Teaching Core French in British Columbia: Teachers’ Perspectives: Research Report

Executive Summary

This report presents the results of a provincial survey about the contexts and characteristics of British Columbia’s core French teachers as well as the challenges they face in their teaching. It also presents the results of a parallel survey of core French teachers in Surrey, British Columbia’s largest school district.

A total of 612 teachers completed the provincial survey online or by mail, responding to questions about their teaching context, background, experience; the support they receive from key stakeholders and resources; and their preferred forms of professional development. The concurrent survey in Surrey, BC was completed by 211 teachers.

The survey questionnaire was based largely on the instrument used in a national study of the working conditions of French as a second language teachers (Lapkin, MacFarlane, & Vandergrift, 2006). According to the 2006 survey results, the findings did not necessarily represent the perspective of British Columbia’s core French teachers in the provincially mandated Grades 5 to 8. The present survey is a response to the national survey’s call for a local study to address the gap in its data collection.

In some cases, the results of the three surveys were similar; however, both the BC survey and the Surrey survey highlighted factors affecting the quality of core French teaching and learning, particularly at the elementary and middle years levels. The pressing challenge for British Columbia core French teachers that is identified in this study appears to be how to achieve provincial learning outcomes with the lack of time and valuing allocated to French instruction and low levels of teacher language proficiency and methodological background.

Stemming from these findings, the following recommendations are proposed:

• provincial teacher associations can
-lobby the Ministry of Education to ensure that the sustained study of a second language is an integral part of the graduation path of secondary students;
-lobby the BC College of Teachers and university Faculties of Education to ensure that second language methodology is a required course in teacher education programs;
-provide ongoing professional development for core French teachers (in conjunction with specialist and generalist teacher associations);
-promote courses, certificate/credential programs and professional learning communities that offer sustained, long-term professional development.

• school boards/administrators can
-ensure a minimum amount of instructional time per week (100 minutes in Grade 5 to 7; 185 minutes in Grade 8);
-make core French an integral part of each school’s curriculum and program;
-ensure that those teaching core French have linguistic and methodological background;
-provide consultant or mentorship support for core French teachers;
-support and recognize professional development coursework undertaken by teachers.......