THE USE OF FRENCH DESCRIPTIVE ADJECTIVES AMONG NIGERIAN FRENCH LANGUAGE LEARNERS: PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS

Abstract

We are motivated by the fact that the students of French in Nigerian universities, after travelling to French-speaking countries for a “year abroad programme”, often come back still with difficulty in writing correct French. This programme (a year abroad programme) is purposefully designed to
enable the second language learners interact with the native speakers of the language and thereby learn the proper use of the language. By the time the students come back, it is always observed that there is more improvement in their spoken French than in written French. That is to say that their
mastery of the French Grammar is inadequate and without which the students remain incapable of m king use of the language effectively. The use of French adjectives by Nigerian French learners is problematic in French grammar. The second language learner normally encounters two major
difficulties regarding the use of French adjectives. First, the position of a French adjective with respect to the noun it modifies, then the agreement of a French adjective with the noun it modifies. This paper explores the various positions of descriptive adjectives in French and also the agreement between the adjectives and the nouns they modify in order to enable the Nigerian French learners master their uses in sentences.