Plan 2013 : Strategies for a national approach in second language education

In the wake of the Action Plan, the Office of the Director General, Official Languages Support Programs, commissioned Plan Twenty Thirteen (2013), Strategies for a National Approach in Second Language Education, a study intended to encourage reflection and suggest concrete steps towards the attainment of the 2013 objective. [...] In October of 2003, a challenge was issued to me by the Director General of the Official Languages Support Programs Branch of the Department of Canadian Heritage: “Find a way to ‘do things differently’ in second language education.” A leader in second language education around the world, Canada had reached a plateau, and educators and policy-makers were being asked to reach into their well of crea [...] This study had the following objectives: a) determine on a province-by-province/territory-by-territory basis the gap, if any, between the demand for French Immersion and capacity of the school systems to deliver the programs; b) where a gap exists, analyse the extent to which the supply of qualified teachers is an impediment to program implementation; c) identify any other impediments to expansion [...] According to the Evaluation of the Official Languages in Education Program (Summary p.6), “a number of stakeholders noted, that even after several years in a core program, the average student will have acquired a limited and not working knowledge of the second language.” Implementation: A stratified sample of graduates of FSL programs would take the PSC tests. [...] The question becomes: “How can we set a national strategy while respecting the autonomy of each province and territory?” An additional dimension of the issue is the existence of a myriad of national and regional associations and groups, all of who have an interest in second language education.