8. Proposed stages in the process of learning Catalan

In view of the results, it would seem that the initial hypothesis on the stages in the process of learning Catalan needs reformulating. Following is one possible outline of the most characteristic stages as far as Moroccan students are concerned:

• First year of residence: acquiring a basic understanding of the most common Catalan phrases used in everyday life and in a school context. The progressive acquisition of ability to communicate in Catalan, even if not particularly grammatically correct, in strongly contextualized everyday situations.

• Second and third year of residence: progressively acquiring oral proficiency in conversational situations and narration of experiences. Maintenance of Spanish as an intermediary language which facilitates communication in Catalan, for its presence in situations unrelated to school: out in public, the media, etc. Restrictions still in place on other types of speech – the more formal and academic – which need more lexical variety, more specific terminology, etc.

• From three to five years of residence: consolidation of oral communication in subjects progressively more diverse and complex. Acquisition of proficiency in reading and writing of simple narrative and informative texts, at a functional literacy level.

• From five years onwards: acquisition of oral and written proficiency in a wide variety of types of speech and expository texts, which opens up opportunities for access to a formal educational environment in terms of relative equality with native students.

Lluís Maruny Curto. EAP del Baix Empordà. lmaruny@pie.xtec.es
Mònica Molina Domínguez. École Normale Supérieure, Université de Yaoundé, Camerun