Allocation of Resources and Support: Novice and Experienced French as a Second Language (FSL) Teachers in Ontario

Abstract

At the inception of the Canadian French as a Second Language (FSL) program, researchers examined students' success (e.g. Cummins, 1998; Tardiff, 1990). However, there has been increasing focus on FSL teacher perspectives (e.g. Arnott, 2017; Salvatori, 2009). This qualitative study used a narrative inquiry method and semi-structured interviews to investigate six novice and experienced (i.e., based on years of experience) FSL teacher participants' accounts of the allocation of resources and support for their FSL teaching. Narrative inquiry allowed for a richly detailed understanding of the teachers' accounts of their practice. Results suggest that the novice teacher participants received more resources and support than the experienced teachers, based on the assumption that they were more willing to learn new teaching practices and in greater need. Ironically, this study suggests that the experienced teachers were very willing to adopt new strategies, and their need for resources and support was equally great.