FSL

French as a Second Language Education Information

In Canada, there are three broad models for the delivery of French as a Second Language (FSL) education:

• Core French
• French Immersion
• Intensive French

The Halton District School Boards offers Core French for all students starting in Grade 4. French Immersion is offered as a choice in many schools across Halton for students starting in Grade 1 (“Early Immersion”), or at one centre in Burlington for students starting in Grade 7 (“Late Immersion” or “Extended French”). Additional information is also available on the HDSB website (see French Programs).

French Language Education Links

• French programs in the Halton District School Board
• French Immersion Programs in Halton (PDF)
• French Immersion in Halton – Facts and Perceptions (PDF)
• Canadian Parents for French (Ontario) is a non-profit charitable organization and is the provincial Branch of the national organization, Canadian Parents for French. There are numerous local Chapters across the province who carry out activities that support French as a second language (FSL) learning both inside and outside of the classroom.
• Canadian Association of Immersion Teachers
• Canadian Council on Learning – French Immersion Education in Canada
• Canadian Parents For French – The State of French Immersion in Canada 2008. A resource page including specific reports on each province.
• Ontario Ministry of Education-French as a Second Language
• Statistics Canada – French Immersion 30 Years Later

HDSB Policy, Reports and Presentations

• Report 08157: French Immersion Entry Point Review – Nov 12, 2008
• HDSB French as a Second Language Policy 6000-06
• Report 00164: Review of the French Language Policy 6000-6 – Nov 1, 2000
• Report to the School Programs Advisory Committee Re: Immersion and Extended French Program – Oct 31, 1996

HDSB Community Delegations

• Status Quo, the Creative Option for West Oakville French Immersion Interim Accommodation – Pine Grove School Council Delegation to the HDSB, Wednesday 30 November 2005
• PE13 Delegation, Pine Grove School Council, 16 September 2003
• École Pine Grove PS 2003 French Immersion Survey
• École Pine Grove PS 2003 French Immersion Survey – Summary of Responses

Information, Reports and Commentary From Other Sources

• The Government of Canada Releases Report on Consultations on Linguistic Duality and Official Languages – Bernard Lord’s report on official languages was released on March 20, 2008 recommending the investment of $1 billion over 5 years by the federal government to promote official languages, an increase of $190 million over the past 5-year plan. This report was posted the on Canadian Heritage (http://www.pch.gc.ca/) prior to wrap-up event for consultations (http://www.pch.gc.ca/pc-ch/consultations/lo-ol_2008/index_e.cfm).
• Report on the Government of Canada’s Consultations on Linguistic Duality and Official Languages
  [HTML Version | PDF Version, 574 KB]
• ACTION PLAN: REGULAR PROGRAMS AND ADDITIONAL STRATEGIES Elementary / Secondary French Second Language Instruction
  Ontario Ministry of Education, March 2006
  “The 2005-06 to 2008-09 agreement on elementary / secondary French second language (FSL) instruction establishes the cooperation framework between Canada and Ontario to fund the regular FSL programs and additional strategies designed to increase the proportion of high school graduates with a working knowledge of French.” Read more …
• Differences in Setting – Compiled Research of the Comparison in Academic Achievement between Dual-Track and Single-Track French Immersion Programs
  Prepared by: Lesley Doell, French Language Consultant, French Language Resource Centre, Grande Prairie, Alberta
• TVO Parents.com Your Voice pod cast covering information on French Immersion programs, the entry points, the benefits, participation from the multicultural communities, the barriers, the ideal situation when there is parental, school board and special education support, etc. It’s All French To Me – French Immersion in Ontario, 25/03/08
  [wmv file: runs 32:45]
• C’est la vie, 31/03/08 – Intensive French
  This week C’est la vie investigates “Intensive French”. The New Brunswick government has just made it compulsory for all students in Grade 5 in the English school system. And they’re eliminating early French immersion. But what is Intensive French? How does it work? And how does it compare to French immersion? C’est la vie will have some answers.
  Right click to Download C’est la vie, 31/03/08 – Intensive French
  [mp3 file: runs 28:02]
• New Brunswick Department of Education, French as a Second Language: A Review of Programming and Services – Report (PDF)
• French Second Language Commission, Changes recommended to French second-language programs and services (anglophone sector) (News Release 08/02/27)
• Letter to the Hon. Kelly Lamrock, Minister of Education, New Brunswick, from Joan Netten and Claude Germain, creators of the Intensive French program, disassociating themselves from the government’s decision to eliminate Early French Immersion in the province, appearing in The Daily Gleaner, Letter to minister and the Times & Transcript, Experts not associated with N.B. decision.
• Save Early French Immersion in NB on ATV News (YouTube)
• la maison – a clearinghouse of information about the fight for options in K-12 education in New Brunswick
• Policy Brief, “The Case for Universal French Instruction”, and “The Case for Universal French Instruction”, Policy Options Politique, July-August 2008, J. Douglas Willms, University of New Brunswick
• An Examination of Intensive French (Dr. Alina MacFarlane’s Report for CASLT, 2005)
• French-Immersion Education in Canada, May 17, 2007, Canadian Council on Learning
• Bilingualism: A failed policy? Language neurosis is our identity, KONRAD YAKABUSKI, FROM SATURDAY’S GLOBE AND MAIL, APRIL 5, 2008 AT 12:00 AM EDT
  “Every country has its fixations. Where else but in Canada could a straightforward debate about the who and when of French immersion
  in the third-smallest province send the whole country’s official languages intelligentsia into a fit of doomsdayism?” Read more …
• Pample the Moose – “A slightly acidic space for commentary, mixed with sweet undertones of optimism, and occasionally garnished with a cherry of insight. Pample the Moose is the blog of Matthew Hayday, an assistant professor in the History Department at the University of Guelph. The assorted musings here are his, and do not reflect the positions of the university.”
• Dr. James Cummins’ (OISE, University of Toronto) ESL and Second Language Learning Web
• Stephen Krashen, “Why Bilingual Education?”, ERIC Digest.
• AIM … a revolution in second language education.

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