The Role of English as a Second Language in Learning French as a Third Language: Learners’ Perceptions

Abstract

This study investigates the influence of English as a first foreign language (L2) on the acquisition of French as a second foreign language (L3) among students in Serbia. Drawing on both cognitive and typological perspectives, the research examines how proficiency in English impacts French learning, identifying both facilitative and obstructive effects. A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining theoretical analysis and a survey of two hundred and fifty high school and university students. Results indicate that English proficiency aids comprehension of written and spoken French, particularly in vocabulary acquisition, due to lexical similarities between the two languages. However, significant negative interference was observed in students’ oral expression, where English hindered their ability to achieve fluency in French. The study found no statistically significant correlation between the duration of French study and the degree of positive or negative interference from English. These findings underscore the complexity of cross-linguistic influences in multilingual education and highlight the need for tailored pedagogical strategies. Recommendations include enhancing oral communication skills, leveraging cross-linguistic similarities in vocabulary instruction, and fostering metalinguistic awareness to mitigate interference. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the interplay between L2 and L3 learning and provides practical implications for language educators.