French Advisory Committee
French Advisory Committee (FAC) was established in April 2009. The committee is made up of parents, secondary student representatives, elementary and secondary teachers, trustees, principals and members of senior administration. For more information about FAC and its mandate, click here.
Applications for the French Advisory Committee (FAC) for the 2012-2013 are available in the downloads section.
French Advisory Committee Update - January 2012
Curriculum
All of the Ontario French as a Second Language curriculum (Core French, French Immersion and Extended French) have been revised. The anticipated release of the new curriculum documents is sometime in 2012, with implementation planned for September 2013. We will see a continued emphasis on oral communication and social interaction, as well as the influence of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Twenty-first century skills such as meta-cognition, intercultural awareness and media literacy will be important areas of focus.
The Common European Framework of Reference
This framework from the Council of Europe describes second language proficiency in terms of what students are able to do across a variety of developmental levels and categories. Core French and French Immersion teachers have attended professional development sessions to raise awareness about the CEFR and to learn more about its philosophy and to share best practices in our classrooms. Halton has been selected to participate in pilot projects with the Ministry of Education to continue to improve the proficiency levels and establish benchmarks for proficiency for both core and immersion programs.
The Common European Framework is integrated across the new curriculum, and aligns with assessment for learning practices in the Ontario Assessment and Evaluation policy, (Growing Success). The emphasis in our FSL curriculums will be on the use of authentic texts and a communicative approach to language learning. Halton teachers are connecting these ideas with the twenty-first century skills our students will need such as problem-solving, critical thinking, effective communication, using technological tools and meta-cognition.
Promoting FSL Programs in Halton
Halton District School Board continually strives to provide high quality education for all students. Core French, Extended French and French Immersion programs all strive to teach students the skills they need to be able to communicate effectively in the French language. Although students in each program acquire different levels of proficiency as the instructional intensity varies, all FSL programs develop fundamental skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing French.
On May 19th 2012, groups of intermediate students from all schools (and FSL programs) will be invited to celebrate learning French and to learn more about the benefits and opportunities afforded by second language proficiency at Halton’s Franconnexion.
Alignment of Instruction
Currently, a variety of subjects are instructed in French across the grades in the French Immersion program. Alignment will create increased opportunities for common resources, professional development and networking as well as increase consistency for Halton students. The FAC committee is considering available research on language of instruction as well as data on Halton student achievement to continue to increase retention in all programs and support quality instruction.
Upcoming focus for 2012
Secondary credits in FI, e-learning, blended courses in core French programs.
We continue to work with secondary school administration and teachers to support alignment and search out opportunities to introduce new course choices in the French Immersion program as well as to offer the ability for Core French students to participate in open courses to continue to improve their French proficiency.
Demits and Entry Points
Members of the committee and other stakeholder groups will review policy regarding entry points into our optional FSL programs as well as procedures for exemptions (students exiting the Core French program before the end of Grade 9 or students exiting the French Immersion program before the end of Grade 12). Feedback may include review of entry dates for immersion programs and demission procedures for students in core and immersion.
Students with Special Needs
As we continue to look at ways to engage our learners, program department staff will be planning future workshops for teachers to consider how we support our special needs and ESL learners.