«So Why Aren't the French Ever Satisfied?»
[Français]
The French language document, available below to be downloaded, is the revised text of a speech given at Glendon College, York University, Toronto (Ontario), on 23 March 2016 in the context of a roundtable on the place of French in Ontario post-secondary education. The author, Stacy Churchill, who is not a native French speaker, uses his more than 45 years of experience studying education of minority francophones in Canada (i.e. French speakers living in provinces outside Quebec) to deal with the conference theme : «bilingualism is two-edged» (le bilinguisme à double tranchant).
The advantages of bilingualism for bilingual individuals from French minorities is contrasted with the difficulties engendered by so-called bilingual institutions, where francophones do not control decision making, which is in the hands of English-speaking majorities (for universities: boards of governors and academic senates). The long struggle to obtain francophone control of elementary and secondary education in Ontario is described as a backdrop to demonstrate the reasons why many French speakers today seek to create a French language university under control of francophones, that is to say a university where French is the medium of instruction but whose graduates are prepared to operate as high-level bilinguals in both English and French.
The proposals for a French university seek to extend the experience of elementary and secondary education in Ontario where French-medium schools produce graduates whose level of English ensures that, in terms of language competence, they are admissible to all English universities in North America (i.e. subject to meeting the usual non-linguistic criteria, such as grade levels, required for admission depending on the institution involved).
Speaking notes
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Last Update : 2016-04-10
