How the CEFR Is Impacting French-as-a-Second-Language in Ontario, Canada: Teachers’ Self-Reported Instructional Practices and Students’ Proficiency Exam Results

Abstract

This exploratory article describes (1) the self-reported instructional practices of a group of 103 Kindergarten to Grade 12 French-as-a-second-language (FSL) teachers from school boards across Ontario, Canada before and after intensive and extensive professional learning about the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) and (2) the areas of strength and opportunities for improvement in the FSL proficiency of 434 Grade 12 students from school boards across Ontario in their final year of study, as measured through their outcomes on the Diplôme d’études en langue française (the FSL proficiency exam aligned with the CEFR). In looking across the findings from these early-CEFR-adopter teachers and these highly-motivated students at the end of their FSL studies, the article offers a window onto how the CEFR is impacting the local landscape of FSL education in the province.

Keywords

• instructional practices
• proficiency outcomes
• French as a second language
• CEFR
• DELF
• action-oriented instruction