Immigrants who have completed all their francization courses do not enroll in CEGEP or university, in particular because they do not feel that their level of French is good enough, reveals a study by the University of Sherbrooke. And it would seem that their teachers confirm this impression: according to them, the vast majority of their students do not have the intermediate level, that is, the level expected by the Department of Immigration when the four blocks of francization are completed.
“They say they still have intentions of pursuing French lessons but they don’t. For what ? Because even with all the francization courses they have taken, they feel that they do not have the skills, in written French in particular, to succeed or start additional training, “explained Olivier Dezutter, professor at the Faculty of Education at the University of Sherbrooke, which is presenting today at the Acfas Congress the results of a study carried out in collaboration with professors from Bishop’s University and the Cégep de Sherbrooke.
This research and development project, carried out using online questionnaires and face-to-face interviews, was born out of the desire to respond to the concerns of francization teachers who noticed that barely 1% of their full-time students continued their CEGEP studies. Certain factors, such as the shortage of manpower, may explain why they do not start post-secondary studies. But there is more.
A hundred immigrants answered a questionnaire on their needs and their level of French. Result ? A priori, 4 out of 5 students wanted to continue their studies. Of the lot, half were aimed at adult education (for example a Diploma of Vocational Studies), and the other half were considering college or even university studies. Despite their will, many felt that they did not have the intermediate level, the famous “level 7” required by the Government of Quebec in many permanent immigration programs.
According to the ministerial requirements, level 7 requires, among other things, that a person be able to write a formal text containing complex sentences, such as a short CV, an email to justify an absence or a letter of admission to a program of study. “Professors involved in francization say that three-quarters of their graduates do not reach this level,” reports Professor Dezutter. The gap is large between their level after having finished the 4 blocks of the intermediate level in francization and what it takes to go to CEGEP, believes the researcher. “How to manage this gap? »
Change the way of teaching
To explain why some don’t achieve this level, Dezutter looked at the courses themselves and how they are taught. First, he thinks, there is still too much emphasis on oral skills, or “spoken French”. Moreover, the mother tongue of immigrants is not sufficiently valued, despite what scientific research suggests.
“When you come from Colombia, when you are 30 years old, you already know how to read and write. We have developed, in our own language, a series of strategies that we could use in learning a foreign language. However, this linguistic background is often not valued enough in teaching approaches and immigrants have the impression of starting from scratch,” he explains. According to him, one day it will be necessary to lift the taboo on the training, not always adequate, of teachers in francization.
Olivier Dezutter also points to an observation that emerged in his surveys, namely the fact that immigrants do not all learn at the same speed. “We have a certain heterogeneity in the groups but a system that makes everyone move forward at the same pace,” laments the researcher. “Students have told us that they have wasted their time. The individualized approach will always remain an ideal, according to him.
The professor at UdeS also believes that we are on the wrong track in imagining that an immigrant will learn French in a limited period of time. “We have to get out of our heads the idea that immigrants have to learn French in six months. It means nothing ! he says. “You have to see learning French as a continuum that unfolds over a lifetime. According to him, there is a need to offer a complementary training module to the already existing francization offer.
Accommodation measures for allophones?
The questionnaires made it possible to identify what may seem incongruous to some: while CEGEPs and universities do not hesitate to deploy a panoply of measures to help students with learning difficulties, such as allocating more time to an exam or allow the use of special software, immigrants have no measures to encourage their success.
“We interviewed people […] who had learned French in high school. One student said he was surprised that he no longer had the extra time to take written tests. The famous measures of accommodation that we give to students who have diagnoses, they were not entitled to them returned to CEGEP, ”underlines Mr. Dezutter. “This illustrates this idea of a continuum. We have to think about how we support our allophone learners because even after reception and francization they will still have needs to succeed in CEGEP and university. »