Becoming a French Second Language Teacher

Abstract

This study explores the development of linguistic competence and confidence of pre-service French as a second language (FSL) teachers enrolled in a teacher education program in New Brunswick, Canada. In addition to their regular program requirements, participants in the study engaged in a series of language support sessions. We collected French oral proficiency assessment results pre- and post-session, as well as focus group interview data. The analysis shows that participants’ language proficiency increased over the course of the sessions and the program. Interview data reveal professional identity-related themes such as confidence, and the importance of safe spaces for interaction and mediation. Implications for FSL teacher recruitment and retention are given, specifically with regard to teacher candidates’ need for certain types of support.