Francophone Education
Welcome

There was a time in Canada when most parents who could enrol their kids in minority francophone schools were in couples made up of two francophones. But those days are gone. Today, the majority of parents who can have their children educated in French as a first language are in mixed francophone/non-francophone relationships.

That, however, isn’t the whole story. There are also single parents and francophones who have lost French as a family language, as well as more and more newcomers to this country and some non-francophone couples who want their children to master French.

In short, the world of minority francophone education in Canada is changing radically. And with it comes the need for school boards and parent associations to welcome and offer support to a wide variety of parents, not all of whom speak French. That’s the reason for this website, and for all the services I offer as a consultant.

So welcome to Francophone Education in Canada, which takes over where www.exogam.ca left off. This new resource belongs to you, too: the Forum lets you share your experiences, ideas, challenges and solutions with parents and educators throughout the country. Feel free to join in!

I hope you’ll find this site relevant, fun and useful. Enjoy your visit — and check back often!

Glen Taylor
 
Share
Introducing asymmetry

Everything that appears on this website is available in both English and French… up to now. But I’ve just posted a new article on the French home page that’s intended for people involved in francophone institutions, which means my target audience understands French. Now, I could translate the whole article into English — or I could write something entirely different for you.

Considering how dry and serious the French article is, I prefer the second option. So give me a few days, and something new will appear here!

Of course, if you’re curious, you can always see how Google translates the article into English or into any other language you may know…

… which I’ve just done (into English), with this result for the beginning:

•     This article responds to a lecture I presented at the annual meeting of the Commission nationale des parents francophones (CNPF) in November 2011, entitled "Home and support of all parents: towards reciprocity, one step at a time."

The concept of reception and support of parents (or PAA) underlies many of the Francophone community initiatives in minority communities in Canada, including those of the CNPF. Yet there is no consensus definition of "home" and "support" or common understanding of their components.”

Not great but not too shabby either, for a machine… unlike these excerpts:

•     Welcome - or rather welcome - someone is more than welcome him, is to receive in the Francophone community.

•     By providing information about it, the school helps the parent to know what and how he sailed his child benefit.

•     Parents appreciate the welcome and they look after, in other words, they want to support. But what does that mean?

•     Or if a school by school authorities organized a rolling session and the participants (educators and parents) could exchange it, even if it is not a simple and effective way to create communities of interest Canada-wide?

Huh? I’m sure I didn’t write those things in the French text! So if you do use Google Translate, please read the resulting text with a critical eye and a questioning mind!

Read more...
 
Share
The import ants of come you Nick A. Shun
Blog

Glen_Taylor_BLOGI've met lots of parents who, like the tweeting father in my last blog, know some French but aren't comfortable trying to speak it in public. Since French is the language of francophone education in Canada, this can make a trip to their kids' school uncomfortable or even unpleasant.

If only speaking French were as simple as this:

 

But it isn't. So what does that mean for parents who don't speak French? Well, it all depends on the school their kids attend. And what happens in the school depends on the school board's language policy, procedures, guidelines and practices.

The older my kids get, the more I realize there's rarely a simple answer…

Anyway, non-French-speaking parents have a few choices. They can:

  • keep their heads down and not look anyone in the eye, thereby avoiding the need to talk.
  • speak the few French words they know (like "Bonjour") to support the use of French in the school.
  • try to use even more French words (so what if it turns into Franglais?) in an effort to expand their horizons — with friendly help from francophone parents and teachers, of course.
  • use their mother tongue, whether it's English or any other language, taking for granted that everybody will understand them.
  • use hand gestures, facial expressions and other techniques that don't require fluency in any language.
  • encourage their school board to develop a language policy that assures the predominance of French while helping them get the information they need in order to participate in their children's education.

I kind of like the second-last choice, since it can be the most amusing. This being said, school boards that don't have a clear, consensual language policy aren't doing administrators, teachers, parents, students — or themselves — any favours.

But back to those nonverbal techniques. If you'd like to try some out on your next trip to the school, you may find this clip of Quebec comedian Michel Courtemanche inspirational:

 

 

Read more... Add a comment
 
Share
EducationFrancophone.ca © 2011
All Rights Reserved
Calgary Web Design by Begin with B