February 13, 2019
On February 13, Dr. Wendy Carr (LLED) addressed French second language educators, government officials and media during the Commissioner of Official Languages’ (the Commissioner) launch of their national report on French teacher supply and demand in Canada.
One of the main responsibilities of the Commissioner is to promote linguistic duality in Canadian society. To help meet this responsibility, the Commissioner raises Canadians’ awareness of the benefits of linguistic duality and carries out research, studies and public awareness activities to help inform all Canadians of the status and importance of Canada’s official languages.
Key findings in the report include the need for ongoing professional development (in French language development as well as teaching methodologies) so that French teachers build confidence as well as competence. The LLED French teacher education team led by Dr. Meike Wernicke and Dr. Joanne Robertson with Susan Ankenman are already focussed on providing this professional support for practising teachers as well as teacher candidates through immersive weekend events called Séjour UBC http://lled.educ.ubc.ca/sejour/
You can read the report here: https://www.clo-ocol.gc.ca/en/publications/studies/2019/accessing-opportunity-fsl
