four skills indicates the current studying levels of surveyed
students that is the fact that their reading comprehension skills are the best,
and their listening comprehension skills are the worst. Based on that, teachers
will have specific directions to help students to promote good points and
overcome their shortcomings. The survey results point out that male students
have better FC than female students. This finding can help test
sociolinguistics’ assumptions of the relationship between social variable
(gender) and linguistic variable (FC). It is considered as a new research point
of the thesis and offers sociolinguist new research direction.
CHAPTER 3: SOCIAL FACTORS AFFECTING HIGHSHOOL
STUDENTS'FRENCH COMPETENCE
A research question of chapter 3 is: what are social factors affecting the
FC of specialized French and bilingual high school students in Hanoi? To

16


answer this question, we hypothesize that social factor such as individual,
family, social culture affecting FC of highschool students. Social variables
such as: individual (age, gender, motivation, attitude, personal experience and
time to start to learn foreign languages of students); family (families with
people speaking French, family communication, attitude and orientation of
the family toward students' French learning); sociocultural (communicate
with foreigners, IT aplication, social conditions, Job opportunites). Linguistic
variables in this study are defined as FC. FC of the students is considered
based on their achievements in all four skills including listening-speakingreading-writing as mentioned above. Students who achieve at least relatively
good (realtively good, good, excellent levels) are considered to have
relatively good FC. The statistics show that there are 163/333 students
achieving at least the relatively good level in all four skills including
listening-speaking-reading-writing, occupying 48.9%.

3.1. PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS
The analyzed data in this chapter once again indicates that the
percentage of male students achieving at least relatively good marks in all
four skills is higher than that of female students and there is no relationship
between the age of students with FC. Together with the findings of chapter 2,
we believe that gender and age factors will not need to be mentioned in this
chapter once the results are clear. Therefore, in this part, personal
characteristics factors only are considered as the following variables: time to
start learning foreign languages, motivation, attitude, and personal experience.
3.1.1. The impact of factors of the time to start learning foreign
languages on the highschool students'French competence
As mentioned above, age is one of the factors considered to have an
impact on foreign language learning outcomes. Excluding works researching
on age from a methodology perspective, many works research on age
characteristics and the role of early foreign language learning clarify this
issue. Penfield and Roberts (1999) pointed out that children under 9 are
capable of learning many languages and fully perceive their linguistic
functions; Nguyen Duc Dan (2011) asserted that Vietnamese children should
learn foreign languages very early; Nguyen Anh Tu (2013) agreed with
Wilder Penfield (1959) and said: "the young but flexible brains of children
help children learn a and other subjects in an easy way that adults do not
have". In our country, the intensive French-Vietnamese bilingual programs
start in grade 1, however, students surveyed have different times of starting
learning French. The statistics show that the earlier students learn French, the
higher the percentage of learning outcomes that is at least a relatively good
level in four skills. For example (before Primary: 59.9%; Primary: 17.1%,

17

Secondary school 42.9%). Thus, the factor of starting time to learn French has
a remarkable influence on the learning outcomes of the students. This finding
contributes to an additional scientific argument supporting the researchers'view
that is children should learn foreign languages as soon as possible.
3.1.2. The impact of factors such as the high school students' motivation,
attitude on their French competence
Many authors believed that motivation and attitude factors are important
ones affecting learners' outcomes. The results of the survey show that the
number of the group of students learning French for favorite achieved a
relatively good result or higher 1.4 times higher than that of the non-favorite
group (61.4% compared to 44.5%). In the relationship to learning motivation
and the attitude, researchers also mentioned the attitude of self-study or selfstudy strategy. Preliminary data show that 92.8% of the students have selfconsciousness of self-study. Among those, they have different amounts of
self-study, for example, less than 30 minutes, from 30 minutes to 1 hour,
from 1 hour to 2 hours, more than 2 hours a day. To investigate how selfstudy attitude at home affects the outcome of learning French, a new variable
of students' self-study time is considered at the following levels: 0h/ less than
30 minutes to 1hour/ 1hour and more. The statistics show that the more selfstudy hours the higher rate of students achieves at least relatively good
outcomes. For example (more than 1hour accounts for 63.6%, from less than
30 minutes to 1hour make up 49%; 0 hour is 41.7%). Some teachers
interviewed also said that FC was influenced by the students’ learning
language motivation. The results of quantitative and qualitative analysis point
out that the motivation factor (favorite) and self-study strategy (the number of
language studying time per day) affecting the students' FC.
3.1.3. The impact of personal experience factor on the French
competence of high school students
The personal experience factor is whether the students have been to
France or Francophone community countries. The statistics show that 57.5% of
the students have this experience. A new variable established is the group of
students who have been to France or French-speaking countries. Analyses of
the correlation between this variable with relatively good French competence
are conducted to see whether the experience affecting language learning

outcomes of students. Statistics show that students with this experience who
have relatively good French learning outcomes and higher ones also accounted
for a significantly higher percentage than the rest of the students (61.6 %
compared to 42.5%). Therefore, the personal experience factor that is
interacting with local people and living in a local environment plays a vital role

18


in learning foreign languages. This finding contributes to clarifying some
hypotheses as well as sociolinguistic research on personal characteristics.
3.2. FAMILY CHARACTERISTICS
3.2.1. The impact of the factor that is family with people who know
French on the high school students' French competence
According to the statistics, there are almost 60% of students who have
families with people who know French. The research results show that these
students with relatively good competence and higher also occupy a higher
percentage than the remaining group (55.6% compared to 39.3%). Students
whose families use French to communicate with a relatively good
competence and higher also accounted for a remarkably higher percentage,
more than 11,7 % higher percentage than students in the remaining group
(55.9% compared to 44.2%). They tend to communicate most with siblings.
The most frequent communication happens when they study, and then in
daily activities. The research results show that the percentage of students who
communicate French at home in these two situations and have a relatively
good competence and more is much higher than students without doing these
two activities. (according to the statistics, there are almost 60% of students
who have families with people who know French. The research results show
that these students with relatively good competence and higher also occupy a
higher percentage than the remaining group (55.6% compared to 39.3%).

Students whose families use French to communicate with a relatively good
competence and higher also accounted for a remarkably higher percentage,
more than 11,7 % higher percentage than students in the remaining group
(55.9% compared to 44.2%). They tend to communicate most with siblings.
The most frequent communication happens when they study, and then in daily
activities. The research results show that the percentage of students who
communicate French at home in these two situations and have a relatively good
competence and more is much higher than students without doing these two
activities. (communication while studying is 58.1% compared to 53.2% and
communication in daily activities is 61.5% compared to 53.6%). The research
results will open a new research direction for scholars, especially sociolinguists.
3.2.2. The impact of the family-oriented factor on high school students'
French competence
The family-oriented factor is defined as to love French and to study in
France. The research findings show that the students oriented by their
families to study French because of their love for French, with relatively
good competence and higher have a higher percentage than the other group.
(57.6% compared to 48%). The students oriented by their family to study
French for going to France to study with relatively good competence and

19


higher also have a significantly higher percentage than the other group
(64.4% compared to 41.9% (the difference is more than 1.5 times). Thus, the
research findings show that family orientation has a significant impact on the
FC of the high school students in specialized French and bilingual classes.
3.3. SOCIOCULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
3.3.1. The impact of the IT factor on high school students' French competence
International and Vietnamese studies such as works by Benson (2011),

Hafner (2014), Lai & Gu (2011); Nguyen Lan Trung (2005), Le Thi Thu Mai
and Pham Thị Tuyet Huong (2014), Nguyen Van Long (2009) pointed out the
positive impact of IT development on foreign language learning. In this study,
IT only is considered in some indicators such as watching movies,
entertainment channels, listening to music, radio, etc. Accordingly, a new
variable on students' use of IT is established including students who have used
at least 1 to 4 types mentioned above and those who have never used the
applications above. The correlation between this variable with students'
relatively good FC in all four skills is analyzed to examine the role of IT to the
students' French learning outcomes. The results of analyses show that students
who use IT such as watching movies, watching entertainment channels,
watching the news, listening to music or listening to the radio, their French
learning outcomes at a relatively good level or higher have a higher percentage
than the rest (49.5% compared to 42.9%). The students interviewed directly also
have the same opinion. This research finding is not only suitable for the current
situation but also consistent with the research argument of authors. The argument
is that IT has a significant influence on students' foreign language learning.
3.3.2. The impact of the social condition factor on the high school
students' French competence
In this part, the thesis focuses on investigating the relationship between
a social variable that is the availability of French materials via the level of
reading French books and the dependent variable that is students' FC.
Currently, in our country, the treasure of documents in French from ancient
times (the 19th century) remains significantly. It is a very favorable condition
for French-language learners. The analysis results show that the group of
students who read regularly, their results of learning French that is relatively
good and better in all four skills, also accounted for a higher percentage than
the group who did not read or occasionally read (64.4% compared to 45.6%).
Qualitative analyses also have the same result. Thus, the results of the survey
show that the social condition factor (the availability of materials in French)

also affects the high school students ' language learning.
3.3.3. The impact of the job-opportunities factor on the high school
students' competence

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In recent years, Vietnam and France have established many good
diplomatic relations, especially in economic and educational fields. Currently, in
our country, the job opportunities related to the French language for young
people are considered to have many advantages. The research results show
students who choose to study French for job opportunities, their French learning
outcomes at a relatively good level, and better in four skills also accounted for
higher proportion than the rest (62.4% compared to 43.1%). Therefore, the jobopportunity factor has an impact on high school students' French competence.
3.3.4. The impact of the factor of social communication with foreigners
on the high school students' competence
As mentioned above, the group of students with proactive social
communications is students who frequently use French in one of the places
such as tourist attractions, French cultural centers, and locations where events
organized in French, French Embassy, or French agencies in Vietnam. In
these locations, this group of students has the opportunity to speak with
tourists, friends from other French-speaking schools, people working in
French agencies in Vietnam, or people who know French. To understand the
relationship between using French for social communication with FC, we
establish a new variable on the "frequency of using French in society" of
students. The first group of students choosing options such as very often,
quite often, and often is the group of students with more communications; the
second group is the students who select the options such as rarely or no
communication. The analysis results show that students using French to
communicate more often in society with French competence at a relatively

good level or better level occupy a much higher percentage than students
who rarely or have no social communication (64.7% compared to 42%).
The number of students with the result of French learning at a relatively
good level or higher levels, use French in one of these locations, accounts for
twice as much as the group without this activity (52.4% compared to 25.6%).
The results of quantitative and qualitative analyses show that sociocultural factors affecting high school students' FC. Factors such as the
development and IT application or communicating with foreigners (French
people) were considered as factors affecting language learning competence by
some researchers whereas, factors as social conditions (availability of learning
documents) and job opportunities are almost unknown. It is a new contribution
to the thesis. This finding provides a new research direction on factors affecting
learners' FLC for scientists in general and sociolinguists in particular.
The conclusion of chapter 3
The study has pointed out the role of social factors such as personal
characteristics, family characteristics, and socio-cultural characteristics in

21


language learning. Therefore, educators and policymakers need to pay special
attention to these factors to develop students' LC. Then, the French learning
results of students in our country will be significantly improved and
completely meet the requirements of the Ministry of Education and Training
as well as international standards. The position of French will be restored in
the field of education as well as economic and socio-cultural activities in
Vietnam. Furthermore, to create positive motivations for learners, the Party
and the State also need to make appropriate policies for foreign language
teaching in general and French language teaching in particular. We would
like to propose some specific recommendations as follows: (1) It is necessary
to apply methods of teaching and learning foreign languages in the direction

of communication, taking learners as the center; (2) The factor as
communicating with foreigners has a positive influence on students' FC.
High schools should promote multifaceted cooperation with French language
centers in Vietnam, schools in France, or countries in the Francophone
community to conduct exchange programs. Schools and teachers should
organize regular extracurricular activities, clubs to improve communicative
skills, create opportunities for students to interact with foreigners and the
Francophone community; (3) To have the most effective teaching, teachers
need to equip IT skills to be able to widely apply IT to teaching French in the
teaching process and assessment. Additionally, it is necessary to establish a
program for teaching French online. These chapter findings will contribute a
new study to Sociolinguistics to test some hypotheses about the relationship
between social variables and linguistic variables. The contributions of the
thesis will be the basis for creating new approaches for the sociolinguistic
field. The thesis outcomes will be the basis for the scientist to refer and test.
CONCLUSION
The thesis provides an overall picture of the current situation of FC of
high school students studying 12-year intensive French programs and figures
out social factors affecting their FC. The research findings will contribute to
the sociolinguistic field and teaching methodology of certain values.
1. The thesis reviews the basic theories of sociolinguistics directly
related to the study on social factors affecting high school students' French
competence. From that, the thesis confirm the role of sociolinguistics in
language teaching in general and French teaching in particular. Additionally,
these findings will test more some hypotheses about the relationship between
social variables (gender, age, personal conditions, family, socio-cultural, etc.)
and the linguistic variable (FLC). Then, the thesis suggests new research
directions for sociolinguists. 2. The thesis provides an overall picture of FC
of high school students in specialized French and bilingual classes in schools

22


with the best studying conditions in Hanoi. Analysis results show that in such
favorable environments, students'FC not only meet output requirements of
the Ministry of Education and Training but also can reach international
standards. It will provide educators and policymakers additional evidence to
make realistic teaching strategies and policies. Then it makes the pivotal
contribution in promoting the process of teaching French in particular and
foreign languages in general in Vietnam to achieve the best outcomes. The
research findings also provide additional foundations to confirm that for
foreign language learning and teaching; a favorable environment is a very
important factor. With its research scope, the thesis has not provided an
overall picture of age, studying environments, etc. for all subjects studying
French, however, the thesis shows that to improve students' FC, especially in
the studying environment in Vietnam, it is necessary to pay attention to many
factors, including social factors. In addition to identifying positive factors, it
is also important to understand negative factors to make adjustments to suit
students' foreign language learning. The thesis is valuable research. It is the
first work providing the overall picture of the current situation FC of French
specialized and bilingual high school students in Vietnam. The findings will
open new research directions for the author of the thesis as well as others. 3.
Research findings show that the FC of high school students is influenced by
social factors with different levels. Firstly, for individual characteristics,
factors are considered to affect the high school students' French competence
of students are gender, age at which students start to study French, attitude,
and personal experience. Gender statistics show that there is no difference at
a relatively good level, however at a good level and especially an excellent
level, the percentage of male students is much higher than that of female
ones. It is considered as the first study making this point. The thesis also

points out that other factors of personal characteristics such as age at which
students start to study French, attitude/ motivation of learners, personal
experience all have a positive influence on students' FC. Students who learn
French early or choose to study French for their favorite, have good studying
strategy, have been to France or French-speaking countries, have French
learning outcomes at a relatively good level, and better in all four skills
occupy a significantly higher percentage than the other. These research
results are quite similar to the findings of previous studies. Students should
learn foreign languages as soon as possible, especially before reaching the
age of 7. Attitude and motivation have a significant impact on students'
learning and their learning results. This research result also makes a
contribution to confirming the positive influence of personal experience
factor (having opportunities to come to the country of the target language) on

23