Evidence of meeting #92 for Official Languages in the 42nd Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was students.
Conservative
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
In terms of infrastructure, what is the priority? The government has added $400 million to its budget for francophones right across Canada. We will see how that plays out. The devil is often in the details. We will have to see how the money actually gets to you.
If funding were available tomorrow morning, what would the top priority be for early childhood? Would it be building new daycare centres? Would it be putting daycare centres in schools or building them near schools?
Executive Director, Société de la petite enfance et de la famille du sud de l’Alberta
I will change hats since I also chair the parents' committee.
That is a recurring issue for us. Daycare centres have to be in the schools. We have to find a way of putting these infrastructures in the schools. That is the key, in my opinion. I do not think that would be too expensive. As you said, in order to increase enrolment at our schools, daycare services really have to be in the schools.
Conservative
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
In Quebec, we call that...
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Denis Paradis
Unfortunately, we will have to leave it there, Mr. Généreux.
On behalf of all the members of the committee, I want to thank you for your excellent presentations and the excellent discussion we have had. Your contribution to the committee's work is absolutely essential. In short, I commend you on your work on the ground. Congratulations!
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Denis Paradis
We will suspend now until this afternoon. We will welcome more witnesses at 2:00 p.m.
Thank you very much.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Denis Paradis
Welcome to the continuation of this meeting of the Standing Committee on Official Languages.
First, I want to say that we are very happy to be here with you today in Edmonton.
This is a very special day. Earlier, I was given the text of the proclamation of Alberta Francophonie Month. This is quite extraordinary. I would like to read the document, not in its entirety, but I will read the three last paragraphs:
WHEREAS in March of every year Les Rendez-vous de la Francophonie are celebrated across Canada by 10 million French-speaking Canadians, including more than 268,000 in Alberta; and WHEREAS on March 20 of every year, International Francophonie Day is celebrated around the world by more than 270 million French- speakers; THEREFORE the Lieutenant Governor in Council orders that a Proclamation issue proclaiming the month of March of each year as Alberta Francophonie Month.
It is signed by the Honourable Rachel Notley, Premier of Alberta.
I think this is a really important gesture for Alberta. I simply wanted to highlight it.
We just visited a day care. This morning we pointed out how important it is for youngsters to learn French early in life. It is in this quite extraordinary context that we meet with you here today, and we are very pleased about it.
I'd like to welcome the various stakeholders we are receiving today. First, we have, as an individual, Ms. Martine Cavanagh, who is a professor at the Campus Saint-Jean of the University of Alberta; Ms. Katherine Mueller, who is an instructor at the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, and Mr. Steven Urquhart, associate professor of French and Chair of the Department of modern languages, University of Lethbridge. We also welcome Mr. Albert Nolette, from the Association canadienne-française de l'Alberta. We also have with us Ms. Kate Peters, national board member of Canadian Parents for French; she is accompanied by her baby, whom I also welcome. We also have with us Ms. Victoria Wishart and Mr. Michael Tryon, from Canadian Parents for French in Alberta; Ms. Sarah Fedoration, assistant principal of the Grandin Catholic Elementary School, Edmonton Catholic Schools, and Ms. Tamie Beattie, the French program coordinator of the Edmonton Public School Board.
I welcome all of you.
I want to extend particular thanks to Mr. Albert Nolette, who has been in a way the organizing spirit behind this day.
I don't think I forgot anyone.
We are going to proceed in the following way. You will each have five minutes at your disposal. I am going to be somewhat strict as to the length of interventions, since we want to be able to hear all of you. If some of you take too much time, others will have less. That is why you should try to limit yourselves to five minutes. If you go over your time, I will let you know. We will hear all of you, and then the members of the committee will take part with you in a comments and questions period.
I thank you for taking part in this meeting.
We will begin immediately with Ms. Martine Cavanagh.
Martine Cavanagh Professor, Campus Saint-Jean, University of Alberta, As an Individual
Thank you for your invitation to testify.
I want to present my particular perspective on Alberta's linguistic landscape, and focus on what I know best through my work as vice-dean of education of the Campus Saint-Jean of the University of Alberta: the training of French-language educators for immersion programs and French-language schools.
First I want to say a few words on the basic situation, which is expressed in a current trend. As you probably already know, immersion programs and French-language schools are increasingly popular in Alberta and in western Canada. Allow me to quote a few figures to give you some idea. There are at this time 46,000 students who are registered in immersion programs, which represents approximately 6.6% of the total student population, and there are approximately 8,000 students registered in French-language schools. In 15 years registrations in immersion programs increased by 50%, and those in French-language schools almost doubled. The statistics indicate that this upward trend will continue over the next 20 years.
Aside from the figures, I would like to insist on the fact that we are experiencing an unprecedented situation. There are several reasons that explain this interest in French immersion programs and French-language schools.
Among those reasons is the fact that anglophones and allophone immigrants are more aware of the advantages of bilingualism, culturally, intellectually, and socio-economically.
There is another factor, which is that the second generation of immersion graduates do not need to be convinced of the benefits of bilingualism, and they register their children in immersion schools so that they may have access to the same opportunities they did.
There is also a migration of francophones from the east of the country toward the west, especially to Alberta, which has increased markedly over the past few years.
Finally, immigration from the francophone countries of Africa has increased very rapidly in Alberta over the past years.
Consequently, there is a new challenge for us, for Albertan francophonie, and for our institution.
I now want to speak about our place in the overall picture, as a francophone establishment.
Currently, the Campus Saint-Jean educator training program is not meeting the demand for French-language teachers. Indeed, only one position out of four is staffed by our institution. Every year, the schools of the French-language school boards and those that offer French immersion programs turn to the eastern provinces, and recently to foreign countries, countries like France, to find qualified teachers. The rapid increase in registrations in French-language schools and French immersion schools has led to a severe shortage of qualified teachers to work in those two educational contexts, especially in the western provinces.
However, there is a glimmer of hope. There are two sources of potential solutions. We have an increasing number of students at Campus Saint-Jean who come from immersion programs and want to become teachers in immersions schools. We also have an increasing number of students from the African francophone diaspora.
The current situation presents four challenges. In addition to the training challenge the Faculty of Education must meet at Campus Saint-Jean, we face three other major challenges. The first is that we must guarantee the linguistic competency of our students from immersion and French as a second language programs. Our second challenge is to guarantee the cultural competency of our African immigrant students. Finally, the third one is to meet the continuous demand for francophone school administrators.
This what we propose to meet these three challenges.
Regarding the development of language skills, we have to develop effective evaluation tools, put in place effective language support measures throughout the program, and develop courses that are well adapted to the students' various needs.
Insofar as cultural competency is concerned, we have to create a bridging program to familiarize people with the Canadian school context before they join the training program. That program is essential to ensure the successful social integration of francophone newcomers, women in particular, who make up a large percentage of our student population. We must also put in place measures to support students during the training program and during their placements. We also have to develop training for teachers who welcome student teachers into their classrooms.
As for as school administrators, we have to create a range of online school administration courses, the objectives of which would be aligned with the new quality standard for school leadership. These courses would lead to a certificate, which could then lead to obtaining a master's in education.
Putting these measures in place requires considerable financial means. The needs keep increasing, but the resources keep dwindling. As an example, the budget of the practice service, which manages the placements of our student teachers, has gone from $600,000 in 2012 to $200,000 in 2017. This drop means that we cannot go forward with the bridging program, the support and guidance programs; this particularly impacts immigrant women, who see their chances of having access to an educator's job dwindle.
In conclusion, education is a key element in promoting bilingualism in western Canada. The educator training program at Campus Saint-Jean has an essential role to play in this project. We are developing the vision and measures necessary to meet the challenge, and we invite the federal government to co-operate in their implementation.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Denis Paradis
Thank you very much, Madam Vice-Dean of Education of Campus Saint-Jean, University of Alberta.
We now yield the floor to Ms. Katherine Mueller.
Katherine is from the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary.
Dr. Katherine Mueller Instructor, Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, As an Individual
Thank you.
It's my pleasure to speak to you today in my capacity as an instructor of French pre-service teachers in the Bachelor of Education program at the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary. I teach the French specialization courses for teacher candidates who are pursuing their Bachelor of Education degree specializing in teaching French immersion and French as a second language, and in francophone context.
In addition, for several years I've been involved in the practicum placements of the French candidates and have supervised them during their first year in practicum.
I will be happy to speak to issues regarding the training of FSL and French immersion educators and to the programs available in the Calgary context.
The Bachelor of Education program at the Werklund School of Education is an award-winning B.Ed. program. We offer various pathways for students to obtain their teaching credentials including a two-year B.Ed. after degree.
In the French specialization courses, we focus on research-based pedagogy to provide solid training and professional development to our future teachers of French. At the Werklund School we graduate approximately 20 teachers of French each year. Of those, approximately 90% are hired immediately following graduation. Most teach in the Calgary area for the Calgary Board of Education, the Calgary Separate School District, Rocky View Schools division, Foothills School Division, private schools in the area, and the Conseil scolaire FrancoSud.
About half of our teacher candidates this year are native speakers of French coming to us from France, Quebec, francophone communities elsewhere in Canada, and other countries in the Francophonie. The remaining candidates who come to our program are themselves second language learners of French either from French immersion or from a French as a second language program. Because of the configuration of our program, the French pre-service teachers remain together as a cohort for several courses over the two years, which allows them to develop a strong professional community.
The Werklund School of Education maintains close and frequent contact with schools and school divisions in our area, and we endeavour to be aware of school needs and to respond to them to ensure that the teacher preparation we provide is responsive to current classroom realities.
It is crucial to create and maintain strong links between university teacher education programs and the schools that welcome our pre-service teachers as practicum students. We foster these relationships so that what we teach to our French pre-service teachers is what they will need in French as a second language and French immersion classrooms.
The need for highly trained French immersion and French as a second language teachers is growing in the Calgary area, and we continue to actively recruit new candidates.
I do have several observations about the state of French language education in the Calgary context, again in my capacity as a university instructor of pre-service teachers.
First, schools in Calgary and area offer French immersion programs, both early entry—that is, preschool, kindergarten, or grade 1—and late French immersion, which has grade 7 entry. We offer French as a second language in various configurations, and programs for francophone students. In addition, there are currently three schools in the Calgary Board of Education that offer intensive French as their approach for the delivery of FSL.
Second, research partnerships between the University of Calgary and our local school boards have resulted in productive relationships and useful insights about the delivery of French language instruction to the benefit of the university teacher preparation program and of practising teachers in the classroom.
For example, I've been involved since 2012 in a longitudinal study with the Calgary Board of Education investigating strategies for developing oral language and academic language in FSL and French immersion classrooms. I've worked with the CBE to provide a week-long professional learning opportunity for up to 80 FSL and French immersion teachers each summer for the past five years.
Next, it is highly desirable to offer French as a second language programs and French immersion to young children. We know from the considerable body of research in this area that young children are particularly responsive to second language instruction. Given the opportunity, students can continue in French throughout their school career and be successful language learners.
The Alberta government is a strong supporter of French language education, and French immersion programs in Calgary continue to be very popular. However, not all schools within the Calgary Board of Education offer the French as a second language option. To my knowledge, the decision to offer FSL in any school in the Calgary Board of Education is made by the school administration in consultation with and in response to demand by the parent community.
In addition, it can be challenging for children to continue their FSL or French immersion studies in some neighbourhoods where students might complete elementary school French and not have access to a junior high program in their area. A recent situation has been distressing for French immersion educators and administrators in Calgary. French immersion and other programs have been designated as alternative programs by the Calgary Board of Education due to the high cost of providing transportation to children who have chosen a program outside of their neighbourhood.
As a result, busing is not available to French immersion students in that board, forcing parents to put their children on public transit or to arrange alternate transportation if they wish their children to receive French immersion education. I'm aware that there has been some attrition in the French immersion program at the Calgary Board of Education as a result of this decision. It is distressing that financial constraints cause schools to relegate French programming to alternate status or to dispense with it altogether.
In my work with reservist teachers and with teachers of French as a second language and French immersion, in both practicum and research contexts, I've had the opportunity to talk with teachers on the front lines and to learn about their challenges. One of the predominant themes that has emerged is the lack of educational materials and resources available for French immersion teachers. Many of the teachers create their own resources or use resources created for francophones.
It is crucial that we recognize that French immersion or FSL pedagogical approaches differ greatly from the francophone first language context, and it's important that teachers of both French as a second language and French immersion have the means to access specialized materials and resources to support their programs. It is also incumbent upon us to ensure that pedagogical materials are being developed for the Canadian context.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Denis Paradis
Katherine, I would ask you to continue what you have to say in responding to questions or comments from the members.
Instructor, Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, As an Individual
Certainly.
Steven Urquhart Associate professor of French and Chair of the Department of Modern Languages, University of Lethbridge, As an Individual
Good afternoon.
I too am going to speak English.
Thank you for inviting me to this session. I am the chair of modern languages at the University of Lethbridge, an associate professor of French, and director of the French Language Centre, the FLC, at U of L, which is funded by the Canadian Official Languages in Education Protocol, COLEP. Before going further I would just like to say that I'm a little sad to be the only representative here from southern Alberta. I know Calgary is in the south, but the south also includes Medicine Hat, of course. Remarks from French consultants from these important cities two hours south of Calgary would also be important to your report.
As a French professor and the director of the FLC, I know the members of the French-speaking and francophile community in the south. My kids are at the École Lavérendrye and the FLC works with l'ACFA and Cinémagine on various French-language-oriented projects. My wife is the conseillère pédagogique for the Catholic school board in Lethbridge, and we collectively know many of the French teachers on the public board. These are at times former University of Lethbridge students and then correctors for the DELF French language competency tests that the centre offers to university students, called the tous publics, and to grade school pupils, called the junior.
I feel like the various francophone parties, the École Lavérendrye, l'ACFA, Cinémagine, and the FLC are increasingly working collaboratively on events and projects. We have a concours de courts métrages, a semaine du film francophone, translation projects, etc. in the area, and have been doing this for some years—I think about four. I find there is, however, still a disconnect between the university, the French-speaking community, and school boards. The money funding the FLC has helped promote French on the campus, attract and retain students, and rally those interested in French in the city and the immediate region.
I'm very appreciative of the federal funding. Student enrolment in French at the university is somewhat down, so promotion of French is still needed via pressure to make French mandatory for a university degree in English-speaking Canada, for example.
This being said, the funding is making a difference, creating greater interest in French in Lethbridge and Medicine Hat, where we also offer DELF tests and manage a group of correctors that includes teachers and two college professors.
In terms of concerns and recommendations, I am concerned with the competency level of non-native French-speaking teachers graduating French students in FLS and immersion programs. I feel they transmit errors of all sorts to elementary and high school students. This is coming from, obviously, a native anglophone speaker. In order to help those lacking exposure to French, the FLC, for example, has piloted remedial sessions—ateliers de perfectionnement. However, having more francophone teachers and mentors, French Canadian language assistants, and continuing education opportunities for non-native speakers to improve or peaufiner their French is badly needed, at least in the south.
Opportunities to receive intensive doses of French are needed, as university courses often lack this dimension due to lack of funding, time, and staff. This applies, in my opinion, to elementary and primary schools too. Paid immersion stays, city and school twinnings, trips, exchanges, and correspondences with schools in Quebec and elsewhere, such as in Acadia, would be great for immersion students and universities. Facilitating and formalizing such relationships is imperative to the survival, prosperity, and quality of French in southern Alberta in my opinion.
Jobs also need to be created to establish such connections. This cannot be asked of teachers, who already have onerous teaching duties. We need someone to organize these things.
Funds targeted towards setting up school and university radio activities, YouTube channels, conversation groups, poetry competitions, spelling bees, dictées, and translation studies at U of L would be great. Translation and intercultural competency are important avenues of interest for students, and they seem to be underdeveloped, at least in the south.
The Quebec-Alberta work exchange that used to exist was unfortunately cancelled some years ago. This was a great idea. Piloting and establishing a subsidized French Explore-type program or continuing education program at U of L, in coordination with l'ACFA and others in Lethbridge, would promote learning French outside of the classroom in the south. I know these exist elsewhere, but in the south they don't.
In southern Alberta we must create desire, not just duty, towards all things French, by promoting French Canada, its history, and its presence in the region—we have the coulée in Lethbridge, for example—and combat the idea that Quebec French or Canadian French is poor. I hear this all the time. Promoting French via anglophones having learned French with good jobs and life opportunities seems key to me.
Finally, promoting French alongside native languages and cultures in the region—as we have the largest reserve in Canada right next to Lethbridge—seems logical to me. Both are minorities, and both are neglected and treated in the same way, with varying degrees of disdain.
Thank you. There is no magic bullet for this. I realize that, but I think my opinions reflect those of my colleagues.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Denis Paradis
Thank you very much, Mr. Urquhart.
Mr. Nolette, you already gave a presentation this morning, but now you are going to speak to us about this this afternoon's topic.
You have the floor.
Vice-President, Association canadienne-française de l'Alberta
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I want to thank you again for inviting us to testify in the context of this study on French and English as a second-language programs.
Founded in 1926, the mission of the Association canadienne-française de l'Alberta, ACFA, is to defend the gains of the Albertan francophone community, to promote its rights and further its vitality. It represents 268,640 French-speaking Albertans, and speaks for them on issues that impact the Albertan francophonie.
In the context of this study, I would like to focus on these three main points: acquiring an official status for French immersion programs; obtaining support for Campus Saint-Jean so that it can respond to the shortage of French-language teachers; creating closer links between the francophone communities and French learners.
Regarding the first point, acquiring an official status for French immersion programs, I want to point out that ACFA is preparing a brief which it will soon submit to the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages in the context of its vast study on the modernization of the Official Languages Act. ACFA wants to contribute a novel idea by proposing that a new education clause be included in the Official Languages Act to confirm the official status of French immersion programs and propose a framework for the federal government's financial contribution to the teaching of French as a second language.
In order to explain my suggestion, I would like to describe a situation which occurred recently in Alberta; Ms. Mueller spoke about it earlier.
Last June, a Calgary school board made the decision to charge parents who wished to send their children to French immersion school for bus transportation, under the pretext that this was an optional program. Since the parents could not afford it, some of them had to remove their children from that program.
ACFA feels that this situation is untenable. If linguistic duality is one of this country's fundamental values, and Minister Morneau repeated this Tuesday when he presented Budget 2018, French immersion must be viewed as a basic program allowing us to train Canadian citizens who will be able to think, express themselves, and work in both official languages.
Thanks to Albertan parents who fought for their rights, French-language education is now protected and enshrined in section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which has lent considerable support to the vitality of francophone and Acadian communities from one end of the country to the other. We firmly believe that the time has come for French immersion programs to also benefit from official status, protection and a framework, and the Official Languages Act could be the proper place for the integration of that change. It will be our pleasure to share this important part of our brief once it has been finalized and tabled.
The second point of my presentation discusses support for Campus Saint-Jean at the University of Alberta.
Campus Saint-Jean is the only French-language post-secondary institution in the province. It is therefore of capital importance for the francophone community of Alberta. There is an increasing demand for bilingual workers, particularly for qualified teachers to teach in primary and secondary French-language schools. Unfortunately, the activities and capital assets of Campus Saint-Jean are chronically underfunded, and it does not have sufficient autonomy to meet specific needs. And so, in order to deal with the shortage of French-language teachers, the federal government could work with our community, the University of Alberta and the Albertan government to find specific solutions to remedy the precarious situation of Campus Saint-Jean.
My last point is the rapprochement between the francophone communities and those who are learning French.
Last summer, the ACFA concluded an agreement with Canadian Parents for French of Alberta in order to develop closer links and promote the French language and the advantages of official bilingualism. This type of co-operation is particularly important in the current context.
Today more than ever, graduates and students who study in French Immersion programs can dream about promising careers. The adoption of a French language policy by the Government of Alberta and this morning's proclamation which recognizes the month of March as the annual month of Albertan francophonie are jesters that normalize the French fact and increase the possibilities of living, working and thriving in French in Alberta.
However, the responsibilities in this file are shared by our provincial government, which really does not have any official linguistic obligations except for a few exceptions, and the federal government. It is thus important that the federal government play a role in awareness-raising, persuasion and leadership in order to respond to the issues raised, because ultimately Canadian citizens as a whole are affected by this.
It is with a great deal of respect that we submit these avenues of reflexion. I thank you for your attention. I am ready to answer your questions.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Denis Paradis
Thank you very much for this presentation, Mr. Nolette.
We will now hear Ms. Peters who is a national board member of Canadian Parents for French.
Ms. Peters, you are accompanied by the youngest witness we have ever had before the committee. I think your daughter Anne is only a few weeks old.
Kate Peters National Board Member, Canadian Parents for French
Quite so. Anne is sleeping and so I'm going to speak for her.
I asked if I could speak today because I'm a board member of the national Canadian Parents for French. However, I can also speak from the perspective of a life long learner of French, a co-parent of a rights holder, and a member of the minority language community here in Alberta. I am also proud to be one of the 6.6% of Canadians who speak French outside of Quebec, so I will be presenting remarks in both official languages today.
My colleague Martine Cavanagh presented statistics on the French as a second language programs here in Alberta. I'm not going to go back to that topic, nor will I speak about the programs offered at the Campus Saint-Jean since Ms. Mueller spoke to you about the programs offered at the University of Calgary.
I would add that since 2014, the University of Alberta is also offering college level training. Moreover, training for adults and continuous training are offered everywhere in the province through non-accredited programs. Courses are offered by the University of Lethbridge, the University of Calgary and the University of Alberta, as well as the Alliances françaises.
I was able to benefit from several of these French as a second language programs during my studies. When I was 15, for instance, I took an optional basic French course, which I hated. I also took courses at the University of Calgary during my university studies. In addition, I also benefited from events offered in French by the francophone community, where I was able to practice my French, and met my husband.
This brief picture shows how diverse the offer of French as a second language programs is here in Alberta. I would like to add that I am very grateful that I was able to take these courses in Alberta. A lot of these programs are funded by the roadmap.
That being said, I agree with the previous speakers who said that a lot of work still needs to be done to support bilingualism here in Canada, as well as French as a second language programs.
Canadian Parents for French advocates for universal access to FSL programs. In Alberta and across Canada we could not say there is universal access. Whether it be lack of places in immersion programs, insufficient core French instruction, or the need for additional post-secondary language programs, as my colleagues have spoken to, access to FSL programs currently does not allow all Canadians to meet their language learning goals.
In particular, as the parent of a young child, I would like to stress the importance of early FSL learning. Research shows that the ideal entry point for immersion programs is an early immersion program and, as someone who learned French as an adult, I definitely agree with that. I know how important it is to capitalize on those early learning opportunities and yet as a parent I struggle to access them.
Quality of FSL programs is also a priority of Canadian Parents for French, and in particular CPF observes that FSL programs do not provide equitable access to appropriate academic support, especially for academically challenged students and new Canadians. This could be addressed through funding for additional classroom support, or by addressing the lack of pre- and in-service professional development opportunities. I agree with my colleague's ideas about possibilities for training.
Quality is also measured in the high attrition rates we see in immersion and core French programs at the higher level. Students become discouraged and disinterested by the lack of opportunity to communicate in an authentic language context, and I certainly felt that in grade 10 French.
I love Steven's ideas for authentic communication experiences, and research certainly does show that's how to keep students engaged. Quality can also be demonstrated by official recognition of FSL learning. CPF advocates for recognized proficiency levels, such as the common European framework of reference and French-language proficiency testing such as the DELF. Steven spoke to that. I am a DELF C2 diploma-holder myself. I can certainly speak to the value of that as a French-language learner, as a French teacher, and as an employment seeker.
Finally, across the country, ministries of education lack policies to enshrine FSL programming, and my colleague has spoken to that as well. CPF advocates for accountability and leadership among policy-makers, and I absolutely agree with the ACFA's comments in that respect.
I would hope that this committee would encourage the Minister of Canadian Heritage to collaborate with provincial and territorial authorities to encourage access for everyone, everywhere across Canada, to FSL programs and to commit to increased and sustained funding for those programs.
While I may believe that FSL should be a constitutional right, I also think the current context provides sufficient opportunities to support French as a second language programs. Section 7 of the Official Languages Act should be fully enforced.
Tuesday's budget announcement is encouraging, especially the targeted funding for the training of French teachers and the focus on early childhood education. I'm also encouraged by the recent commitment to review the regulations for official languages, for the additional funding for Young Canada Works, and the ongoing work on the renewal of the protocol for the agreements on education in the next multi-year official languages action plan.
I look forward to your questions.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Denis Paradis
Thank you very much, Kate, for this presentation.
We will go now with Canadian Parents for French - Alberta with Victoria Wishart, president.
Victoria Wishart President, Canadian Parents for French - Alberta
Good afternoon, Senators. The members of Canadian Parents for French of Alberta thank you for your invitation.
My name is Victoria Wishart and I am the president of the Alberta branch of Canadian Parents for French. I am accompanied by Michael Tryon, the executive director of our organization.
Canadian Parents for French - Alberta is part of the nationwide, research-informed, volunteer organization that champions the opportunity to learn and use French for all those who call Canada home. We support and provide services to Alberta’s 45,000 French immersion and 178,000 core French students.
By now you are likely well aware of our organization’s history, milestones, and successes, so we won't repeat much of that information, but it is important to know that this year, in 2018, CPF Alberta is celebrating 40 years of having served Alberta’s French second-language community. In the few minutes we have here today we would like to share with you a little bit about our current situation here in Alberta. We will be speaking about three of the significant challenges we think we are facing.
The first of these, and my colleagues have already touched on it, is French teacher availability.
For 18 consecutive years, French immersion enrolment has increased in almost every single school district. We know that when a new program is created, it needs at least three things: a classroom, some books, and a qualified teacher.
The responsibility to manage classroom space rests with the local school district. Whether in English or French immersion, the district administers student placement, so classroom space is normally manageable. What is beyond the control of a school district is the supply of qualified teachers. Anecdotally we are hearing that almost every school district is short of French-speaking teachers, is having challenges sourcing them, or both.
Alberta currently has one dedicated French language post-secondary institution, Campus Saint-Jean, which is training pre-service teachers. On average, they are graduating 75 eligible candidates per year. This does not even come close to meeting Alberta’s demand, let alone the demand of the remainder of western and northern Canada.
We believe that the teacher shortage is now the number one reason that school districts find themselves unable to expand existing programs or to create new French immersion programs. Unfortunately, there is no formal research around this subject, but CPF Alberta and its partners are in the process of rectifying this.
We would like to speak about our top three recommendations to rectify this teacher shortage situation.
The first is to improve, expand, or offer different French immersion teacher training programs, while creating incentives for teacher training in French. The second is to create labour mobility agreements between domestic and international jurisdictions to standardize French teacher certification requirements while providing quality and qualified teacher employment opportunities in Alberta. The last is to increase authentic language immersion opportunities for post-secondary students, pre-service teachers, and teachers, by providing bursaries to encourage attendance.
The second significant challenge we face in Alberta is ensuring that French immersion is seen as a distinct and inclusive program that is officially recognized in this province and in Canada. Unlike native francophone programs, French second language programs, such as French immersion and core French, are not constitutionally guaranteed. These are considered programs of choice and are offered at the discretion of local school districts. In Alberta, there is no provincial legislation requiring school districts to offer a second language. This puts our parents in the unique position of having to lobby community by community for a program that enables their children to become proficient in both official languages.
Recent decisions at both levels of government in Alberta have caused the playing field in our province to be less level and inclusive. My colleagues touched on this earlier, but we'd like to say that from French-immersion families being financially affected by funding decisions around school transportation—this is the busing issue—to the reallocation of staff and resources that negatively impacts FSL students and programs, French immersion has had a bit of a bumpy ride in Alberta this year.
If the French second language community were to be officially recognized as being a bilingual community, not only would we be better able to support the French first language community in its initiatives and in achieving its goals, but the way and means to address these inequities might be facilitated. This would greatly enable local parent advocates to effectively lobby for new programs where there is the demand. No child should ever be denied a French-language learning opportunity.
Michael Tryon Executive Director, Canadian Parents for French - Alberta
The third significant challenge we face is engaging stakeholders and decision-makers about FSL education and its benefits. Promotion of official bilingualism is the key to buy-in at all levels of society, in government, in workplaces, in educational establishments, and in cultural arenas.
Decision-makers should be made accountable for setting educational policies, providing stable funding, ensuring a sufficient supply of quality and qualified official language teachers, reporting on the achievement of students and official language programs in a timely and transparent manner, and—a key point for us—facilitating parental and community stakeholder engagement in open and inclusive decision-making.
The backbone of an effective language learning program stems from the strength and leadership of its teachers. Universities and local governments within the province of Alberta should consult with other provinces and strongly consider the use and acceptance of the Diplôme d’études en langue française—the DELF— or a Canadian equivalent grounded in the common European framework of reference as a common assessment tool for language proficiency that is recognized worldwide.
They should also consider dedicated streams for FSL graduates entering education to become core or immersion teachers at their choice of university, and additional bursaries for education students intending to teach FSL in Alberta.
In conclusion, Canadian Parents for French understands the value of strategic partnerships that help increase the dissemination of the importance of official language promotion, and subsequently, the promotion of French as a second language programs across the country.
We've been in partnership with l'ACFA for 13 years now as well as ACCENT. We're hoping to continue that in the future. Our unique position allows us to provide the perspective of parents who value the importance of Canada's official languages and French as a second language education programs from across the country. In addition, we offer a grassroots and overarching perspective to best inform actions going forward.
We greatly appreciate all the support from the federal government over the years. We look forward to working closely with the Government of Canada and particularly with this committee as it moves forward in identifying new priorities and initiatives in the area of bilingualism by modernizing the OLA to further support rapprochement, community vitality, and exemplary government.
We thank you for this opportunity to appear before the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Denis Paradis
Thank you very much.
I would like to make a small clarification: we are the House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages.
Executive Director, Canadian Parents for French - Alberta
Please forgive me; I read what was written in the presentation.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Denis Paradis
As you know, Canadian senators are not elected. We are elected representatives of the House of Commons, who adopt budgets, among other things. I wanted to make that clarification so that there is no confusion.
We will now give the floor to Ms. Fedoration.
Sarah Fedoration Assistant Principal, Grandin Catholic Elementary School, Edmonton Catholic Schools
Mr. Chair, members of the committee, my name is Sarah Fedoration, and I'm proud to be one of the 268,000 people who choose to live and work in French here, in Alberta. I'm delighted to be here today to speak to you about second language learning in French and, more specifically, to discuss three important considerations for expanding French immersion programming.
When I first experienced French as a second language, immersion programs had just come out. I know it doesn't show, given my youthful looks. The francophones I interacted with were so passionate about the French language that, as a young English speaker, I couldn't help but want to be a part of that wonderful community and live in French.
This year, 2018, marks my 19th year as an educator. Having spent many years working in immersion programming, I can attest to its growth and the increasing availability of high-quality French-language resources. More important than that, however, is the transformation I have seen in how people perceive the program. Initially viewed as elitist, the program is now considered accessible to everyone.
Although the program has undergone many improvements since it was created, we still have important work to do to ensure its continued growth and provide a richer cultural and language learning experience for our students. The popularity of immersion programming in Alberta is so great that we are constantly and desperately trying to recruit more and more teachers. The French teacher shortage is a huge problem all school boards in Canada face.
Although our francophone campus, Campus Saint-Jean, produces approximately 75 teachers a year, it's not enough to fill all the vacant positions, not even in our region. If we want to keep immersion programming accessible to everyone, it is paramount that post-secondary institutions be given the financial support and long-term commitment they need to train more future second language teachers.
Adding to the shortage is the challenge around maintaining and upgrading the language skills that language teachers need. Every class needs a qualified teacher with a high level of language proficiency. However, the severe shortage of French as a second language teachers has often meant that we have had to sacrifice language quality just to put a teacher in each class.
From my own experience, I can tell you that, when I graduated, I was one of the ones who lacked the language proficiency required to teach immersion programs. Even after my training to become a teacher, I did not fully understand the tremendous responsibility parents were entrusting me with: providing their children with a quality French-language education.
I'm not the first person, nor will I be the last, to have doubts about their language skills, but the quality and continuity of our second language learning programs hinges on the importance teachers place on their ongoing French-language education. Possible solutions might be to offer teachers more learning opportunities, such as exchanges and summer programs, and to create programs that build more purposeful ties between francophone communities and immersion schools. That might help teachers continue their language education.
Flora Lewis, an American journalist, said, and I quote:
“Learning another language is not only learning different words for the same things, but learning another way to think about things.”
The cultural activities I took part in as an immersion student had me convinced that all francophones were spoon-playing lumberjacks who ate fresh maple taffy. We have to move past that perception of the old days and expose students to the richness of the French language and culture through new experiences, ones that will help them see the world through their new language lens.
Giving immersion students more diverse learning opportunities means placing more importance on building closer ties between immersion schools and the francophone community.
For instance, access to francophone theatre, dance, movies, sports, and music could open up a new world for young learners in immersion programs, while enriching their development. To facilitate those opportunities, immersion schools could work with francophone organizations in each province. Financial investments in those types of projects could encourage more young people to do as I did and use French, not just as a tool for communication, but also as a living language in their day-to-day lives.
Thank you for listening. I would be happy to answer any questions you have.