Un programme de formation et de perfectionnement des professeurs de francais de base a Terre-Neuve

Abstract

The teaching of French is going to be compulsory in Newfoundland elementary and Junior High Schools within a few years. Many teachers will have to retrain in order to be able to provide a good quality French teaching. The aim of this study is to describe the components of a program of training and retraining for Core French Teachers in Newfoundland. The context in which this teaching occurs is first presented, then a revue of the literature shows what specialists think of the training and retraining for Second Language Teachers. A survey was conducted to School Board French Program Coordinators in order to collect datas on Newfoundland conditions. The analysis of answers led to the identification of the main problems Core French Teachers face in their teaching and to put forward concrete ways to answer those problems. The components of a program of training and retraining of Core French Teachers are presented. The different teachers' skills are identified and several ways of acquiring them are proposed: different kinds of training and retraining activities must be offered, individualized training programs must be allowed, incentives must be provided and some changes in teaching conditions must be made. All those measures are formulated as recommendations addressed to the different levels of the Newfoundland educational system. They make a program which is assessed as ambitious but realistic.