Ontarians are questioning if French classes should be mandatory throughout high school to have more bilingual residents, but a Toronto educator doesn’t think that will help.
A post on Threads has recently inspired GTA residents to speak out about issues with French classes in public schools in the region.
In the post, a user expressed their frustration about not being able to speak French fluently as a Canadian, saying that being bilingual could’ve been an asset for them as an adult.
“Growing up in Ontario, I should [be] bilingual right? Wrong. French stops being a mandatory class in 9th grade, and I think that’s a shame. I look back and wish that I took it all 4 years of high school. Being bilingual opens up so many doors that you don’t even think about as a kid,” they wrote.
View on Threads
Other users then replied saying that they also wish they or their children were taught more French in school, and agreed that classes should be mandatory in high school, and even be offered in earlier grades.
“My daughter was in French immersion until grade 7. We pulled her out for some personal reasons but she still loved French, [and] planned to take French through highschool. She’s in grade 11 and her school is not offering grade 11 or 12 French. I complained to every person in the board and government and got nowhere,” a user said.
“I hate that in Ontario French is not offered in public schools until grade 4. Littles are a sponge for language, why not offer it earlier,” another user added. ”
According to Statistics Canada, only 10.8 per cent of Ontario residents were bilingual in Canada in 2021, while 3.8 per cent were French-speaking.
Now Toronto spoke with John Dias, president and founder of Dias Learning, a Toronto initiative that aims to develop French education plans for different learning needs and address teacher shortages, who said that he himself didn’t understand the importance of being bilingual, and only took more French classes because his mother pushed him to do so.
“As a child, I didn’t understand how valuable it would be and all the opportunities offered to bilingual Canadians. So, I was really lucky that my mom forced me to stay into it,” he said. “There’s so many opportunities that are available to people who are bilingual in Canada.”
FRENCH EDUCATION IN ONTARIO
According to Ontario’s Education Ministry, students in English-language schools have to take core French as a second language (FSL) from Grades four through eight and get at least one FSL credit in high school as a minimum requirement to secure a diploma.
If a student wishes to keep learning the language, they can also take part in the extended French program that requires them to earn seven credits through high school, being four in FSL and three in any other French subjects.
Students also have the option of taking the province’s French immersion program, which requires them to take six subjects in French instead of three, in addition to the four FSL classes.
But contrary to what many suggested online, Dias doesn’t seem to think that making classes mandatory would push more students to become bilingual, and schools should try to truly motivate students to want to keep learning French.
“I am 100 per cent opposed to making French mandatory after Grade 9,” he said. “The fact that so many children drop French class after Grade 9 is evidence they do not find it useful and do not value the language.”
According to him, instead of forcing students to take French classes, schools need to do a better job at adapting the French curriculum to students’ interests, through a more holistic approach.
“If they don’t think French is valuable then we have failed them as teachers, and we need to work harder to motivate them,” he added.
The entrepreneur says that Ontario also needs to address a series of other issues within the French teaching system in the province to encourage more students to become bilingual, including a massive shortage of qualified teachers, lack of new teaching materials and use of traditional methods that don’t fit all children’s learning needs.
“The big problem is there’s a very big shortage of qualified French teachers. So, even if you’re learning French in school, there’s a very high possibility your teacher’s not qualified, but they’ll accept the job because there’s so many open positions for French,” he said.
In 2021, the Canadian Association for Immersion Professionals (ACPI) and the Canadian Association for Second Language Teachers (CASLT) released a study that revealed that the country was in need of nearly 10,000 qualified French teachers.
Dias says that the issue has still not been resolved to this day, making it difficult for students across the country to become bilingual.
IS IT POSSIBLE TO BECOME BILINGUAL IN A CLASSROOM?
Meanwhile, many Canadians online believe that no matter the amount of French classes students take, the quality of French education in Ontario schools is also not enough to help them become bilingual.
“I took French all through high school and am definitely not bilingual. I forget most of it now due to lack of use, but even fresh out of grade 12, I still wouldn’t have considered myself bilingual,” a Threads user said.
“French taught in Ontario schools isn’t designed to make students bilingual. You could take every class offered and basically be able to function as an informed tourist at best,” a different user chimed in.
Dias says that it would actually be difficult for a student to become bilingual while only following basic public school French education, given that the system is not adapted to most students’ learning abilities.
“Certain kids can learn French effectively in a traditional ‘class’ style format, but they are outliers. The vast majority of children cannot effectively learn this way. Most require a multitude of interactive learning formats/scenarios and lessons to learn French, especially if they have non-traditional learning styles, particular learning needs, or learning disabilities,” he said.
