Kathryn Albright

November 2014

Intensive French
Ideas to Improve the Oral Communication Proficiency Level of Students
enrolled in the Core French Program in British Columbia
Whats happening in other Canadian provinces?
New Brunswick is leading the way in innovative ways to make
effective language education programs available to all of their
citizens and increase bilingualism in Canadas two official
languages.

Page 2

Whats the problem with BCs core

French program?
Considering how far removed BC is from first-language, francophone regions in Canada, it
is little wonder that it is difficult to develop BC students oral French proficiency level to a
point where they can actually use their second language in spontaneous communication.
The majority of BC students lack easy access to intense and authentic experiences of
communication in French. The focus of the core French program is on acquiring explicit
knowledge such as grammatical structure, which, with practice, is supposed to lead to
spontaneous communication (Netten and Germain, 2009, p. 772). However, core French
courses generally do not succeed in producing students capable of spontaneously
speaking French. Hours and hours of instruction during my education were essentially
thrown away by inefficiently learning French this way through the core program. It wasnt
until I sought out immersive and intensive language learning opportunities after
graduating secondary school that I was finally able to communicate spontaneously in
French. In fact, results from a study done in 2009 by Joan Netten and Claude Germain
indicate that the number of years of instruction in core French does not make any
difference to the level of oral communication attained by students (Netten and Germain, p.
766). It is a sobering thought to think of the amount of time, effort, and money that is
funneled into a program that doesnt produce results. So, my question began as this: Why
do we keep putting kids through the core French program despite its obvious faults?
Considering that there are not enough resources for all students to access the French
Immersion program, how can we improve the core program enough that all BC students
are able to graduate from secondary school with at least a B1 proficiency level of oral
French communication. Intensive French seems to be the answer to improving the core
French program in BC. Netten and Germain list three major factors that contribute to the
lack of success of the core French program that IF addresses: 1. The lack of sufficient time
and intensity (In general, core French lessons across Canada vary from 20 to 40 minutes
in length); 2. Resources geared towards developing explicit knowledge rather implicit
competence; and 3. Insufficient supply and preparation of teachers with appropriate
linguistic abilities (Netten and Germain, 2009, p.772-773).

The paradigm underlying IF is that spontaneous communication requires implicit

competence, that explicit knowledge does not become implicit competence, and that the
development of oral competence precedes reading and writing, although the three
follow each other in quick succession with students in the elementary grades who
already possess considerable L1 competence. (Netten and Germain, 2009, p.759)

IF Program in a Nutshell
5 months of intensive French
instruction in either grade 4, 5 or 6
(80% French and 20% other
subjects) followed by a Post-IF
program until grade 9 or 10 that
resembles a modified core French
program.
Emphasis is placed on experiential
oral language acquisition before
reading and writing.
Strategies of IF instruction include
modeling appropriate linguistic
structures, using and reusing these
structures in authentic situations,
using complete sentences, and
consistently correcting the oral
expression of students.

How do BC language programs

compare with other provinces?
Qubec
My first experience with intensive language programs was with the Explore and
Odyssey programs that are supported and funded by the federal government (The
Ministry of Canadian Heritage). During Odyssey (2013-2014) I had the opportunity to
work in a francophone school district in Qubec (La Commission scolaire du Lac St
Jean) where they have been offering Intensive English programs successfully since
2001 (CS-LSJ, tude sur langlais intensif au primaire 2009-2010, p.2). The IF program
was first developed in Qubec as a result of the strict language laws which prohibit
other school subjects being taught in any language other than French. While I was
there, I noticed that the students that I was working with at the secondary level had
extremely different levels of oral competency in English as a result of their English
instruction at the elementary level depending on whether or not they took Intensive
English. The students who had gone through anglais intensif were able to communicate
fluidly in English, which facilitated their capacity to understand and improve upon their
language skills at the secondary level. The students who had not gone through IE had
very basic oral abilities in English and struggled to keep up with other students in the
class. Also, their motivation to learn English was generally lower than students who had
gone through the IE program. IE students generally showed a keener interest in
Anglophone culture, music, television programs, etc than non-IE students. About half of
the total students had gone through the IE program and these students, I felt, had an
equal ability to speak English as French Immersion students have in French in BC.

New Brunswick
New Brunswick is the only officially bilingual province in Canada. It has its own parallel
English and French school systems, laws requiring equal treatment of both language
groups, and a provincial Official Languages Act (CBC Digital Archives). They have
dedicated a lot of time, effort and money into researching education practices that
support bilingualism, including an extensive study of the IF program and methodology to
support second-language acquisition. Recently they have made huge leaps in providing
bilingual education for all of their students by replacing the core French program with IF
programs (Pre-IF, IF, and Post-IF). New Brunswick school districts currently offer French
Immersion for approximately 25% of the students enrolled in the public school system
and Intensive French for the remaining 75% of the population with all students
eventually acquiring at least intermediate language skills in their second language by the
end of grade 10. By grade 11, all students are merged into the Blended High School
Program and effectively bilingual in French and English (New Brunswicks Action Plan:
French First-Language Education and Second-Language Instruction 2009-2010 to 20122013, p.12-13). In comparison with British Columbias pilot Intensive French program
currently underway in three Surrey school districts with a total of 450 students enrolled,
New Brunswick has a fully functioning program that is already operating using a
proficiency scale. BCs draft curriculum includes a switch to the CERF proficiency scale,
which is not currently in being used in schools. In New Brunswick, all school districts
offer bilingual education and thousands of students are enrolled in IF programs there.
With a high-rate of success, New Brunswicks model is being studied by educators and
researchers across Canada and around the world.

Bilingualism in Canada
More than 17% of Canadians were
bilingual as of our 1996 census, up from
13% in 1971.
French-immersion programs spread
rapidly throughout the provinces over
the 1970s Studies of English-speaking
children in the French-immersion
programs demonstrated that they
displayed a more favourable disposition
to French Canadian culture and
expanded rights for official-languageminority communities The long-term
impacts of this generation of immersion
children on national unity and public
policy are only beginning to be felt, but
one suspects that these children of
Trudeau are likely to be well-disposed to
expanding and continuing a strong
official languages policy for Canada and
to building bridges between the two
official-language groups.
- Matthew Hayday, 2005, p.181.

Grade

New Brunswick Education Program Options

K-2

English Prime with learning experiences to introduce French language and culture

English Prime with learning experiences to introduce

French language and culture

English Prime with Pre-Intensive French

French Immersion

English Prime with Intensive French

English Prime with PostIntensive French

Late French Immersion

7-10

11
12

Blended High School Program

Grade

British Columbia Education Program Options

K-3

No instruction of second language specified

Early French Immersion

(100% French instruction)

No instruction of second language specified

Required second language course (Core French is the

course most frequently offered)

Late French
Immersion

9-10
11

(80% French instruction)

Optional core second language

courses offered as electives

(50-75% French instruction)

(no less than 25% French instruction)

12

Resources
L2 Educational Resources Database Pedagogical Resources Database: French as a Second Language
-

Programs (incl. Core French, Immersion, IF, etc.)

Language Strands (incl. listening with/without visual support, reading, spoken interaction/production,
writing)

Levels (K-6, 7-12)

http://www.langcanada.ca/resources/french-sl/langcanada-search_en.php

Bibliography
Anglais intensif au primaire. http://www.anglaisintensifauprimaire.com/
CBC Digital Archives. 1968: One country, deux langues.
http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/politics/prime-ministers/pierre-e
La Commission Scolaire du Lac-St.-Jean (2011). tude 2009-2010: Anglais intensif au primaire.
Hayday, Matthew, (2005). Bilingual Today, United Tomorrow: Official Languages in Education and Canadian

Federalism. McGill-Queens University Press: Montreal.

The Government of Canada - Ministry of Canadian Heritage. Official Languages in Education Bilateral Agreement:
British Columbia Action Plan 2009-2010 to 2012-2013.
http://www.pch.gc.ca/eng/1357582037588/1357582154057
The Government of Canada - Ministry of Canadian Heritage. New Brunswicks Action Plan: French-First Language
Education and Second-Language Instruction 2009-2010 to 2012-2013.
http://www.pch.gc.ca/eng/1357582037588/1357582154057
Netten, Joan, and Germain, Claude, (2009). The Future of Intensive French in Canada. The Canadian Modern Language

Review / La revue canadienne des langues vivantes, Volume 65, Number 5, August 2009, pp. 757-786.