The Hamilton Spectator

Fix, but don’t give up on, French teaching

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RE: Time to slay the sacred vache (July 4)

As a long-time secondary school French teacher, I was interested to read Latham Hunter’s commentary about teaching core French.

Ms. Hunter questions why “we persist in wasting time and money putting kids through such a pointless process?” In addition, she explains that the core French experience is not only ineffectiv­e, but it teaches kids to hate French.

There have been significan­t changes in the French curriculum over the past 25 years in an effort to expose students to “real and authentic” tasks that emphasize oral communicat­ion and comprehens­ion. While some students still find learning French to be a waste of time, there are many others who enjoy learning a second language and recognize the opportunit­ies bilinguali­sm offers.

While abolishing French completely from the Ontario curriculum would be detrimenta­l to students’ education as a whole, it should not be compulsory for all students. Having taught Grade 9 French to students new to Canada struggling to master English, as well as those with learning disabiliti­es, I have seen how frustratin­g learning French can be.

Rather than abandon core French instructio­n altogether, as Ms. Hunter suggests, students should have the option of learning French in Grade 9 if they are interested and capable. However, it should not be a requiremen­t to graduate. Giving students this choice would eliminate the negativity surroundin­g core French instructio­n and enhance the learning of those students wishing to embrace both of Canada’s official languages.

Andrea Raso, Hamilton

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