TNFLS

Current Practices and Emerging Trends in FSL Teacher Training
2023-05-02 13:00 - 2023-05-31 14:15 (America/Toronto) | https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82504630471
Showcase Meeting 5: Tuesday, May 2, 2023
Finding solutions to the FSL teacher shortage requires re-thinking current practices in teacher training. Many projects are underway to reinforce the competencies and the confidence of FSL teachers. This showcase meeting looks at projects that are assessing teacher training both within universities and in the workplace while improving competencies.
PRESENTATIONS

Stephanie Arnott, Associate Professor and Interim Director – Teacher Education, University of Ottawa – Identifying Requirements and Gaps in French Second Language Teacher Competency: Recommendations and Guidelines – Report from the Canadian Association of Second Language Teachers (CASLT)

French second language (FSL) teacher training programs in postsecondary institutions vary both in language proficiency requirements and in pedagogical content. Furthermore, they are frequently not aligned with teacher hiring requirements in school boards and provincial ministries of Education. Additionally, hiring requirements for FSL teachers can vary between provinces and territories, between ministries and school boards. When education graduates do not meet school board or education ministry standards for language proficiency and/or second language pedagogical competencies, it negatively affects the pool of available FSL teachers. FSL teacher retention rates are also negatively affected by the misalignment between second-language teacher training and employer needs and expectations, as teachers that lack proficiency in French and specialized second-language pedagogical training are more likely to quit teaching French.
To counter the teacher shortage in immersion and in French as a second language programs, CASLT is providing a pan-Canadian perspective in order to highlight similarities, differences, gaps, challenges and different opportunities. Through this project, CASLT has developed customized recommendations and guidelines to improve the expertise of FSL teachers based on the geographical location across Canada.
2. Eva Lemaire, Associate Professor and Director of Education Programs, Campus Saint-Jean, University of Alberta, Enhancing the Education Program at Campus Saint-Jean
In Alberta, there is a shortage of qualified teachers to teach in French Minority Language schools (FML) and in French Immersion and French Second Language programs (FI and FSL). One of the main recommendations for addressing the problem is to improve the quality of education or teacher training programs. As noted in a recent market study conducted for the University of Alberta, “new graduates are not sufficiently well prepared to face the realities of Francophone and Immersion schools in Alberta.”
This project aims to enhance its teacher preparation program, (1) to improve the Education Program courses to make them more practical and better aligned with the Teaching Quality Standard (TQS), and (2) to better support students in the Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) and Bachelor of Education/After Degree (B.Ed./AD) Program with targeted initiatives and activities. Furthermore,the student population has become much more diverse over the last 15 years. This project therfore seeks to respond to their needs by allowing for better professional integration once they enter the teaching profession.
3. Laun Shoemaker, Vice-President, Canadian Parents for French – Newfoundland Branch, and Treasurer, Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers’ Association Second Language Council (SLC), Deft with the DELF: Certification for French Immersion and FSL Teachers in Newfoundland and Labrador
Twenty tenured, contract or substitute teachers came together virtually to prepare and write the DELF B2 certification exam. The goal was to increase confidence, self-efficacy, and relationships between teachers and to give substitute and contract teachers the necessary qualifications to apply for French teaching assignments.
LINKS TO PRESENTATIONS
Stephanie Arnott, CASLT, Identifying Requirements and Gaps in French Second Language Teacher Competency
Laun Shoemaker, CPF Newfoundland and Labrador, Do the DELF/DEFT WITH DELF

Recruitment and Retention: Collaborative Projects Between Organizations
2023-03-08 13:00 - 2023-03-31 14:15 | https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84136051787
Showcase meeting 4: Wednesday, March 8, 2023
Many FSL projects would not have been possible without the valuable collaboration of organizational partners. At this showcase meeting, the National Table for French as a Second Language is pleased to invite three organizations to share their projects. They will tell us about the support of the stakeholders who have made these initiatives successful.
PRESENTATIONS

Natalie Leblanc, Program Manager, Association des collèges et universités de la francophonie canadienne (ACUFC)
Bursaries for Postsecondary Studies in French as a Second Language Program

This program is designed to encourage students whose first official language is English to pursue postsecondary education in French. They have the opportunity to receive an annual non-renewable bursary of $3,000. The goal is simple: to enable more English-speaking Canadians to become bilingual.
ACUFC was able to publicize the bursaries thanks to the support of many partners including the Canadian Association of Immersion Professionals (ACPI), the Canadian Association of Second Language Teachers (CASLT), Canadian Parents for French (CPF), and French for the Future.
2. Betty Gormley, Executive Director, Canadian Parents for French-Ontario (CPF-Ontario)
Pathways to French Second Language Education for Bilingual Students in Ontario
The goal of this project is to address the growing gap created by the increased demand for FSL programs in Ontario schools and the declining enrolment in faculty of education programs that lead to FSL teaching positions. Activities included the SayOui.ca website, a promotional campaign and a youth conference.
Many partners were involved: Ontario School Counsellors’ Association (OSCA), ACPI, Ontario Modern Language Teachers Association (OMLTA), French for the Future, CASLT, Groupe Média TFO and CPF-National.
3. Laura Ambrosio, Professor, Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute (OLBI), University of Ottawa
Community Engagement Learning for Future Teachers in Francophone Minority and French Second Language Schools
The purpose of this project was to provide online and other pedagogical support for FSL instruction in publicly funded schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. OLBI partnered with the Community Engagement team to match student volunteers with FSL faculty and professional associations through the Community Engagement Learning (CEL) program. The program provides students with the opportunity to engage in a 30-hour volunteer placement as part of their coursework.
Fifty-three undergraduate students enrolled in the Community Engagement Learning program participated in the project. In collaboration with CPF, children from across Canada benefited from 1,830 hours of volunteer online homework tutoring.
LINKS TO PRESENTATIONS
Natalie LeBlanc, ACUFC, Presentation (French)
Betty Gormley, CPF Ontario, Presentation
Laura Ambrosio, OLBI – uOttawa, Presentation

Latest Research on Second Language Learning and News from Other Countries
2023-02-15 13:00 - 2023-03-31 14:15 | https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87529195049
Showcase meeting 3: Wednesday, February 15, 2023

Moderator: Monika Jezak, Professor, Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute (OLBI), University of Ottawa
PRESENTATIONS
1. Philippe Hiligsmann, Professor, Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium – Institute for Language and Communication (ILC)
Assessing Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL)
Based on a large-scale longitudinal study, this research project aims to better understand the linguistic, cognitive and educational aspects of immersion and to understand how the interaction between these three perspectives can underlie the processes of second language acquisition. To this end, the project focuses on French-speaking learners in immersion and non-immersion (control group) with Dutch or English as their target language. The data was collected at different times during the last two years of primary and secondary education. This interdisciplinary study aims to make a strong empirical and theoretical contribution to the current international scientific debates on multilingualism in general, and on immersion in particular.
2. Véronique Miguel Addisu, Researcher, Université de Rouen-Normandie, France — Institut national et supérieur du professorat et de l’éducation (INSPE)
Français Plus
The Français Plus scientific project is a Franco-Canadian educational collaboration around the Francophonie, multilingualism and digital technology in the context of the COVID-19 health crisis. The research aims to document teaching practices – learning French in a multilingual situation, in a health context that makes it necessary to use digital practices in the classroom.
The scientific team took an interest in teaching/learning practices in French within the North American network of schools of the Agency for French Education Abroad (AEFE) during the COVID-19 pandemic, as course hybridization methods were developed to meet public health restrictions. The goal is to know how these new didactic practices were in the process of being ritualized, and to question their potential effects on learning, in order to support practitioners’ professional development.
LINKS TO PRESENTATIONS AND OTHER RESOURCES
Philippe Hiligsmann’s Presentation (French)
To learn more about Véronique Miguel Addisu et al Français Plus Research Project (background, résults, videos, etc.) : https://francaisplus.hypotheses.org/contexte (French)

French Immersion and FSL Student Retention and Recruitment Pool
2023-01-31 13:00 - 14:15 | https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88501312279
Showcase meeting 2 – Tuesday, January 31, 2023
PRESENTATIONS
Sherry Jones, Staff Officer, Professional and French Language Services, Manitoba Teachers’ Society (MTS)
Promoting the profession: encouraging high school and middle-year students in Manitoba to consider a career teaching in French
French immersion graduates who are taking their post-secondary programs in French, promote the advantages of pursuing studies in French and choosing a career in teaching. The largest teachers’ union in Manitoba established this three-year project with the aim to increase the number of graduates of French immersion programs who enroll in post-secondary programs in French – more specifically teaching.
Corinne Labelle, Coordinator of Marketing and Membership, and Marie-France Gaumont (video), Consultant, Canadian Association of Immersion Professionals (ACPI)
The Great Tour
The Great Tour (La Grande virée) is a cross-Canada tour – from coast to coast – aboard a caravan sporting the Teacher 5 étoiles’ campaign colours. The team met with high school students in French immersion, as well as university students studying Education, to promote careers in French immersion. Over a 2-year period, the Teacher 5 étoiles team reached-out to young people and professionals in the field, connecting school boards with qualified candidates, young high school graduates interested in the profession, and university students who have chosen to turn to French immersion education.
Laurent Camarata, Professor and Researcher, Campus Saint-Jean, University of Alberta
Research on issues related to student retention in French Immersion and Francophone minority settings in Canada
This project, which is being conducted in partnership with Canadian Parents for French and funded by the Association des Collèges et Universités de la Francophonie Canadienne (ACUFC), focuses on parents of students who are thinking about withdrawing or who have already withdrawn their child from French immersion programs/or French schools in a minority setting. The study also looks at the experiences of teachers and administrators, who accompany families considering a change of program or school for their child, to gather their perspectives on the issue.
