Sixth International Conference on Immersion and Dual Language Education: Connecting Research and Practice Across Contexts

Symposium (2 hours + 15 minutes)

French

One-Way Second/Foreign Language Immersion

Post-Secondary

Based on our book University-Level French Immersion in Canada: Policies, Pedagogy and Practices, we will present our findings regarding the successful implementation of an adjunct-model French immersion program as evidenced through the voices of its various stakeholders: decision-makers, administrators, educators and students.

University-Level French Immersion in Canada: Policies, Pedagogy and Practices

Symposium orgnanized by 

Helen Knoerr, University of Ottawa

We would like to propose a symposium entitled University-Level French Immersion in Canada: Policies, Pedagogy and Practices, regarding the successful implementation of an adjunct-model French immersion program as evidenced through the voices of its various stakeholders: decision-makers, administrators, educators, students. More specifically, we will address three aspects of immersion at the tertiary level:

-          Program Design and Implementation

-          Learning Modalities and Training Resources

-          Pedagogical Content, Assessment and Evaluation

We surveyed a number of post-secondary institutions in Canada in order to examine the options available in French to immersion students after they complete their secondary education. We analyzed documents and interviewed administrators, educators, and students. We then assessed the outcomes compared to the objectives, and presented our findings, analyses and recommendations in a book, University-Level French Immersion in Canada: Policies, Pedagogy and Practices.

The voices of decision-makers and administrators: Program Design and Implementation

Hélène Knoerr, University of Ottawa

This part of the symposium will deal with the political, administrative and pedagogical foundations of the University-Level French Immersion program at the University of Ottawa (henceforth FIS – French Immersion Studies). First, it will outline the legal and political context of bilingualism and minority-language support in Canada and its transposition to the educational system. Then it will present the political, administrative, financial and pedagogical vision of the initiator of the FIS and how that vision responded to the context and constraints described in the first section. From then, it will describe how that vision was embodied into an actual program, with its structure and resources. The conclusion will outline what works and what doesn’t, offering suggestions for the successful implementation of an adjunct-model French immersion program.

Learning Modalities and Training Resources

Catherine Elena Buchanan, University of Ottawa

A successful immersion program draws from solid policies and political foresight, and aims to facilitate mobility between the various situations language learners will encounter.  The second part of this symposium will describe three modalities (formal, non-formal and informal) of language learning and how these are articulated in various settings, from face-to-face to virtual, from local to global, from supervised to unsupervised, from individual to collective, and from classroom to community. 

We will then consider the specific case of the French Immersion Studies program at the University of Ottawa.  To implement the program, new resources were required to help stakeholders in dealing with an unfamiliar situation.  Specific training tools were designed to address the various needs of language teachers, content professors and students, as these evolved through the years. 

We will then discuss the strengths and weaknesses of these various tools, and conclude with a series of recommendations for a successful implementation of an immersion program.

Pedagogical Content, Assessment and Evaluation

Alysse Weinberg, University of Ottawa

The third part of our symposium will focus on two key elements within the adjunct model in a university context.

The first component will deal with pedagogical content. Sound methodological principles, innovative methods and tools are an integral part of the success of this pedagogical approach. Putting them into practice presents many challenges, including the development of activities targeting vocabulary acquisition, listening and reading comprehension, and developing language through content. This presentation will show practical examples appropriate for the adjunct model, through a variety of language activities specifically designed to facilitate students’ success in their academic class by strengthening their language skills and listening strategies.

The second component of the presentation will focus on assessment and evaluation. First it will address the assessment of students’ linguistic performance: How best to assess students’ language proficiency at admission and at certification? How does one assess students’ language skills without reference to their knowledge of the content from their discipline course? Second, it will discuss program evaluation, either done by the students or conducted by the institution. Sample questions as well as survey findings will be reported on. This presentation will conclude with best practices for the design, implementation, assessment and evaluation in university-level immersion programs.