Number of students* Participation rate**
2005–06 17,604 9.5%
2008–09 18,563 10.3%
Total change 959 0.5%
* The data on school enrolment come from the database of Manitoba Education (EIS).
** The participation rate is obtained by dividing the number of students taking an immersion program by the total enrolment in Manitoba’s public schools.
Pan-Canadian Report on Official Languages in Education 2005–06 to 2008–09
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Program development/quality of programs
In 2008–09, the BEF completed its action research project, Communication orale au quotidien [oral communication in everyday life]. The funds allocated by the federal government helped to pay part of the cost of the project. The study aimed at assessing the quality of the language used by immersion students, from kindergarten to Grade 12, in their oral interactions in French. The BEF then developed and tested guidelines and possible strategies for filling in the language gaps that were identified. The supporting document resulting from this work was published in the fall of 2010, accompanied by a DVD. This material is intended to help teaching staff define and further develop their teaching methods. This project, and the other action research projects conducted previously, will be used to orient a new project aimed at designing a different approach to the organization and presentation of the curriculum, thus providing better orientation for the teaching of FSL from kindergarten to Grade 12.
With the funds granted under the agreement, the BEF developed and distributed to all immersion school teachers at specific grade levels a document entitled Ensemble d’outils pour l’évaluation de la lecture, de la 2e à la 5e année, Français langue seconde-immersion [set of tools for the evaluation of reading, from Grade 2 to Grade 5, French as a second language — immersion]. This set includes, in particular, 26 unedited texts of students whose writing reflects various degrees of difficulty corresponding to the school level in question, and which were designed to be used as benchmarks for the evaluation of reading. Several jurisdictions in Canada continue to purchase this set and the set that deals with French as a first language. The BEF also developed and distributed to all Grade 8 teachers a document entitled Ensemble d’outils pour appuyer le projet d’évaluation en lecture et en écriture, Français langue seconde-immersion [set of tools to support the reading and writing evaluation project, FSL — immersion]
and a DVD, accompanied by a supporting document that presents principles for incorporating evaluation into the day-to-day teaching/learning process, for Grades 5 to 8 French immersion students. Three other tools for evaluating reading comprehension, entitled Tâches et éléments de réponses qui accompagnent les textes de la Collection de textes [tasks and answers that accompany the texts of the collection of texts]
were also developed and distributed. The first tool is intended for Grade 6 immersion teachers, the second for Grade 7, early immersion, and the third for Grade 7, late immersion.
From 2005–06 to 2008–09, in order to support the school divisions that implemented the Intensive French (IF) and Enhanced French (EF) pilot projects, the BEF carried out an oral and written evaluation of the students enrolled in these courses, assuming responsibility for administering the tests, for correcting them, and for performing the statistical analysis of the results. The BEF adopted the statistical method used by researchers Claude Germain and Joan Netten to analyze the results for the students in IF and EF, and is now able to offer this service to the schools that offer these courses. It is thus able to provide them with a division report and a descriptive profile for each student enrolled in the IF or EF course. School principals can inform parents of their children’s progress.
Teacher training and development
Federal financial assistance has greatly contributed to the organization of annual provincial conferences for school principals, division managerial staff, education partners, and parents, in order to inform them about recent developments in immersion. In December 2007, the BEF announced the launch of the book French Immersion in Manitoba, A Handbook for School Leaders. On that occasion, 175 people attended an orientation session in order to become familiar with this new work. The BEF has developed supporting documents, such as the guide À vos marques, prêts, partez! A Must-Have Guide for Teachers [On your mark, get set, go! A Must Have Guide for Teachers]. This guide was produced in 2008–09 in collaboration with school division education counsellors and the Canadian Association of Second Language Teachers, and was printed in 10,000 copies, in order to support the teaching and learning of core French. In addition, the BEF has put together a team that can offer professional training and support sessions for implementing intensive French (IF) and enhanced French (EF). It has also put together a team that can offer training sessions on oral evaluation and correction of written materials for IF and EF. The statistical analyses of student results will enable schools to keep informed about how effective the implementation of their approach to teaching IF and EF has been.
In 2007–08, the BEF set up the Collabaunord project, which targets the teaching staff in the elementary schools administered by the three school divisions in northern Manitoba. Two groups of education counsellors travelled to these divisions to offer orientation and training sessions. The aim is to establish communities of education professionals and thus give a new impetus to the French immersion program and to the teaching of core French courses.
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Student support and development
Federal funds make it possible to offer support to immersion students who want to continue their studies in French. In 2008–09, some 60 bursaries were awarded to students who were graduating from immersion schools, and 12 bursaries were granted to postsecondary students who wanted to take a program of studies in French that was not offered in Manitoba.
Federal and provincial funds also make it possible to support the school programming of various cultural and artistic organizations intended for immersion students and those who are taking the core French program. For example, as part of its school program Théâtre du grand cercle [great circle theatre], the Cercle Molière continues to offer performances for students from Grade 7 to Grade 12, to arrange school tours for students from Grade 4 to Grade 6, and to organize the Festival théâtre-jeunesse [youth theatre festival]. The Festival théâtre-jeunesse is a large gathering of young people from Grades 7 to 12 in Manitoba’s French-language and immersion schools, who have been joined since 2008–09 by students from schools in Saskatchewan and Nunavut.
At the festival, students present their own plays (often collective creations) to their peers, their parents, and the general public. In 2009, this festival was in its 39th season.
For its part, Canadian Parents for French – Manitoba (CPF–MB) continues to organize various activities: a public speaking competition in French — a one-day event in May with 25 categories of competition — and Camp Soleil [camp sun], a one-week summer camp for immersion students from nine communities across the province. CPF–MB has also been able to offer workshops on such varied themes as conversation, arts and crafts, theatre, nature study, and athletic activities such as swimming and other sports and games. For immersion students, CPF has also organized Camps d’improvisation [improvisation camps] in French that take place on the weekend, with workshops focusing on communication games, sports, and team games; Tournées
culturelles [cultural tours] that take place in the spring and fall, with workshops featuring singers, dance companies, and actors; and finally Ateliers de théâtre [theatre workshops], directed by specialists from Chiens du soleil [dogs of the sun]
(the CUSB theatre company), the Danseurs de la Rivière Rouge [Red River dancers] (a French-Canadian dance company), and the Cercle Molière.
Access to postsecondary education
The agreement has made it possible to maintain and develop the capacity of the Service de perfectionnement linguistique [linguistic proficiency upgrading service] (SPL) of the Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface. The SPL is a service that supports teaching; its mandate is to evaluate students’ language skills and to offer means of language enrichment. The SPL strives to meet the linguistic needs of the College’s undergraduate and master’s program student population with as much flexibility as possible. Although most of the services and programs offered by the SPL primarily address the student clientele, some of them also meet the needs of the College’s faculty members.
Integration of French into the various disciplines is a priority focus of development for the SPL. The working committee set up in the fall of 2007 is continuing its work, and pilot projects have been launched in nursing and in sociology. Thanks to the positive evaluation of these projects, which was conducted in the spring of 2008, the projects were continued and expanded in 2009–10.
In short, the SPL is an important resource for the College on several levels: linguistic services for students, support for language teaching, writing support for faculty, and evaluation of language proficiency for both the College and external partners.
Total Investment: Second-Language Instruction
2005–06 to 2008–09
Federal contribution Manitoba’s contribution
Regular funds $ 15,189,300 $ 27,855,700
Additional funds $ 5,055,000 $ 5,055,000
Total $ 20,244,300 $ 32,910,700
Pan-Canadian Report on Offi cial Languages in Education 2005–06 to 2008–09
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