Ontario’s Ministry of Education has recently redesigned two new French as a second language (FSL) curricula in the elementary [1] and secondary [2] teaching panels. The newly designed programs no longer model previous iterations of the FSL curricula. This curriculum shift requires a thorough and ongoing investigation to determine how curriculum users perceive the new curriculum and how they plan to implement this new curriculum. This paper summarizes initial curriculum reactions and implementation strategies of the 2013 [1] and
2014 [2] Ontario FSL curricula through a Master’s thesis [3] as well as for an upcoming doctoral study with the focus of the beginner-level, Core French Program. Curriculum as a concept is defined through a specific vantage point as a newly-licensed FSL non-native French teacher. Next, this article presents a brief overview of Ontario FSL education, reflecting the curriculum revision process. As a returning Ontario FSL secondary school teacher, curriculum change is then described and reflected upon with a personal researcher-practitioner stance. Initial conclusions establish that the curriculum revision process is overall positive for student acquisition of French but that teachers may require ongoing practitioner development to effectively implement the new curricula.

Published in: Canada International Conference on Education, 2017

• Date of Conference: 26-29 June, 2017
• DOI: 10.2053/CICE.2017.0171
• Electronic ISBN: 978-1-908320-83-4
• Conference Location: University of Toronto Mississauga, Canada