First-cycle secondary students’ contextualization process and the development of the scriptural competency of justification
A qualitative and exploratory doctoral study on learning to write justifications in French class among 12-14 year old plurilingual students has revealed links between students’ contextualization of a writing situation, on one hand, and the way they develop their justifications, on the other. Indeed, depending on whether the student takes into account parameters of the fictional writing situation or instead focuses on the academic requirements, he or she will, to differing degrees, be able to successfully take into account the dialogical dimension inherent to the discourse of justification. The present article illustrates these links based on interview excerpts and highlights the need for learning associated with this contextualization process, which, if properly carried out, supports students in developing the scriptural competency of justification.