This text is part of the special book Francization
The Autonomous Federation of Education (FAE) stresses that we must fight on more than one front to improve services and support for learning French.
Francization is so important in the ongoing reform of language laws that one would think that the Independent Education Federation (FAE) would unreservedly support the objective of creating the Francisation Quebec agency. That’s far from being the case.
“We were very enthusiastic when Bill 96 was presented, but we are less so when we read it,” said Alain Marois, vice-president for political life. “What bothers us is that the government seems to be saying that learning ‘under the educational system’ will not be within the mandate of Francisation Québec. »
In 2017, he explains, the Auditor General severely blamed the government for the lack of coordination in francization. This effort is shared between the school network, the integration classes of the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration (MIFI), the francization committees of companies, community organizations and post-secondary institutions. “As it is written, Francisation Québec would coordinate everything except the educational network. We are very skeptical, not to say worried. »
The FAE is well placed to talk about the problems of francization. Its 50,000 members, mainly located in the Montreal region, Montérégie, Laval, Outaouais and Quebec, are at the forefront of welcoming immigrant families.
Alain Marois admits that the FAE has changed its mind about the diversity of the offer. “Traditionally, we have argued that the School Service Centers (CSS) should have full responsibility for this, but we have understood that it is good for the system to offer other entry points, provided that the offer is coordinated , which is not the case. »
What is the situation, exactly? Coordination is so deficient that there is no reliable statistical portrait of francization. “The only statistic is the number of students or adults entering, but after that, you don’t know how long they stay, why, with what success. We don’t know anything. »
Many ways to Francize
In addition to the lack of coordination and reliable data, Vice-President Alain Marois denounces the lack of means. “Our members who work in adult francization, tutoring and reception classes are among the most neglected in the education system. The problems are multiple: too large classes, unsuitable resources, deficient programs.
A reception class has 14 to 17 students. “It’s too much, for several reasons. First, the students come from several very different countries, and many are under-educated, even illiterate. There are also serious issues of trauma, learning disabilities and even mental health. »
The only statistic is the number of students or adults entering, but after that, it is not known how long they stay, why, with what success. We don’t know anything.
The pedagogical system provides for adapted services in remedial education, psychoeducation, psychology, etc. “Except that a teacher who reports the problem is told that it stems from a lack of knowledge of French. In our opinion, the reasoning is accountable: these students already have a service that is expensive, and we are not going to give them another one in addition! »
The government has also made major cuts to the Heritage Language Education Program. ” It’s proven. Pupils who know their mother tongue better learn French more easily. But the program is currently being abandoned,” he laments.
The poor children of the system
For adults, who make up three-quarters of immigrants, francization material is unsuitable. “They are presented with exercises and childish examples. The CSSs on the island of Montreal and Laval, which have experience, have freed up teachers to set up suitable equipment. But immigration is now moving to the outskirts and to the regions, and these CSS are outdated. »
For adults, the scattering makes the problem worse. Already, the CSSs are having a hard time coordinating for the development of content, but things are not much better for other stakeholders such as the MIFI, francization committees, community organizations and post-secondary institutions. The diversification of union representations, when there is a union, complicates the interface. So everyone is reinventing the wheel. “It was already complicated for the SME, and there, we want to extend francization to companies with 25 to 49 employees. Good luck. »
Adults also have to struggle with silly inconsistencies. The Auditor General was indignant, in her 2017 report, that the MIFI paid less than $200 a week to adults who took its courses, but that those who went through the school network were not entitled to it.
“That problem has been corrected, which doesn’t change the fact that $200 a week is ridiculous for people who land in a foreign country and who drag the devil by the tail. Alain Marois, however, argues that adults in francization sometimes have to do pirouettes to receive this meager jackpot. An adult in francization in a CSS receives his money from the MIFI, and sometimes also through Emploi-Québec, which gives a third ministry. Complicated for people who do not speak the language.
Watch out for the SASAF
In the school network, the gateway to francization is called the SASAF, reception and support services for learning French. Each CSS has its own. During the last management negotiations, the FAE obtained the creation of a national committee on the SASAF, which will try to see clearly in the services offered.
“The offer is messy, it is not uniform from one CSS to another. It developed haphazardly, good things are happening, but without consultation. We want to document, list. The national committee will enable us to obtain concrete data on what is being done in the CSS. »
According to Alain Marois, the FAE expects more from this national committee than from Bill 96. “Our brief on the bill itself contains only 11 recommendations, but we have 21 comments on the way the government manages things. This is because we believe that not everything can be enshrined in law. »