GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO THE REPORT OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE
ON OFFICIAL LANGUAGES ENTITLED: THE STATE OF FRENCH
SECOND-LANGUAGE EDUCATION PROGRAMS IN CANADA
On February 27, 2014, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages (the Committee) tabled a report entitled: The State of French Second-Language Education Programs in Canada. The report makes ten recommendations directed at the Government of Canada and specifically the Department of Canadian Heritage, together with the provinces and territories through the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC).
The Government’s actions and engagement are consistent with the essence of the Committee’s recommendations. As such, the Government will continue to support learning French as a second language while respecting provincial and territorial jurisdiction in education. The Response is structured around five themes: 1) Renewal of the Protocol and Funding, 2) Accountability, 3) Student Achievement, 4) Support to Educational Staff and Research, and 5) Awareness. These themes cover all the recommendations of the report. In exploring these themes it is important to clarify how the Government of Canada provides support to second-language education.
Under the Canadian Constitution, education falls under provincial jurisdiction. It is in this context that, for more than 40 years and pursuant to Part VII of the Official Languages Act, the Government of Canada has taken measures to encourage and assist provinces and territories to provide opportunities for everyone in Canada to learn both English and French.
On August 14, 2013, the Protocol for Agreements for Minority-Language Education and Second-Language Instruction 2013-2014 to 2017-2018 (Protocol) between the Government of Canada and the CMEC was signed. The Protocol maintained the same level of annual funding as the previous 2009-2013 Protocol, or $259.5 million a year, including $235.5 million for provincial and territorial bilateral agreements and $24 million for the pan-Canadian bursary and language assistant programs (Odyssey and Explore programs).
The CMEC is the mechanism through which provincial and territorial governments collaborate with the Government of Canada. However, the Government of Canada is not a member of the CMEC. The Government of Canada and the provinces and territories, represented by the CMEC, have established a multi-lateral Protocol, renewed every five years, to structure federal-provincial/territorial cooperation in support of minority-language education and second-language instruction. The Government then concludes subsequent bilateral agreements with each province and territory based on the Protocol.
The Protocol clearly states that, as education is a provincial and territorial jurisdiction, it is the responsibility of each provincial and territorial government to establish its own action plans, determine objectives, set priorities and evaluate their programs in education. They are responsible for not only the development but also the implementation of their individual action plans. This implementation is done through the provincial or territorial Departments of Education and their respective school boards, along with the provincial or territorial departments responsible for post-secondary education where they exist.
The Government recognizes the importance of accountability for all federal funding, which is why in 2009 it negotiated the inclusion of a strategic framework in the 2009-2013 Protocol. This was an important step to improve performance measures and accountability within intergovernmental collaboration on second-language instruction. The most recent Protocol (2013-2018) retains this same strategic framework.
The strategic framework defines six areas of intervention considered key in the success and advancement of second-language instruction (i.e. student participation, provision of programs, student performance, enriched school environment, access to post-secondary education and support for educational staff and research). Provincial and territorial action plans present specific initiatives, performance indicators and targets for each of the six areas of intervention. Provinces and territories take into account their regional challenges and goals when identifying the activities they wish to support in their action plans.
The bilateral agreements specify that payments are conditional upon the Government of Canada’s receipt and acceptance of required annual financial and periodic progress reports. These reports present the progress made in each area of intervention funded based on the indicators and targets identified by the provincial and territorial governments in their action plans.
In September 2013, the Commissioner of Official Languages released the findings of his audit of the accountability reporting for official languages in relation to transfer payments to provinces and territories. The Commissioner expressed satisfaction with Canadian Heritage’s performance particularly with respect to the processes established to ensure effective accountability for transfer payments to the provinces. The audit found that the Department demonstrated leadership by taking concrete measures to monitor education activities.
The Protocol also stipulates that the provinces and territories through the CMEC will jointly compile two reports (a mid-term and a final report) on pan-Canadian results for public information purposes. The reports provide an overview of the main challenges and successes across the country in second-language instruction and a breakdown of the financial contributions from both the Government of Canada and the provinces and territories. Reports from 2005-2009 are posted by the CMEC on its website, and those from 2009-2013 will be posted when available.
In terms of public reporting, the Government of Canada produces an Annual Report on Official Languages where highlights of provincial and territorial initiatives and enrolment statistics (provided by Statistics Canada) are presented. This report is available on the Department of Canadian Heritage website.
The Government of Canada is committed to ensuring good management of the funding it provides as part of the Protocol and is confident that the systems in place through the bilateral agreements meet those accountability requirements.
The Government of Canada supports initiatives related to retention, authentic learning experiences and the importance of evaluating language competency, all designed to positively impact student success in second-language learning.
Across jurisdictions, second-language programs are not necessarily mandatory or become optional half way through high school. Retention of students in second-language programs up to the end of high school presents a challenge for the provinces and territories.
Over 40 years, impressive improvement has been made in second-language learning. Today, there are over 2.4 million young Canadians learning English and French as a second language. As many as 356,580 students participated in immersion programs in 2011-2012, representing an
increase in enrollment of 18.7% since 2006-2007. Over the last 15 years, a growing number of students have been taking part in new and innovative intensive learning programs known as Intensive French. In 2009, 8,000 students in 369 classes took part in Intensive French programs in nine provinces and three territories.
Through the bilateral agreements, the Government of Canada supports a number of provincial and territorial activities related to student retention efforts targeting all second-language programs, including core-French, intensive-French and immersion programs.
In addition, the Government of Canada supports several non-governmental partners that offer scholarships as an incentive to French second-language students to continue their studies in French at the post-secondary level. For example, prizes for the finalists and winners of the Canadian Parents for French national public-speaking contest are scholarships at one of three post-secondary institutions. Prizes for the French for Future national essay contest are also scholarships, at one of 12 participating universities. The Association des universités de la francophonie canadienne also offers a number of scholarships to immersion students to continue their studies in French at participating universities.
The Government of Canada considers the provision of authentic learning experiences for youth key to successful second-language learning. Contact with speakers of the language is important and as such involvement of the francophone minority communities is vital. The Government of Canada will continue to support the specific activities that the provinces and territories have selected as part of their action plans.
In addition, the Government of Canada funds a number of programs that offer cultural and linguistic exchanges and employment opportunities that give participants the chance to practise and become more confident in the use of their second language.
The Odyssey program gives young Canadians a greater appreciation of Canada’s cultural diversity while enhancing and supporting learning in the classroom. In 2012-2013 over 300 French- and English-speaking language monitor positions were filled across the country. These monitors, who work full-time as teacher assistants, encourage young students to improve their knowledge of the target language and culture.
The Explore program, offers young Canadian students second-language learning bursaries, allowing students to immerse themselves in their second-language by taking a five-week course offered by Canadian post-secondary institutions. In 2011–2012 Explore made it possible for 7,800 students to improve their knowledge of their second language as well as their knowledge and understanding the culture inherent to this language.
Each year, the Government of Canada, through its Young Canada Works in Both Official Languages program, offers some 700 students and recent graduates the chance to work for employers that are looking to benefit from the innovative ideas and skills of young workers. Young Canada Works offers summer job and internship programs for young people where they work in their second language, encouraging them to further improve their second language while being exposed to authentic cultural experiences.
In addition, through the Exchanges Canada Program, in 2011-2012, almost 8,000 youth had the opportunity to practise their second official language via an exchange, forum, or summer work opportunity, through groups such as the Society for Educational Visits and Exchanges in Canada, and the Forum for Young Canadians. Participants not only gain the confidence to use their second language, but they realize the importance of being skilled in both of Canada’s national languages. The Government of Canada intends to continue to support these initiatives as they bring members of the two linguistic groups closer together and provide participants with authentic learning experiences.
Student evaluation is a responsibility that falls within provincial and territorial jurisdiction. In the context of intergovernmental collaboration, the Government of Canada will continue to encourage action plan initiatives related to language skills evaluation. In fact, provincial and territorial governments have agreed, in the context of the last Protocol signed with the CMEC, to pay special attention to various undertakings that demonstrate progress in acquiring language skills and to promoting the sharing of best practices. Under their plans, provinces and territories evaluate student achievement and their second-language programs through a number of evaluation tools developed in their region.
In addition, the Government of Canada supports national associations representing second-language and immersion teachers and has encouraged these partners to undertake activities related to language skills evaluation.
To keep young people interested in second-language learning and to improve their chances of success, the Government of Canada will continue to support the initiatives undertaken by its partners in second-language learning and provincial and territorial initiatives that have an impact on student achievement. This includes activities related to retaining students, opportunities for real-life second-language experiences and the development of tools to measure students’ language proficiency.
The Government will continue to encourage provincial and territorial governments to plan and implement activities in support of their educational staff. Current activities typically include professional development opportunities, bursaries to teachers wishing to perfect their second-language skills as well as their knowledge of second-language instruction.
In addition to the support the Government of Canada provides through provincial and territorial action plans, it partners with the Canadian Association of Second-language Teachers (CASLT) and the Canadian Association of Immersion Teachers (CAIT) to provide direct support to French second-language teachers. Both of these organizations offer teachers professional development opportunities, encourage research and facilitate networking opportunities to enrich second-language learning.
With support from the Government of Canada, CASLT offers second-language teachers hundreds of pedagogical resources and professional development tools. CASLT has created tools for teacher development that are based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Language (CEFR). The Canadian Language Portfolio for Teachers was created to support educational staff or students in education that foresee a career teaching in French as a second language, French immersion or intensive French. CASLT has also developed CEFR-based toolkit for teachers that provides them with tasks that can be used in the classroom to assess student language levels.
CAIT offers support to immersion teachers through a variety of channels. Some 700 participants attend professional development workshops at CAIT’s annual conference. CAIT produces a journal and monthly electronic newsletter distributed to 6,500 teachers. Each month, an average of 450 people view or participate in a blog with an expert. A variety of other CAIT professional development forums and workshops draw up to 1,000 participants per year.
Research in the area of second-language learning is funded through provincial and territorial action plans. Generally, research undertaken is focused on improving the learning and teaching of French as a second language. For instance, studies are being conducted on intensive core French to assess the success of this type of program and research is being directed at developing effective classroom practices.
The Government of Canada will continue to support training for teachers and research in order to improve educational methods and resources.
The Government of Canada believes that the promotion of French second-language programs is important and supports provincial and territorial initiatives in this area.
Each province and territory offers a range of French as a second language programs in order to meet regional needs and priorities. There is no established standard across the country on the required timing or nature of second-language learning in the educational system.
Through provincial and territorial action plans, the Government provides support to activities that help raise awareness of the type of French as a second language programs available in each region, and to post-secondary institutions that promote the profession of second-language instruction.
The Government of Canada also provides support to Canadian Parents for French, a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion and creation of French as a second language learning opportunities for young Canadians, to inform parents across Canada on their options for French as a second language programs. In addition, the Government of Canada will continue to support teacher associations, such as CASLT and CAIT in their efforts to advance and promote their profession.
The most recent Protocol clearly outlines the Government of Canada’s role in supporting minority-language education and second-language instruction. This intergovernmental collaboration is organized around the strategic framework which helps direct federal investment and monitor progress.
The strategic framework, agreed to with the provincial and territorial governments, establishes the six areas of intervention in second-language instruction for which the Government of Canada’s support will be provided. Through the Protocol, provincial and territorial governments agree to take into account the current federal priorities in second-language learning, including intensive teaching and learning approaches, youth involvement in authentic language learning and various undertakings that demonstrate progress in acquiring language skills. The Government of Canada will continue to support the action plans of the provinces and territories in support of second-language learning through the parameters of the Protocol. Furthermore, the Government of Canada will continue to work with its partners in second-language learning, including teacher associations, parents and young Canadians, to ensure that its support to second-language learning is as effective as possible.
The Government of Canada thanks the Committee for its work in conducting its study and report, and wishes to assure the Committee that it will continue to collaborate with the CMEC and the Ministers of Education on all issues related to second-language learning. The Committee’s report, and the issues it raises, will be a valuable reference in continued intergovernmental discussions on second-language learning.