Page 15 - The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9 to 12: French as a Second Language – Core, Extended, and Immersion, 2014

Using a variety of instructional, assessment, and evaluation strategies, teachers provide numerous opportunities for students to develop and refine their critical-thinking, problem- solving, and communication skills while engaged in FSL activities, projects, and exploration. The activities offered should give students opportunities to relate their knowledge of and skills in FSL to the social, environmental, and economic conditions and concerns of the world in which they live. Such opportunities will motivate students to participate in their communities as responsible and engaged citizens and to become lifelong learners.
Teachers can help students understand that problem solving of any kind, including solving problems associated with second-language learning, often requires a considerable expenditure of time and energy and a good deal of perseverance. Teachers can also encourage students to explore alternative solutions and to take the risks necessary to become successful problem solvers.
FSL teachers provide students with frequent opportunities to practise their skills and apply new learning and, through regular and varied assessment, give them the specific feedback they need in order to further develop and refine their skills. By assigning tasks that promote the development of higher-order thinking skills, teachers help students to become thoughtful and effective communicators, assess various materials that they listen to and read, and develop informed opinions.
Teachers have the important role of being a French-language model for their students and the disseminator of information about French-speaking cultures. Often FSL teachers are the students’ first contact with the French language. It is essential that French be the language of communication in all classroom interactions so that students receive constant exposure to the language in a variety of situations. Teachers also need to expose students to the many social and geographical varieties of French through a range of authentic materials, as well as through speakers of different ages and geographic origins and from various sociocultural groups. This will help students develop an understanding and appreciation of the diversity within French-speaking cultures.
Active engagement in meaningful, authentic, and cognitively stimulating tasks and projects is key to motivating FSL students. Students are more likely to engage in learning when they have a certain degree of choice and can express preferences with regard to tasks, projects, and activities. When teachers involve students in the learning process, students are at the centre of their own learning, which is critical in developing their engagement, motivation, and success.
As part of effective teaching practice, teachers communicate with parents about what their children are learning. This communication occurs through the sharing of course outlines, ongoing formal and informal conversations, curriculum events, and other means of regular communication, such as newsletters, website postings, and blogs. Communication enables parents to work in partnership with the school, promoting discussion, follow-up at home, and student learning in a family context. Stronger connections between the home and the school support student learning and achievement.
Principals
The principal works in partnership with teachers and parents to ensure that each student has access to the best possible educational experience. To support student learning, principals ensure that the Ontario curriculum is being properly implemented in all classrooms
INTRODUCTION
13