Investigating the Ontario FSL High School Curriculum: An Exploratory Case Study of Non-Native French-Speaking Teachers’ Cultural Practices
Date
2020-07-03
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Abstract
Following a qualitative social constructivist research paradigm, this exploratory case examined how Ontario non-native French-speaking teachers approached French cultures with beginner level French as a second language (FSL) students of the high school Grade 9 Core French (CF) program. Ontario FSL educators often teach CF and students typically pursue CF in lieu of other FSL programs (Canadian Parents for French, 2017; Masson, 2018). Grade 9 is the final FSL course required for high school graduation (Masson, 2018; OME, 2014). CF students lack confidence speaking and interacting in French (Rehner, 2014) despite many years of language exposure (Masson, 2018) and often abandon FSL studies after Grade 9 (LANG, 2014). This inquiry investigated the cultural practices of ten Ontario CF Grade 9 non-native French-speaking educators from autumn 2018 to January 2019. The teachers participated in an online questionnaire, two semi-structured interviews, an online focus group, and shared cultural resources. Based on a theoretical framework that I developed, thematic analysis revealed that the teachers who recently travelled to French-speaking communities, and who maintained their French linguistic and cultural proficiencies, reflected more of the social constructivist orientation to pedagogy (Cummins, 2001, 2009; Cummins et al., 2007). Participants also modelled some elements of the neurolinguistic approach (Netten & Germain, 2012) to help students retain and reuse cultural content with growing confidence in oral communication. The teachers introduced French cultures using cuisine, music, travel, and ICT resources through CEFR-inspired practices (Council of Europe, 2001) in day-to-day practices. The participants were ambitious cultural learners and pedagogues, which supported the positive characteristics of Ontario non-native French-speaking teachers. Participants also experienced various challenges, such as ICT access issues, lack of teacher-training, and lack of student interaction with native French speakers. Therefore, the findings raised important funding and teacher-training considerations for cultural learning and interaction in Grade 9 CF.
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French as a second language, Core French, non-native teacher-speaker, culture, pluriculture, teacher change
Citation
Guida, R. (2020). Investigating the Ontario FSL High School Curriculum: An Exploratory Case Study of Non-Native French-Speaking Teachers’ Cultural Practices (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.