The lack of French-speaking teachers is forcing French immersion schools in Ontario to hire English-speaking teachers, who speak “not a word of French”.
” Sometimes, [les écoles] will choose a teacher whose level of French may not be up to par. But it’s either that or not having an immersion class,” confirms the general director of the Canadian Association of Immersion Professionals (ACPI), Chantal Bourbonnais.
“At the start of the year, there was a French-speaking teacher. She was very experienced, and we were delighted. But at the last minute she took time off [prolongé] », says a mother Dutyfrom Toronto, who requested anonymity to protect the identity of her children.
“They didn’t find anyone. So the best they could do was […] recall a retired teacher who did not speak a word of French. Children don’t learn much. »
After a month, his son joined another class of 8e year (2e secondary) within the same establishment. But a few weeks later, the teacher also took leave. Today, the class runs thanks to substitutes, whose rotation deprives students of an “environment conducive to learning”. “Some speak French, others don’t. »
She indicates that some subjects are taught in French, but that the main teacher “is not systematically French-speaking”. His daughter, in 11e year, also had replacement teachers who did not speak French, she said.
However, she would not cancel her children’s registration in French immersion. Today, they are able to converse in French, thanks to the “very good teachers” they have had over the years. The problem is, according to her, not specific to her children’s school, but widespread across the Toronto District School Board (TDSB).
Contacted by The dutythe TDSB indicates that it currently has a “small number of unfilled positions”, but admits to employing “in certain cases” “English-speaking or retired teachers in French immersion classes because qualified FSL staff [français langue seconde] does not always apply for vacancies. However, he judges “that they have sufficient knowledge of French to teach in these classes”.
” Better than nothing ”
Toronto is just one example “among many” in the country, underlines Mme Bourbonnais, specifying that the shortage is “even more difficult in rural areas”.
In 2021, ACPI and the Canadian Association of Second Language Teachers estimated that there would be a shortage of nearly 10,000 French-speaking teachers in Canada in French immersion and French as a second language schools. In Ontario and New Brunswick, one in two schools reported experiencing a labor shortage. And the situation “continues to get worse”, warns Mme Bourbonnais.
A context which can be explained by the skyrocketing popularity of French immersion classes, as well as by the decline in interest among young people in the profession, she indicates. And now that the shortage is rife “nationally and internationally”, and particularly in neighboring Quebec, the labor pools are reduced.
Immersion teachers, who were formerly expatriate French speakers, are now mainly “immersion graduates”. This demonstrates, according to the ACPI, the success of the program, but leaves room for teachers whose “quality of French is not always up to par”.
Others transfer from the Core French program to immersion classes. They still have a basis in French. So the administrator says: “it’s better than nothing”. Certainly “not qualified”, they remain a valuable workforce in a context of shortage, which should be better supported, believes Mme Bourbonnais.
“Any teacher is better than no teacher, but because they are in French immersion, we need French-speaking teachers,” judges the mother of the student contacted by The duty.
Recognize diplomas
In the midst of a shortage, Ipek Sanal only asks to work in immersion. The Turkish teacher, who speaks French perfectly, has been waiting since 2020 for the Ontario College of Teachers to recognize her bachelor’s degree in education, obtained at Istanbul University.
She struggles to understand how the institution can refuse her request when Western University, in London, has already recognized her achievements. Mme Sanal in fact obtained a master’s degree in education from this Ontario establishment.
The Order was unable to comment on the matter due to “privacy laws”. However, he clarified that their criteria “differ from the admission criteria of a post-secondary institution.” The “current time frame for an internationally trained teacher to receive a decision is 120 business days” from the time all documents and payments have been received, he added.
According to the file of Mme Sanal, consulted by The duty, the application was submitted in October 2020, but some documents were missing. She explains that the Order asked her to provide documents that the Turkish Ministry of Education does not produce, and that the organization took “two years” to offer her alternative solutions.
The evaluation of her file therefore only began in November 2023. “It’s taking too long,” she said. Mme Sanal says the process cost him nearly $3,000. Just under $600 was spent on application fees. The translation and mailing of documents to Turkey increased the bill, explains the teacher.
The Order presents an “additional difficulty”, reacted Mme Bourbonnais, while the recognition of international diplomas could be a possible solution to the labor shortage. In Canada, achievements are “not always recognized at their true value,” she laments. “There really is a problem. »
Without certification, the Turkish teacher says she is “not able to have long-term jobs”, unlike several of her colleagues who are “not qualified at all”. She was “called at the last moment” to do substitute work within the Viamonde School Board, in the greater Toronto area.
“I want to work, be a teacher, and I know that there is a big demand for French, especially in Ontario. It blocks me and discourages me. »
This report is supported by the Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the Government of Canada.