Elementary and middle years core French programs in British Columbia: How can we improve them?
Part 1
Wendy Carr

H.H. Stern wrote an article in 1982 entitled “French core programs across Canada: How can we improve them?” In it, he suggested that language teachers and scholars take a critical look at their practices in order to remedy the program’s shortcomings. This led to a pan-Canadian study from 1985 to 1989, the National Core French Study (CASLT, 1990), that resulted in a new curriculum vision based on language use rather than language form. The implementation of this multi-dimensional, communicative-experiential curriculum has been uneven across Canada in part because two of its key recommendations have not been consistently followed: “a program of 40 minutes per day commencing in Grade 4” (p. 2) taught by “communicative teachers [who are] fluent or at least have the ability to communicate in the second language well enough that they feel comfortable in the teaching situation . . . and have training in the latest methods of communicative second language teaching" (p. 6). In this article, I will explore the first recommendation, the amount of time allocated to teaching core French.

In British Columbia, there is no prescribed time for teaching core French even though it is mandated in Grades 5 to 8. The first version of the present curriculum document, Core French 5 to 12: Integrated Resource Package (1995) stated that, “although most districts are providing a minimum of 80-90 minutes of French per week at the elementary level—sometimes during teacher preparation time, 120 minutes per week are recommended” (F-3). There is no mention of time allocation in the 2001 version of the document. In the Provincial Government’s Form 1701: Student Data Collection for Public Schools (2006), there is a formula for reporting French program enrolment “for those students who are receiving at least the minimum of time in French language instruction” (p. 8). At Grade 5 to 7 that minimum is 5.3 percent of instructional time or 80 minutes per week. At the Grade 8 to 12 level, 12.5 percent is 186 minutes per week.

I emailed language coordinators and district administrators around the province about the amount of time allocated to core French instruction and received responses from 15 school districts, including many lower mainland districts, Vancouver Island and a sampling from north, east and central regions of the province. The districts that responded enroll 53 percent of British Columbia’s students, that is, 300 000 out of 566 000 students (based on 2005-6 Ministry of Education data). All respondent districts provided time allocations for Grade 5 to 7 French, and half also included times for Grade 8. The average time reported is 80 minutes per week in Grades 5 to 7 and 185 minutes per week in Grade 8. This means students in British Columbia receive an average of approximately 260 hours of instruction during the mandated Grades 5 to 8.

Some districts recommend a minimum amount of instructional time, such as 90 minutes per week in Grades 5 to 7, but it is evident from the following comments that delivery of this instructional time is inconsistent:

There are some schools that only offer 80 minutes and even some that only have 45 minutes designated with a "specialist" and the generalist classroom teacher is supposed to make up another 45 minutes. This latter generally does not work and, in my opinion, is just about as bad as not offering it at all.

The district recommends 90 - 100 minutes per week for students in Grade 4 - 7. Most teachers try to schedule two 45- minute periods per week but readily admit this isn't always adhered to.

Le dilemne est dans la plupart des écoles élémentaires où le français n'est pas enseigné comme prep. Dans ces cas, c'est selon l'intérêt et la dédication du prof. Je dirais que c'est 2 x 40 minutes ou moins, probablement moins.

For some teachers, French is often the class that is the first to be dropped in the need to do something urgent. Of course, we might also question how they are also using their French time - some doing translation, lots of art, not much communication, etc.

I do not have actual percentages of schools using the different allocations - and this may change from year to year as principals move, teachers change and staffs set priorities.

The time allocated to Core French 5-7 ranged from 45-90 minutes per week. Sometimes the amount of time depends on whether the classroom teacher feels comfortable teaching French - and I am quite sure that where there is a lack of comfort, French would be the first to go when there are other demands on classroom time.

There was consistency in the Grade 8 data (where Grade 8 takes place in a secondary school setting) and a great deal of inconsistency in the Grade 5 to 7 time allotments. The widest range was noted in districts with middle schools. This may be due in part to a wide variety of delivery models. A separate study is needed to examine how and how often French 6 to 8 is delivered in middle school settings. Although the question of who is delivering core French was not asked directly, the responses indicated that the majority are generalist teachers. Where this predominates, there is a wide range of delivery times. Where a specialist teacher delivers French as a prep subject, there is more consistency.

Determining the actual number of minutes taught by generalists in their classrooms is difficult to ascertain.
Only three schools in the district have a specialist French teacher. In all three schools, French is delivered twice a week for 45 minutes. These are probably the only schools that consistently reach the target number of minutes.

There are not specialists in middle schools; most grade 8 teachers do their own French or trade off with someone.

Les profs de 8e ne sont pas tous des spécialistes -- loin de là. Alors, le niveau de langue qui est enseigné n'est pas très élevé dans plusieurs cas.

Many of our schools have the generalist teacher deliver French to their own classes. This is particularly the case where the school has chosen to go with another prep relief subject (e.g. Computers, Music) . . . . time has been reduced and teachers are teaching French who do not know it - and against their will.

A few of the 6/7 teachers are less comfortable with French . . . . lots of anxiety, however and a real challenge for many.

Some districts do have specialist core French teachers at the elementary level; however, these are in the minority. In the Victoria school district, a specialist has or demonstrates the following:
-at least one recent (2000 or later) middle school or secondary FSL methods course (3 credit) and
-functional bilingualism (oral). There are criteria and a performance standard to assess functional bilingualism and that’s done via an oral interview.

In other districts though, a specialist is defined as a teacher who may have some background in the language or methodology but, more important, is willing to teach French. I have discovered, through years of delivering in-service sessions and field-based university courses that many elementary and middle years core French teachers lack the linguistic or methodological background and training to feel confident in their French teaching.

In conclusion, these data depict how core French is delivered for many of the province’s elementary and middle years students. The average amount of time allocated to the teaching of core French (80 minutes) is minimal even by the 1995 IRP standard, that is, only 66 percent of the recommended 120 minutes per week and only 40 percent of the amount recommended by the National Core French Study (and delivered in other provinces, such as Ontario and New Brunswick). Worse, the lack of training in language and methodology evinced by the comments above indicates that we need to do a better job of preparing and developing core French teachers. This begs the questions: should we be advocating for more consistent time allocations across the province, for example, 120 minutes per week in Grades 5 to 7? Will more instructional time improve program quality?

There are a number of factors that contribute to a quality second language education program: time and intensity, curriculum and pedagogy, and trained teachers. In this article, I have examined time allocated to core French during the mandated years of study. I hope to add to this information base with more time allocation data and further details about the present state of core French 5 to 8.

Please stay tuned for future articles addressing the question of how to improve elementary-middle years core French in British Columbia.

Stern, D. (1982). Core French programs across Canada: How can we improve them? The Canadian Modern Language Review, 39(1): 34-47.
Canadian Association of Second Language Teachers.(1990). National Core French study summary. Second languages bulletin special issue.
Ministry of Education, British Columbia (1995). Core French 5 to 12: Integrated Resource Package 1995. Victoria, B.C.: Queen's Printer.
Ministry of Education, British Columbia (2006). Form 1701: Student Data Collection for Public Schools.