“French is a priority for the government”, assured in an interview with the Duty the Minister of Higher Education, Pascale Déry. A report commissioned by the ministry and made public on Friday indicates that it is “urgent to act” to improve the mastery of French at the college level.According to the authors, one in four students fails their first French course at CEGEP.
“Despite all the efforts made in teaching the language, it is clear that at the end of compulsory schooling, many young people show shortcomings in terms of basic skills, to such an extent that this lack affects their success in higher education”, can we read in the document, which is nearly a hundred pages long.
Thus, “54% of young people announce at the time of their admission to college that they will have a means or a great need for help in French in order to succeed in their studies,” write the experts.
Pascale Déry says she welcomes “very favorably the avenues for reflection and intervention proposed in this report”. “We know very well that there are gaps in French, this is nothing new. We know very well that we must intervene, and we are already intervening, ”she said.
The document contains 35 recommendations. The first is to teach “how language works in college”. At this time, learning stops in Secondary V. A measure that does not ensure a “continuum”, yet “necessary”. However, this continuity is “part of the priorities of Mr. Drainville”, the Minister of Education, indicates Ms. Déry.
The co-authors also suggest “that the situation of repeated failures in the uniform French test be described and analyzed”, and “that a committee […] examines a set of questions relating to the test […]including its relevance”.
Should we expect a reform of this exam whose success rate is around 83%? “All avenues are open,” replies Ms. Déry. “That said, the vast majority of students pass the uniform French test, so you really have to be able to target those who have shortcomings,” she nuances.
The Minister says she wants to take the time to “consult the stakeholders” and focus, in the short or medium term, on three areas: French development activities for teaching staff, French reinforcement activities to target students who have shortcomings and ensure the uniformity of these systems across the CEGEPs, and “see if we can include more elements relating to the mastery of French in the strategic plans and the institutional success plans”.
Rekindle enthusiasm for French
In addition to the numerous recommendations addressed to the department, the three authors recall “the importance of renewing the commitment and enthusiasm of the citizens of Quebec for the French language.
“A positive relationship between students and their language should start in primary school. […] To ensure better mastery of French, the committee sincerely believes that all of Quebec society must renew its commitment, with energy and enthusiasm, so that the French language is truly an asset present at the heart of social life. »
“We see it in the statistics, we see that there is a decline in French, that there is difficulty in mastering the French language”, comments Pascale Déry, calling for a “collective effort”. “It’s not just a concern for the government, it’s a priority,” she insists.
A long-awaited document
The report of the committee of experts on the mastery of French at the college level was commissioned in the fall of 2021 by the Minister of Higher Education then in office, Danielle McCann.
Marie-Claude Boivin, professor of French didactics at the Université de Montréal, Lison Chabot, retired director of studies at the Cégep de Beauce-Appalaches, and Godelieve Debeurme, professor of French didactics at the Université de Sherbrooke, presented their report to the ministry in January 2022.
But it took more than a year before the said report was made public. An expectation denounced by the National Federation of Teachers of Quebec (FNEEQ).
“Why such a wait if French is a priority for the government? “Questioned in a press release the president of the union federation, Caroline Quesnel, stressing that this is paradoxical with “the official discourse of the Legault government, which prides itself on being a defender of the French language. »
Questioned by The duty on this subject, Minister Déry replies that she only had access to the document in December, two months after taking office, and that she consulted it after the holidays. “Then, since we were setting up [en janvier] an action group on the future of the French language, for me it was very important to be able to share it with my colleagues [des autres ministères], so that we can precisely work on concerted actions. But there was no question of hiding the report. […] On the contrary, there are extremely relevant and important avenues for intervention and reflection. »