Newly announced funding is set to help Simon Fraser University (SFU) play a role in supporting French-language teachers in the province.
On March 3, the provincial and federal governments announced more than $13.5 million to help with the training, recruitment and retaining instructors.
SFU is scheduled to receive $513,000 to increase access to a network of professional development experts by providing workshops and resources in both French minority language and French second language contexts.
“The work of teachers is crucial as they play an essential role in the lives our of children and future generations. That’s why we believe it is so important to support them,” Ginette Petitpas Taylor, federal minister of official languages, said in a news release.
“More than ever, the federal government aims to train, recruit, and retain French teachers, and this funding announcement will help reaching these objectives. It is essential to our collective commitment to build a bilingual Canada and guarantee the vitality of our official-language minority communities.”
The Burnaby post-secondary institution also has a graduate program in educational leadership and is coordinating a provincial network of school administrations to help retain French-language teachers.
SFU's J’enseigne en français includes an annual, one-day conference of professional development for French immersion, Core French and program francophone teachers and administrators.
“The shortage of qualified teachers, including in French, can lead to challenging situations for B.C. families,” associate director of the Office of Francophone and Francophile Affairs (OFFA) at SFU and senior lecturer Isabelle Côté added in the release.
“There is a real need to support them once they start their career.”
The Canadian Association of Second Language Teachers says close to 50 per cent of teachers working in French programs will quit in the first five years.
“This funding allows SFU to implement innovative services and program that respond in a tangible way to the critical needs of Core French, French Immersion and Programme Francophone,” OFFA director Gino LeBlanc explained.
“Among others, with the creation of the SFU J'enseigne en français network, we hope to create this collaborative space where all stakeholders - academics, teachers, administrators, pre-service students, francophone organizations - work together to support French-language education in the province.”
